11th February 2008

Collaborative family law has come a long way from its 1990 inception. The brainchild of a disgruntled Minnesota family law attorney who tried one divorce case too many sparked an international movement which has consistently strengthened over the past decade and a half. The collaborative law concept is gaining momentum in the United States with more and more supporters, including judges, recognizing the need to keep family law matters out of the courts. It appears that 2008 will be a pivotal year for collaborative practice as it accelerates from a lawyer supported concept to a judicially and legislatively recognized method of dispute resolution.

In October, 2007, the Miami Dade family court joined the ranks of other courts in recognizing and approving the collaborative process as a means of resolving family law matters. The South Florida court’s decision to adopt collaborative law as an alternative to litigated divorce followed closely behind the American Bar Association’s Ethics Opinion supporting collaborative law practice. The ABA opinion, published in January, 2008, approves collaborative law as an alternative to litigation. Florida collaborative family practitioners are moving forward in an attempt to gain recognition of the concept by the Florida bar and a proposed collaborative law statute may be passed in Florida in the coming year.

Elsewhere, the California legislature, which passed a collaborative law statute in 2006, is working on amendments which are expected to be passed in 2008. These amendments may include funding for courts to create and distribute an information sheet to parties who file for divorce, explaining the collaborative process and encouraging would-be litigants to consider the collaborative family law alternative.

One of the most interesting developments is the proposed Uniform Collaborative Law Act, which would apply to all states who choose to participate. The National Conference of Commissioners On Uniform State Laws is begun drafting a Collaborative Law Act. The drafting committee hopes to have a Collaborative Law Act for potential adoption by the conference at a meeting in the summer of 2009. The act would create uniform rules for collaborative practice among all participating states.

Collaborative family law has come a long way from the rallying cries of Stu Webb, that now famous Minnesota lawyer who worked valiantly to keep his future clients from engaging in messy and costly divorces which irreparably harmed their children. The winds of change appear favorable for further developments in bringing this practice from scattered groups of dedicated practitioners across the country to a uniform model for dispute resolution that protects parents and their children from unnecessary harm.

Lori Barkus is a South Florida divorce attorney & mediator.
Lori Barkus concentrates in the areas of: Marital and Family Law, Collaborative Family Law, Family Mediation, Domestic and International Adoptions, Stepparent Adoption and Circuit Civil Mediation. The firm is dedicated to offering affordable, quality and personal representation. The firm serves the areas of Weston, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and Miami.

http://www.barkuslaw.com/
http://barkuslaw.blogspot.com/

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