Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council

Commit To Being A Peacemaker – A Message From Howie Goldstein

Dear Members of the mediation/collaborative community: As many of you know, I am in the end stages of what has been a fairly lengthy experience with Prostate Cancer. I had originally considered describing it as a battle, but that terminology is certainly not...

Multi-Organization Workshop Series On Bias And Diversity In The Dispute Resolution Community

The Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council (MCLC) joined forces and resources with the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation (MCFM) and the Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM) to hire Dr. David Campt of The Dialogue Company and Matthew...

Collaborative In A Time Of COVID

by MCLC President, Beth Aarons When a former family law colleague of mine told me about Collaborative Law Process sometime around 2008, conceptually it sounded much like a series of traditional four-way meetings, but with a therapist present. As a fledgling dispute...

A Message Of Support To The Collaborative Community

Dear Collaborative Community, We are deeply saddened and angered as we reflect on the recent tragic incidents of violence targeted against people of color. As a community of peace builders and promoters of justice through dispute resolution, we strive to foster the...

Making The Shift From An In-Person To A Virtual Collaborative Divorce (Part 2)

by Betsy Ross, LICSW, CGP BetsyRossCoaching.Com Building on my prior post about a first, completed virtual divorce case, Part Two, will outline solutions used to address these and includes further thinking on how to effectively practice collaborative divorce,...

Making The Shift From An In-Person To A Virtual Collaborative Divorce (Part 1)

by Betsy Ross, LICSW, CGP BetsyRossCoaching.Com While over the years I have facilitated many collaborative cases in-person, only recently have I completed my first virtual, collaborative divorce. Under the very best of circumstances, this would have been a highly...

Court Cancelled? Try Collaborative Law Instead

by Justin Kelsey, Past President of MCLC. If you have a court hearing scheduled in the next few weeks, most likely you've been told it's postponed. While some hearings will be scheduled telephonically and by video conference, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely causing...

Collaborative Law: Practicing Family Law With Heart

by Justin Kelsey, Past President of MCLC. Originally posted in the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyer's Journal May/June 2016 Issue In May of 2014, I attended the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council's day long Advanced Training Forum. The attendees included...

Fixed Fees In Collaborative Cases

by Debra L. Smith, Member of Board of Directors of MCLC A Scenario:** You thought the marriage to the love of your life was going to be forever. After his six month affair with the attractive woman from his department at the ad agency he works for, you just don’t...

Ethical Collaborative Practice: Contributing To The Conflict Of A Client

by Jeff Fink, Past President of MCLC We don’t always think about ethics in our daily lives. Many lawyers remember legal ethics as one of the less interesting topics on the bar exam. In the Collaborative process, though, ethics are important. They mean “doing the...