From the desk of My Collaborative Team President, Edward S. Sachs, ACP

During our Friday Happy Hours, we have been talking a lot about the Collaborative Process.  Is it really one-size fits all or do we mold the Process to our client’s needs?  Is the lynch pin still the disqualification clause?

One MCT member suggested that we are going through great change.  We must be flexible with the Process to best serve the needs of the divorcing family.  That may mean that the standard four or five professional team works.  Or maybe you need other expert professional help.  Is Collaborative Mediation a better fit?  Maybe just a co-mediation utilizing the appropriate team of mediators.

Last week I proposed an idea where parties utilize the neutrals to proceed as far as possible in settlement negotiations.  Attorneys are not brought into the Process until needed.  Stu Webb responded with the following: “Wonderful! No one’s going to court! High paradigm shift is potentially there perhaps more than in some classic 4-ways!”

We have always talked about the Collaborative Process and Interest Based Negotiating requiring “out of the box” thinking.  The only way that we will continue to grow the use of the Collaborative Process is to think out of the box in terms of the Process itself.