Collaborative Professionals Committee Annual Report

2014 Collaborative Professionals of Pierce County:

In 2006 a group of attorney’s began gathering in the then only FAMILY LAW COURT in Pierce County to discuss the evolution of dispute resolution developed about 25 years ago in Minnesota known as collaborative law. Collaborative Law was developed in recognition of the need for families to have an option for peaceful resolution to legal issues related to change in their relationships that did not involve litigation but did incorporate each party having the assistance of an attorney skilled in alternative dispute resolution. Out of these meetings the COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF PIERCE COUNTY was formed. On July 28, 2013 Governor Inslee signed into law the UNIFORM COLLABORATIVE LAW ACT found in RCW 7.77. The COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF PIERCE COUNTY is an organization of attorneys, financial specialists and mental health professionals (family and child specialists) who have received advanced education and training in mediation and collaborative law to be able to assist families in peaceful non litigation resolution of legal disputes. The collaborative law process can and most often does incorporate the resources of family and/or child specialists and financial specialists to assist the parties in finding solutions to the needs of their respective families in transition. The COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF PIERCE COUNTY are committed to leading and innovation in Collaborative Practice, increasing public and professional awareness of Collaborative Practice and promoting consistency and excellence in the delivery of collaborative practice services. Our organization has membership requirements that include compliance with the INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS training and education standards and recommendations and compliance with all other licensing and administrative requirements that govern each profession. Our organization also provides training and education opportunities for our community and the surrounding communities.
 
The link to the COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF PIERCE COUNTY website is : http://www.piercecollaborativelaw.com/
The link to the website for the INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS is: https://www.collaborativepractice.com/
 
What Is Collaborative Law?
Collaborative Law is a form of alternative dispute resolution that was developed about 25 years ago in Minnesota. Since then, the practice has spread to all 50 states, as well as other countries including Canada, England, Ireland and Australia.
Collaborative Law is a voluntary, contractually based alternative dispute resolution process for parties who seek to negotiate a resolution of their matter rather than having a ruling imposed upon them by a court or arbitrator. The distinctive feature of collaborative law as compared to other forms of alternative dispute resolution (such as mediation) is that participants are always represented by lawyers (“collaborative lawyers”) during negotiations. Collaborative lawyers do not represent the party in court, but only for the purpose of negotiating agreements.
 
Lynn Johnson
President, Collaborative Law Professionals of Pierce County
Law Office of Lynn Johnson
945 Fawcett Avenue, Suite C Tacoma, WA 98402 P: 253-383-3333 F: 253-383-9100 OF PIERCE COUNTY: