About Collaborative Practice

The Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council trains legal professionals, financial professionals, mental health professionals, and other professional coaches in the use of collaborative techniques in conflict resolution and prevention, raises public awareness, and promotes the use of the collaborative law practice throughout Massachusetts.

Origins of Collaborative Law Practice

Minneapolis family lawyer, Stuart Webb decided in 1990 that he would no longer take cases to court, and sought a better method of dispute resolution. He organized a group of like-minded lawyers—the Collaborative Law Institute—who agreed to take cases solely for purpose of settlement. In the years since, his peaceful revolution in conflict resolution, has grown the use of Collaborative Law Practice (“CLP”) rapidly. CLP groups thrive in almost all states in the U.S., most of the Canadian provinces, and in 20 countries around the world.

Collaborative lawyers, financial professionals and professional coaches use principles of alternative dispute resolution and other mediation resources to resolve disputes efficiently, respectfully, and with the purpose of maintaining and often enhancing ongoing necessary relationships: families-in-crisis, supplier-customer, contractor-client, employer-employee.

Collaborative Law in Massachusetts

Beginning with a group of 20 lawyers in the year 2000, CLP is now used widely throughout the Commonwealth in the areas of

family law (premarital agreements, divorce, separation, child custody and support),
business disputes,
employment conflicts,
probate contests,
insurance claims,
construction disputes, and
virtually every other area of civil conflict prevention and resolution

Collaborative Law Internationally

The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) is an international community of legal, mental health and financial professionals working in concert to create client-centered processes for resolving conflict. For more information and to find practitioners worldwide, go to www.collaborativepractice.com.