The Collaborative Professionals of Washington (CPW) is a non-profit association of independent professionals from the fields of law, mental health, and finance.
Collaborative Practice is fundamentally a new model for resolving legal disputes.
Instead of racing to court, Collaborative participants agree to work together outside of court. Instead of working to uncover evidence, Collaborative participants agree to provide each other with all relevant information. Instead of focusing on what is wrong with the other person, Collaborative professionals and participants work as a team to resolve the issues. While Collaborative Practice can be used in a wide variety of areas such as probate and employment law, it is most often used in divorce and family law issues.
Collaborative Professionals of Washington is dedicated to changing the adversarial approach to divorce and other legal matters.
Divorce does not need to result in anger and hurt, resentment and on-going animosity. With Collaborative Practice, family members develop skills and participate in a process with the support of experts to emerge from their dispute feeling they have been heard/respected and knowing that their individual needs and interests have been considered in the outcome. Divorce is rarely without pain. However, divorce can hurt less and be an opportunity to build a foundation for a successful future.