About Collaborative Practice

A new form of alternative dispute resolution, Collaborative Practice allows you to divorce with dignity, respect, and cooperation. Here’s how it works: each spouse retains a lawyer to act as an advisor. Settlement negotiations are conducted with your lawyers so that your ownership of the process is combined with the assurance of legal protection. The process also includes other Collaborative Practice professionals, such as financial planners and therapists.

You, your spouse, and your Collaborative Practice team agree to be cooperative, forthcoming, and willing to work together to achieve a resolution. If you can't reach an agreement, both lawyers (and their respective law firms) as well as the other Collaborative Practice professionals must withdraw from the case. The very fact that there's no room for litigation during the process helps ensure that you and your spouse will remain truly committed to reaching a reasonable settlement.

By choosing Collaborative Practice to settle your divorce, you'll enjoy these advantages:

• Lower costs
• Less stress
• Create win-win solutions
• Learn creative problem-solving techniques
• Retain control over your future
• Avoid Court
• Protect your rights, assets, and your family
• Less bitterness, anger, and conflict

Brigitte Bell  has practiced family law and mediation cooperatively for over 20 years. As a mediation teacher for many years and as a founding Co-President of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois, she strongly encourages the spread of this practice and its benefits to divorcing clients. She and her staff work to foster and support client respect and self-determination and to help them create personalized and lasting solutions for their custody, parenting, support, and property issues, also including complex financial arrangements.

Lyn C. Conniff, J.D. A practicing attorney for 20 years, Lyn's concentration is family law. Lyn is also trained in family law mediation and collaborative law. Lyn is committed to the collaborative process and to reaching an amicable resolution outside the legal process. The cornerstone of a successful collaborative divorce is a focus on the family's (especially the children's) needs and interests. A divorce with dignity must focus on each family member's needs and interests and not on winning and losing.

Nancy Murphy, JD. Attorney/Mediator, is a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and Member of International Association of Collaborative Practice. For over 20 years, Nancy has supported and guided transitioning families in a positive, worthy and respectful manner during extreme emotional times to make decisions about life changes that includes: custody, finances, prenuptials, property, same-sex contracts, and support. She has received extensive training in collaborative practice and helped create Cook County's “Focus on Children” program.

Dr. Gail Petrich, , M.A., J.D., Psy.D. is an attorney, psychologist, and mediator. She is especially equipped to promote emotional safety and to support families in making decisions for their future. She acts as an attorney, divorce coach, child/parenting specialist, parent coordinator, or communication specialist. Dr. Petrich is trained in child-custody evaluations, high-conflict personalities, and crisis management. She has worked in family law for 12 years and in family therapy for over ten years, with offices in Cook and DuPage Counties.

Sandra Rosenbloom believes in providing effective advocacy with dignity and compassion for her clients by concentrating in collaborative practice and mediation. She is a Fellow and Director of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois, an editor of Collaborative Review, member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University of Chicago Law School.

Visit www.divorcemag.com/articles/Collaborative_Law to find out the benefits of collaborative divorce.