In July 2009, the Uniform Law Commission approved the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA) for consideration by the states. The UCLA is the result of a three-year drafting process that called upon the expertise and experiences of a wide variety of individuals. Various American Bar Association entities considered and commented upon the final draft. These entities included the Section of Family Law, Section of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Section on Litigation, the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence. The final act incorporates the distinctive features of collaborative practice into a stand-alone statute that is both ethical and practical for states to enact. Specifically, the UCLA provides for:  

• Uniformity of standards and practice throughout the country.
• Informed consent by the clients.
• Exchange of relevant information by the clients.
• Emergency orders by a court if they are needed.
• Screening for instances of domestic violence or other coercive behavior.
• Appropriate exceptions for governmental entities and low-income clients.
• Evidentiary privilege (like the Uniform Mediation Act, approved by the ABA House of Delegates and enacted in 10 states and D.C.) for negotiations in the Collaborative process.
• Withdrawal at any time by any party to the Collaborative Law process.

The UCLA explicitly states that standards of professional responsibility of lawyers are not changed by their participation in the Collaborative Law process.

Andy Schepard has served as Reporter in the creation of the UCLA -- a complex role which he describes as follows: "The Reporter is a formal position, usually held by a law professor. Essentially, the Reporter is the chief draftsperson and researcher for the Act." For the full text of the UCLA, please click here.

In tonight's presentation, Andy will review the provisions of the UCLA and the key policy choices that were made in drafting it. He will also discuss the recent consideration of the UCLA by the American Bar Association House of Delegates, the reasons that the UCLA was withdrawn from consideration by the House, and the future of the UCLA.

Andy was also Reporter in the creation of the Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation (endorsed by CCDM) and is editor of the influential journal Family Court Review.　CCDM is honored to have him as tonight's speaker.

This training presents a six-stage model for structuring the mediation process and covers all the basic content areas of divorce mediation including property division, support and parenting arrangements. In addition to lectures and discussions, the trainers use demonstrations and even music and poetry throughout the five-day program. A distinctive feature of this training is extensive use of videotapes for instruction, including tapes of actual mediations. Small group role-playing sessions allow participants to practice the skills of mediation with one-on-one feedback from an experienced mediator/coach. A 400-page manual, including a computer disc with forms and ready-made handouts, provides participants with an invaluable resource both during and after the workshop.

Other components of the training include:  

1. paradigms for understanding conflict
2. the emotional process of divorce and how it affects mediation
3. the styles of mediation and what works for you
4. screening for domestic violence
5. mediation and the law
6. confidentiality
7. using caucusing effectively
8. how to work in co-mediation teams
9. mediation ethics and standards of practice
10. starting a practice as a mediator and marketing tips
11. writing competent memoranda of agreement
12. and much more

Recommended Pre-Training Reading

Participants are advised to read two books - Roger Fisher and William Ury with Bruce Patton's Getting to Yes (2nd ed., Penguin, 1991; $15.00, ISBN 0140157352) and Gary Friedman's A Guide to Divorce Mediation (Workman Publishing, l993; $12.95, ISBN 1563052458). Reading these beforehand will help you make better use of the training. These books can be ordered in most bookstores or on-line at Amazon.com or BN.com. Copies of the Friedman book will also be available for purchase at the training. The 400-page Training Manual for the training, including ready-to-use forms, will be distributed the first day of the training.

Approved by the Association for Conflict Resolution

This training has been approved as a 40-hour comprehensive divorce mediation training by the Family Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the national professional association in the field. This program fulfills the training requirements for Practitioner Member status in ACR and graduate of the program are encouraged to consider joining ACR. A certificate of completion, suitable for framing, will be issued to you upon successful completion of and full attendance at the training course. Note: After the program, you can also apply for Practitioner Membership in CCDM because this ACR-approved, 40-hour basic divorce mediation training satisfies CCDM's training requirement for this membership category.

We hope you will be able to join us for this professional training. For more information about Carl Schneider and Mediation Matters, and their trainings, please visit www.mediationmatters.com. If you have any questions regarding the training, feel free to call Carl at 800-905-2221. All other questions, please contact Lori Somerville, CCDM Executive Director, at 888-236-CCDM (2236) or email her at info@ctmediators.org.

Training will take place May 13-May 17, 2010. This intensive, experiential 40-hour basic divorce mediation training will be held in the historic Parish House of Bethesda Lutheran Church, 305 St. Ronan Street, New Haven, CT (click here for directions).