Canadian Lawyer

46 J U L Y 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m s collaborative practice grows in popularity, a number of fam- ily lawyers across the country are working to launch Cana- da's first inter-disciplinary organization. "Collaborative Prac- tice Canada will be an organization of lawyers and other profession- als working in collaborative practice," explains Jacinta Gallant, lawyer and mediator in Charlottetown, P.E.I. "Lawyers are organized already, but this one is devoted to public education, promotion and advocacy around dis- pute resolution for families." Currently, "we are in the process of designing our membership and con- sulting across the country," Gallant says. "We hope to be launching in the fall with some kind of a Canada-wide ini- tiative for next year." Collaborative practice is a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes a team approach. The divorcing couple each gets a lawyer, and they meet as one group to work through the details of the separation with a free exchange of information. Clients are educated together to avoid receiving different advice or strategies, and they aim to scrap the adversarial nature of court proceedings. Depending on what the couple needs, the group can opt to bring in child specialists, financial advisors or mental health professionals. The pro- cess aims to advance joint interests — lawyers lose the positional stance of only looking out for their own client. Participants sign a participation agree- ment stating they will not go to court, but if they do, the collaborative profes- sionals — including the lawyers — do not go with them. In Canada, British Columbia was the pioneering province with the practice starting there about 16 years ago. Jonathan Lazar, partner at Watson Goepel LLP in Vancouver, B.C., trained in collaborative mediation 10 years ago. "The process made a lot of sense to me," he says. Over the last few years, he's transitioned to a full-time practice in collaboration. He says the main difference from other forms of alternative dispute reso- lution is the client retains ownership over the process, with the option of various pieces of professional advice — of which legal advice is just one leg — to help them resolve sticking points. "Lawyers might not be the right professional to ask all the questions that are involved in dissolving the family L E G A L R E P O RT \ FA M I LY L AW JEANNIE PHAN Collaborative practice comes into its own Many family law disputes are better resolved with a team in a non-adversarial setting, and more lawyers are offering this kind of help By Mallory Hendry A

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