It's not unusual to hear a lawyer describe themselves as collaborative.  I've also heard "I haven't taken the Collaborative Law training, but I certainly consider myself collaborative!" But what do they mean by that?  Does it mean they offer collaborative law as an option to their clients, or just that they're willing to start a case in out-of-court negotiations and see where it leads?  Does it mean that they understand the collaborative law principles, or simply that they try to be civil with opposing counsel? Civility and Collaboration are not the same thing.  In fact, many lawyers think of true "collaboration" as a dirty word.  I imagine them picturing the World War II signs labeling French civilians as "collaborators" and shuddering at the thought.  The problem with this mentality, especially in family law, is it means that you are thinking of the opposing party (and their counsel) as the enemy.  You might be civil to an enemy,...

Skylark Law & Mediation, PC will soon be moving to Southborough, Massachusetts and it's an opportunity for us and other like-minded professionals.  Our new home will be a building in downtown Southborough, called  the Collaborative Outpost , which has a particular mission: To Provide an Enjoyable Work Space for Collaboratively Minded Professionals ACCOMPLISHING THE MISSION: Justin Kelsey , who will also be a manager of the Collaborative Outpost, first opened his law firm with Matthew Trask as Kelsey & Trask, PC in 2008.  Since that time Kelsey & Trask, PC has evolved into Skylark Law & Mediation, PC , a leader in the resolution of family and probate disputes.  Justin is active in the mediation and collaborative law communities and has long dreamed of opening a shared work space that could expand on the model that has worked so well for Skylark (now a firm with five attorney/mediators). The Collaborative Outpost is the realization o...

Donald Trump and I have something in common.  We both currently hold the title President-Elect.  Last night, Donald Trump was elected as the next President of the United States and will take office in January, 2017.  I am the president-elect of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council (and will take office in March, 2017).  Admittedly his election is a bigger deal, and also much more contentious than mine.  That tension needs to be discussed, and I believe Collaborative Law can be instructive in how we make that conversation constructive instead of destructive. While all the votes are not counted yet (as of the time I am writing this - 9:10 AM EST on November 9, 2016), Donald Trump has won enough electoral votes to win the Presidential election.  He will likely lose the popular vote, though practically speaking the difference is nominal (0.1286%).  That means that our country is divided almost exactly in half when it comes to electing our Preside...

I am Attorney [INSERT NAME HERE] and I FIGHT for my clients! This is a common description on an attorney's website.  They want you to know that they would be your champion!  If you hire them you won't have to worry about your problem anymore.  They'll take that monkey off your back. But is that true?  Is it realistic?  Is it really what you want? While the job of an attorney is often described as zealous advocacy, to equate that with fighting is to misunderstand the work of an effective attorney.  Zealous advocacy means that your attorney is working hard to accomplish your goals.  Unless your goal is to create conflict and start an expensive legal battle, then "fighting" is probably the last thing you want your attorney to start with. Consider these two examples: Example 1 - The Stolen Website Copy: You find out that one of your competitors has stolen copyrighted material from your website and reprinted it on their website.  You call y...

Guest post from Rackham Karlsson. * A man goes to the doctor with chest pain. The doctor finds a small growth next to his heart. The growth can be removed, but it’s a very delicate operation due to the location. The doctor offers the man the choice of two surgeons: Surgeon A is highly specialized. She has extensive experience with this type of surgery and has a tremendous success rate. “However,” the surgeon says, “Because I’ve chosen to focus my work on this type of surgery, there is a chance that we would want to bring in another surgeon if something goes wrong during the procedure. I don’t expect it, but it could happen.” Surgeon B is a generalist, a Swiss Army knife of surgeons. He has some experience with this type of surgery, but it’s not the focus of his practice. “I can handle any situation that comes up during the surgery,” he boasts. “I wouldn’t want you to limit your options and have to change surgeons in the middle of the procedure.” Which surgeon would you choo...

One of my favorite NSFW musicals is Avenue Q , where the main character (a puppet / liberal arts graduate), spends most of the story  trying to find his purpose in life.  I think it strikes a chord with me because I am constantly re-examining whether my work reflects my values.  When Attorney Trask left Kelsey & Trask, P.C. last year, I was given an opportunity to reconsider how this firm reflected what I, personally, found most important. Throughout the last year, that self-reflection has resulted in some changes that helped us focus more on our dispute resolution work and resulted in the creation of Skylark Law & Mediation, P.C. - where we help families resolve conflict. That has become the central theme of our work and with that focus we have removed some practice areas and added others, and we have grown our staff to cover those new practice areas. First, what have we removed?  Skylark Law & Mediation, P.C. will no longer be handling bankrup...