August 2006 Newsletter

Mark Your Calendars- The CLI-MN Event of the Year! “Making the Connection” a dialogue with Talia Katz

Please join us Tuesday, September 19, 2006 for a dialogue with Talia Katz, Executive Director for the International Academy of Collaborative Practioners (IACP). Learn more about what is going on here in Minnesota, what exciting things are being planned within the IACP, and how collaborative practice is spreading worldwide… share your own views and thoughts.

Where: Embassy Suites Hotel, 2800 American Blvd, Bloomington, MN Time: Check in at 1:30, Dialogue starts at 2:00pm Reception to follow from 4:00-6:00pm (cash bar)

No cost. RSVP required, space is limited. Please RSVP to Molly/Crystal at 952-405-2020 or ca@ajwfinancial.com.

Click here for more details.

Your Board and Committee members are working hard for you. In addition to this main event, smaller dialogues are taking place earlier in the day, with local mediators and judges. (Earn two activity credits!)

Message from the President:

As many of you know, I attended the Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative Summer Learning Forum in June. One of the two courses I took was called “Generative Change: Transforming Organizations as Living Systems”. The course was facilitated by two dynamic systems thinkers: William Isaacs, Senior Lecturer at MITs Sloan School of Management and author of Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, and David Marsing, former vice-president of Intel Corporation, who works closely with William Isaacs to teach managers, consultants and others in organizations how to apply the “generative change paradigm” successfully.

I was interested in this course as the current President of CLI because I hoped to better understand how organizations change and grow as needed to attain the vision of the organization. (As it turned out, the course was applicable to my life and practice as a lawyer which struck me in quite profound ways as well.) What I would like to share with you is my view of just how well designed CLI is as an organization to bring about its vision of “transforming family dispute resolution into a healing process through collaborative practices.”

Click here to read more.

By Linda Wray, President Collaborative Law Institute

NEWS FLASH FROM CLI TRAINING COMMITTEE Nov. 9 & 10, 2006: “INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE”

National Trainers: Victoria Smith & Susan Gamache Internal 2-day training – 12 hrs credit applied for Intermediate and advanced concepts; Demonstrative/Interactive/Participatory Cost - $375

SIGN UP NOW! Call Jo at (763) 566-8800 and send checks to: CLI, 6160 Summit Dr. N., Suite 425, Minneapolis, MN 55430.

New CLI Member Recruitment

Is there someone out there who you think would make a great addition to CLI? Please invite them to join the Institute TODAY! Direct them to www.collaborativelaw.org and to “Become A Member”. They’ll need to follow a few quick instructions. If you would like to have CLI extend an invitation to them to attend the upcoming Townhall Meeting on Tuesday, September 19 to learn more about our organization and the worldwide movement, please contact Molly at 952-405-2020 or email her at ca@ajwfinancial.com.

CLI List Serve

If you are not on the CLI list serve, and would like to be, please contact Ann Schaibley at ann@mnlaw.us for your invitation. If you are really computer savvy, go to www.groups.yahoo.com/group/collaborativelaw and click on “Join This Group”. Follow the instructions and you are on your way to receiving important announcements, interesting discussions, and NO ADVERTISING!!!

Join the Membership Committee!!!

Our next meeting is scheduled for September, 8 2006 at 4:00 p.m. at Sunsets Restaurant in Woodbury, just South of 94 on Radio Drive. Hope to see you there!

Committee Update: Marketing

Daisy Camp offers resources and support for divorcing individuals.

“Daisy Camp” just held their 2nd weekend retreat that features speakers providing information on legal, financial, real estate/mortgages, career counseling, well-being and motivational speakers from the Twin Cities. The founder, Jennifer Morris has invited several CLI members to speak at these sessions, and she is helping us to spread the word about collaborative practice. Consider recommending upcoming events to your clients- they will surely thank you for the opportunity to educate themselves as they work through their divorce, and to connect with others are at a similar point in their lives. The next session is being held on Saturday, September 9th. Visit www.daisycampforyou.com to learn more.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Human Resource

The EAP/HR Outreach Subcommittee has developed a marketing plan focused on building relationships with HR Managers of local companies with a size of 50-200 employees. If anyone has contact information for HR managers or decision makers in these mid-sized companies, please let us know.

By providing a good reference, you can help us spread the word about Collaborative Law! You can contact Carol Devitt at 952-351-4663 or cdevitt@virchowkrause.com.

Website/Newsletter Committee - Call For Volunteers:

Once again, we are looking for people interested in volunteering for CLI. If you have a flair for writing we are looking for someone to help write the spotlight piece for the bimonthly newsletter. If you are interesting, please contact Amy Wolff at amy@ajwfinancial.com or call 952-405-2000. This is a great opportunity to become involved with CLI!

The Collaborative Pulse

Divorce Closure Ceremony

An option now available for parties to a collaborative divorce is to create a ceremony to provide closure for them in a meaningful way. Surprisingly, there has been a considerable amount of material written on this topic in recent years. Such a ceremony is a natural adjunct to collaborative practice because it fits into both the concept of collaborative law as a healing process and compliments the expanding awareness of the spiritual dimension of the services we provide.

As we continue to grow and mature as a discipline it is increasingly appropriate that we begin to recognize the responsibility we have to our clients to offer them the opportunity to create their very own ceremony at the close of their case.

Click here to read more.

By Bruce D. Peck Collaborative Practice

Minnesota Member Spotlight: Goldstein Law Office Publishes Federal Summary Guide

Charles Goldstein, a member of the Collaborative Law Institute, has completed and released a published summary guide of federal statutes impacting family law issues. The guide summarizes applicable federal statutes for the ease of practitioners throughout the United States and worldwide.

There is a substantial body of federal law that can influence family law decisions in state courts. Mr. Goldstein identified a need to summarize federal statutes applicable to family law due to the unavailability of a usable resource for practitioners which summarizes key components of the statutes.

Federal statutes impacting family law include adoption, bankruptcy, domestic abuse, health insurance, immigration, military, parental kidnapping, retirement benefits, social security, and support. Though family law is regulated primarily by Minnesota state statutes and case law, the scope of federal law often extends to and determines the issues in family law actions in Minnesota and those involving any individuals in a family law matter under the jurisdiction of United States laws.

The “Goldstein Reference Guide to Selected Federal Statutes Impacting Family Law” will not only be useful to lawyers in Minnesota, but also for practitioners in other states and internationally. Family law attorneys who primarily deal with state law will benefit from the highly readable and accessible format of the summary, particularly those who do not regularly deal with cases affected by federal statutes. Attorneys confronted with family law issues will be able to readily access information on federal statutes without having to maintain treatises on various areas of federal law.

Mr. Goldstein has generously offered to donate $10 of every book purchased by a member, to CLI-MN. To order the book ($65 per book), please go to www.fmlylaw.com.

Special Book Order Discount!

CLI-MN has the opportunity to purchase a bulk order of books so we can all benefit by obtaining them at a discounted price! We previously placed an order, but a few members have expressed interest in purchasing after the initial deadline. We will put in one more order, assuming we get enough interested members!

The Collaborative Way to Divorce By Stu Webb and Ron Ousky $11.50 - $12.70 Per book + sales tax (You save $12.00/ book!)

Depending on the total quantity ordered, the price will vary. If you are interested, please e-mail ca@ajwfinancial.com or call Molly/Crystal at 952-405-2020 with your desired quantity by September 15, 2006.