Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals

Become a Florida Collaborative Professional

The Uniform Collaborative Process Act and the Need for Collaborative Professionals

Now more than ever, the Collaborative Process is gaining momentum in Florida with lawyers, financial professionals, and mental health professionals assisting families navigate their divorce. On July 1, 2017, Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act became law as Section 61.56 Florida Statutes. The Florida Supreme Court adopted Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745, providing Florida divorce lawyers with guidance as to how the Collaborative Process interacts with the court system.

These milestones have contributed to a tremendous increase in the number of Collaborative Process divorces in Florida and require lawyers to affirmatively discuss the Collaborative Process with potential clients as a divorce option.

If you are a lawyer, mental health professional, financial professional, or other professional providing services to families navigating divorce and are interested in helping people with a better divorce on their terms, become a member of your local Collaborative Practice Group and the FACP. Expand your business and your reach by joining the community of Collaborative professionals. Develop tools and resources to understand the Collaborative Process and provide clients with a healthier, more respectful divorce.

The Benefits of Collaborative Practice

Lawyers, financial professionals, and mental health professionals who work with divorcing clients are all finding multiple benefits to Collaborative Process instead of traditional court based divorce.

As a divorce lawyer, you may find that utilizing the Collaborative Process has many of the following benefits:

No more

Waking up in a cold sweat the night prior to court hearings;
Not getting paid for your work;
Being at the mercy of court schedules;
Enduring marathon depositions and mediations;
Engaging with your fellow attorneys as though they are enemies;
Apologizing to clients for unplanned delays, inefficient discovery, unavailability of “opposing counsel”; unfavorable court rulings; and
Shouldering all the burdens of your client’s difficulties.

Instead, you can experience:

Trusting your Collaborative professional colleagues;
Being a member of a team that solves problems rather than making them worse;
Controlling your own schedule;
Empowering clients to be creative;
Getting paid promptly for your work;
Building a warm and supportive relationship with your professional community;
Seeing colleagues as community members and not only competitors; and
Creating a rewarding practice that aligns with your sense of self.

How do I become a Collaborative Professional

Join

Join your local Collaborative Practice Group.

Learn

Complete the 14-hour Introductory Collaborative Practice training (virtually or in person).

Promote

Tell the world that you are eager to practice Collaboratively.

Share the Collaborative Process option with every potential client.

Member Benefits

Join Your Local Collaborative Practice Group

Benefits of belonging to a local Collaborative Practice Group

Become a member of FACP
Get listed on both the local Collaborative Practice Group and the FACP websites
Join an active community building Collaborative Practice
Have access to continuing Collaborative education
Be part of a community that encourages clients to choose Collaborative Process to resolve their disputes
Have the opportunity to become an Accredited Collaborative Professional.

Collaborative Practice Groups of Florida

Click a Group in Your Area to Visit Their Website

Brevard Collaborative Association (Brevard County)
Capital Collaborative Group (Tallahassee)
Collaborative Divorce Team (Palm Beach)
Collaborative Divorce Central Florida (Orlando)
Collaborative Family Law Group of Northeast Florida, Inc. (Jacksonville)
Collaborative Family Law Institute, Inc. (Miami)
Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida (Broward County)
Collaborative Professionals Association of Central Florida (Lakeland)
Collaborative Professionals of Southwest Florida (Ft. Myers)
Hispano Collaborative Professionals
Next Generation Divorce (Tampa Bay)
North Central Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (Gainesville)
Palm Beach Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Inc.
Sarasota Collaborative Family Law Professionals
South Palm Beach County Collaborative Law Group
Tampa Bay Academy of Collaborative Professionals

No group near you? No problem!

Reach out for information on how to become a Collaborative Professional and start a group in your community!

“Yes! I am interested in learning more about becoming a Collaborative Professional and starting a Collaborative Practice Group in my community!”