Collaborative Lawyers of Alamada and Contra Costa


	"While it was still a painful and emotional time for me, the Collaborative Process provided the tools, the freedom and the support to guide me and my husband to a mutual end so that we could continue on with our lives. And, by allowing us, with facilitation and coaching, to fully participate in the settlement discussions to reach our agreements, we came to own not only our divorce process but our ongoing relationship, which will continue well beyond the final decree." - Client

You may have heard about the collaborative process from your friends, from the media or from your spouse/partner and may want to learn more about it. This web site will give you useful information. See Why Choose Collaborative? and our FAQ section.

Your next step may be to call one of the experienced attorneys on the CLAAC Member List on this website to discuss the collaborative process and/or arrange for a consultation. The attorney can provide you specific information about how the process will work for you and your family and will answer your questions about Collaborative Law.

Then you should discuss the collaborative law process with your spouse/partner. Encourage him/her to visit this website.

When you both decide that collaborative divorce is appropriate for you, the next step will be for each of you to retain a collaborative attorney. If you have not yet done so, each of you should contact a CLACC member attorney. When you meet with your collaborative lawyer, you will discuss the details of the collaborative process, as well as other possible professional members of the collaborative team and how the team approach works. This is also a good time to discuss your needs, your goals and your concerns with the attorney.

The next step is to schedule a meeting between you, your spouse and both attorneys. During that meeting we will talk further about the details of the collaborative process and sign the collaborative agreements. A crucial part of the first meeting is for each of you to describe what you hope to accomplish through this process as well as your plans and goals for the future. You will also discuss the issues which are important to each of you and shall be assisted by your attorneys in prioritizing them. We will then set the agenda and dates for future meetings.