The goals are simple: reduce conflict, protect children and reduce legal fees by avoiding court. Here are some useful links to get you started:
Collaborative Divorce in Massachusetts – Laurie Israel is a former board member of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council (www.massclc.org). Both Laurie Israel and Karen Van Kooy are members of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. Read Laurie Israel and Karen Van Kooy’ profiles under “Member Profiles”.
Collaborative Divorce – The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) (www.collaborativepractice.com) is a world-wide organization for collaborative lawyers and other collaborative professionals. The website contains useful articles about the collaborative law process and information on collaborative family law. Laurie Israel is a member of the IACP.
The Divorce Center – (www.divorcenter.org) The Divorce Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts, is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to ease the trauma of divorce. The Divorce Center has programs to educate individuals and the community at large about divorce and its effects, and the services available to them. It offers classes of interest to divorcing (and divorced) couples. Its website contains a list of professionals (divorce attorneys, mediators, therapists, and financial experts) working in the field of divorce and family relations.
Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation (www.mcfm.org) – Laurie Israel is a board member of MCFM. MCFM is an organization devoted to the promotion of mediation as a solution to family disputes. Laurie is a frequent contributor to the quarterly publication of MCFM.
MaritalMediation.com (www.maritalmediation.com) Laurie Israel is co-founder with Matt Gross of MaritalMediation.com, a registry and informational source for marital mediators and couples seeking ways to save or preserve their marriages.
Mediate.com (www.mediate.com) – The major national site for mediators and writings about mediation. Laurie Israel is a frequent contributor of artles to mediat.com.
The Association for Conflict Resolution (www.acrnet.org) and The New England Association for Conflict Resolution (www.neacr.org) – ACR is a national organization that trains and educates profesionals in the context of alternative dispute resolution techniques. In July, 2008, Laurie Israel presented at the Family Workshop of ACR in Park City, Utah on “Mediating Prenuptial Agreements” and “Mediation to Stay Married”.
Divorce Source, (www.divorcesource.com) DivorceHeadquarters (www.divorcehq.com) – DivorceSource and DivorceHeadquarters are national internet registries of family law lawyers. The websites also have many articles on family law topics. The experienced family law lawyers in their nationwide network have published many helpful articles on divorce, child custody, child support and spousal support matters. You will find many articles written by Laurie Israel on these websites.