Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

When: Thursday, November 7, 2024, 9:00AM to 4:00PM
Where: University Club @ University of Victoria and on Zoom

Registration Form and Instructions

Description:

The Collaborative Process and a commitment to co-operate out of court resolution requires a significant change in how professionals conduct themselves in family law matters. This “paradigm shift” involves a fundamental change in how the parties and professionals think, feel, act, and speak during the Collaborative or cooperative process. This shift can be challenging for professionals, who have successfully used specific positional or strategic skills in their various practices before becoming Collaborative professionals. However, once a commitment to practice Collaboratively or cooperatively has been made, there are many instances when the professionals fall back into old habits.

What accounts for these relapses? What makes working cooperatively so challenging? Why do well-meaning Collaboratively-trained professionals suffer from these slips? And, most importantly, what can the professionals do when these slips (“Wolf” behavior) occur?

This training will detail “Wolf” behaviors and share strategies to enable practitioners committed to cooperative, out-of-court resolution to overcome actions that interfere with productive interactions between professionals and the behaviors of the parties.

While portions of this training will be directed at the Collaborative Process, the training is specifically designed to be useful for professionals interested learning more about this process and those who may not be specifically trained in Collaborative practice but are committed to assisting families resolve family law matters outside of the court system.

Trainers:

Lana Stern
Lana M. Stern, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator. She has been a practicing psychologist in the Miami area for the past 30 years and is an active and enthusiastic proponent of the Collaborative Process. Lana has worked extensively on Collaborative family law cases as the MHP/Facilitator. She is a member of IACP, is a Board member of FACP, immediate past Co-President of the Collaborative Family Law Institute of Miami, and Co-Founder of the Florida Collaborative Trainers.

Robert Merlin
Robert J. Merlin, Esquire, has been practicing law in Miami, Florida for over 45 years. He is Florida Bar Board Certified in Marital and Family Law, is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, is an Adjunct Professor of Collaborative Law at the University of Florida Law School and is an FACP Credentialed Collaborative Professional. Bob was on the Board of IACP for 6 years, he is the Immediate Past President of FACP, and he owns Florida Collaborative Trainers with Lana Stern.