What is the Team Approach to Collaborative Law?

The Team Approach is an interdisciplinary model and involves engaging other professionals in the collaborative process to directly address the three different estates that exist in every divorce: the psychological estate, the financial estate, and the legal estate. In the Team Approach, a mental health professional ( MHP ), a financial professional (FP), and any other professional necessary to assist the clients to resolution are engaged. These individuals are known as “allied professionals”.

Any seasoned divorce lawyer would agree that divorce is significantly more emotional than it is legal. For years, family lawyers had to wear their “psychological hat” when assisting divorce clients, even though most of them had no formal psychological training. This was also true with the financial end of the divorce. The basic theory behind the Team Approach is that since every divorce client has emotional, financial, and legal needs, the interdisciplinary approach brings to the table expertise in all three areas to treat the “whole” client. The belief is that the interdisciplinary model increases the chances of settlement and that those settlements will be more cost effective, of higher quality, and more durable.

The Collaborative Team Model

The Collaborative Team Model (also known as the Texas Team Model) is an interdisciplinary approach to Collaborative Law. In the Collaborative Team Model, each client hires a collaborative lawyer just like any other collaborative case. The difference is that with referrals from both collaborative lawyers, the clients then jointly engage one neutral MHP and one neutral FP who are on the team from the beginning of the case. Having professionals on the team who are neutral and who are engaged from the beginning of the case are major keys to the success of the Collaborative Team Model.

The MHP is almost always a licensed mental health professional and can be a licensed professional counselor, a psychologist, a marriage and family therapist, etc. The MHP will most likely have extensive training in family dynamics, communications, and relationship issues. The FP is often also a licensed professional, and most often is a financial planner and/or a financial analyst. Experienced collaborative lawyers will only refer their clients to experienced, well-trained (both in their areas of expertise and in the collaborative process), and highly competent allied professionals.

In the Collaborative Team Model, the role of the MHP (also known as the “communications facilitator” or “relationship specialist”) is to manage the emotional side of the case and to assist the parties with making decisions involving the children, if any. The FP’s role is to manage the financial aspects of the case. The lawyers and the allied professionals together comprise the “collaborative team.” The team with its more specialized skill set than just the two collaborative lawyers in a traditional Collaborative Law process, often can more efficiently and effectively address the legal, financial, and emotional needs of the divorcing couple.

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of the Collaborative Team Model, please contact Carla M. Calabrese or Winifred B. Huff at 214-939-3000 and/or read their article  Why You Should Choose the Collaborative Team Model.