Hello Collaborative Section members!
It’s been a singular year. I tell my clients that every time we accomplish agreement in small ways, we are building a foundation for the future. They know what is possible in the future, because they’ve already accomplished it in the past.
The same is true for us. We know that the collaborative practice model will endure in the future, come what may, because it has not only endured but adapted and thrived in this past difficult year. Changing the practicalities of how we do what we do doesn’t change truth: the collaborative problem-solving model gives our clients their best opportunity for an optimal and sustainable future.
The Collaborative Law Section has accomplished much this year. Don’t miss our Section Report in the July/August edition of the Texas Bar Journal. Also, be looking for exciting news about the imminent launch of our new website, and a newly established scholarship at South Texas College of Law Houston for law students who enroll in a collaborative law course, in memorial of Ruth L. Rickard.
Please renew your membership in our section for just $25 via your My Bar Page! Here are four great reasons why your $25 dues are one of the best investments you will make in your own practice this year.
- Promote your collaborative practice – Just because you build it, they may not come. The Section provides resources and practice tips in our newsletters and programs that you can put into effect immediately to expand your practice, whether formally or ‘collaborative by stealth.’
- FREE CLE – On July 16 we are offering a FREE stellar program, Creative Negotiating to Achieve More with the Likeable Lawyers team, which will give you 2.5 hours, including 1 hour of ethics. We also produce FREE one hour CLE webinars during the year. And did I mention they are all FREE??
- Build the collaborative community – We are collaborative lawyers because we believe the best outcomes are the work of many, not lone rangers. The section offers opportunities for professional networking, visibility, and education, in civil and family law, both in the bar community and for the public.
- Invest in the future – Section activities include funding scholarships for collaborative training in law school, and exploring potential for innovation to make collaborative processes more accessible to more clients.
It has been an honor to serve as your chair this year. I hope to see you on Zoom on July 16.
Sincerely,
Laura Schlenker, Chair
Collaborative Law Section
State Bar of Texas
Join Us for a CLE Webinar – Friday, July 16
Our long-awaited annual program from 2020 has been scheduled as a live, interactive Zoom event for 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 16. This will be followed by a very brief section meeting for the introduction of the nominated incoming council for the 2021-2022 bar year.
For the CLE presentation, are pleased to finally welcome the creative legal team behind The Likeable Lawyer®, Brian Hammer and Jeffrey Stec.
Creative Negotiating to Achieve More:
How Expansive Negotiation and Lessons from Improvisation
Will Better Achieve More of Everyone’s Needs in Negotiation
Friday, July 16
10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CDT
FREE
2.5 hours MCLE credit, including one hour ethics
This interactive presentation builds on the interest-based negotiation model, enhanced and deepened by unique elements developed by The Likeable Lawyer. Brian Hammer and Jeff Stec borrow from improvisational acting and their unique Expansive Negotiation model that will increase creative input into most any negotiation, while lowering stress, and creatively expanding the pie so that everyone gets more of what they really want. This program will add to your collaborative skills, engage you with exercises to integrate the new material, and entertain, inspire and leave you with new tools to facilitate getting to more expansive solutions whenever you negotiate.
Officer and Council Nominations for 2021-2022
Section Annual Meeting and Elections – July 21
The section’s Annual Meeting and elections will be held via email survey on Wednesday, July 21.
That morning, you will receive another email containing a link to cast your vote (you will have 24 hours to do so) based on the section’s proposed slate of officers and council members, listed below.
The Nominating Committee is pleased to present the following slate of nominees to be elected to the 2021-2022 Collaborative Law Section Council:
OFFICERS
Chair: Jill Lowe*
Vice Chair: Chris Farish
Vice Chair, Family: Cindi Barella Graham
Vice Chair, Civil: Anne Shuttee
Secretary: Dianne Carlson
Treasurer: Constance Mims
* Per the section’s bylaws, current Chair Laura Schlenker automatically ascends to the position of immediate past chair for the 2021-2022 bar year. Due to the passing of our 2020-2021 Vice Chair Ruth Rickard, who would have automatically ascended to chair, our section Secretary Jill Lowe has been nominated as chair.
COUNCIL
Term Expires 2024
Richard Shannon
The voting window will begin at 8 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 21 and close at 8 a.m. CDT Thursday, July 22.
Only current section members in good standing may vote. Proxy votes will not be accepted and duplicated votes will be discarded.