14th Annual Conference – November 15, 2021

VaCP 14th Annual Conference on November 15, 2021 from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.

In-person at the Omni hotel in Charlottesville, VA

Morning Session:      The Flexible Potential of the Child Specialist Role

Presented by Natalie Goldberg, LCSW and Lisa Herrick, Ph.D.

We all know that Collaborative teams turn to child specialists to help bring the voices of the children into the process of creating a child-focused parenting plan. However, teams may not realize child specialists can be not only helpful but essential in facilitating settlement for older clients with adult children who want to convey their ideas to their parents. Child specialists can also help shift parents from an impasse about a weekly parenting schedule to finding a compromise that will truly be in their own children’s best interest. Child specialists are able to illuminate the sometimes hidden, or invisible concerns that children have about the changes in their family, and the feedback to parents can create profound insights that help cushion children for the months and years ahead.

This training will also cover:

• Evidenced based data on the benefits of child involvement in decisions regarding parenting time.
• Parameters of the Child Specialist Role and how the role is communicated to the children and parents.
• Methods used by Child Specialists for interviewing children and adolescents including standard questions, child drawings, sentence stems, and sand trays.
• Developmental considerations when interviewing and working with children and adolescents will be discussed
• Examples and anecdotes from cases illustrating the impact of the Child Specialist Role will be provided.
• Implementation of the Child Specialist role in other jurisdictions in the US and abroad.
• How attorneys and mediators can make use of a CS role outside of the Collaborative process

Natalie Goldberg LCSW and Lisa Herrick, PhD will review some of their own experiences as child specialists, and share thoughts about the creative uses of this role.

Extended Business Lunch Meeting:     Changes, Practical Applications and Issues now that the UCLA Statute has been Enacted

Presented by Teresa Cole, JD, Karen Keyes, JD and Cheryl Smith, JD

We worked hard to get the Uniform Collaborative Law Act passed and achieved success! So now what? From intake to case closing, some highlights for practical application. What questions and issues arise because of the new statute? What ethical rules are in play? How does the new statute change the Collaborative Participation Agreement and Collaborative Engagement Agreement we use? Are attorneys required to sign the CPA? What do the Financial Specialists and Mental Health Specialists and other non-party participants need to know? Who can be called to testify? Under what circumstances can an attorney in the “same firm” represent a client in a contested matter? When does the case “end” and how do we communicate that to a client?

Afternoon Session     Maximizing the Role of a Financial Neutral in Unprecendented Times

Presented by Jane O. Rowny, CPA, CFP®, CDFA®. Jamie S. Blum, CPA, CDFA® and Jordan P. Egert, CPA, CDFA, CFE

Shelter in place, working remotely, altered spending, uncertain income, self-quarantine, large increases – large decreases in assets … it’s no wonder many couples getting divorced or thinking of separating during the current pandemic feel overwhelmed, drained, and confused. Join Jane Rowny, Jamie Blum, and Jordan Egert as they discuss how the financial neutral adds value to the team and client experience in moving towards resolution, how and why they can be utilized in a current and post pandemic world, and innovative tools and analysis that may be available to those professionals and spouses in the collaborative process.

Registration Form & Flyer

Non- Member Registration: $275