ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2025

The Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals welcomes proposals for presentations at our 13th Annual Conference, May 8-10, 2025. The conference will be held at the Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa in Delray Beach, Florida.

The theme of the conference is BRANCHING OUT: Expanding Collaborative.

The growth of Collaborative Process as the option for family law matters and beyond depends on our relationships. Relationships with members of the team and our clients of course but also with professionals outside the team and with our community at large. Let’s reimagine our relationships with community partners, emerging professionals, legal specialists, and diverse clients. This year’s conference will explore branching out to build strong mutually beneficial relationships which strengthens our community connections, spreads the word about the Collaborative law concept, and expands our reach to clients.

Branching out also encourages practitioners to think differently about collaborative practice – whether by involving new types of professionals, using Collaborative process for different types of matters other than divorces, considering models that differ from your day-to-day practice, or using new technologies in our process. Join us as we continue to grow as a collaborative community embedded in our larger communities. Share your unique ideas and new tools through presentations that expand connections within the various communities in which we are rooted and broaden our reach to meet the needs of evolving clients with varied challenges.

Not currently practicing in Florida? Please consider submitting a proposal to create connections to colleagues and to share fresh ideas from your state, region, or country! Potential presenters practicing in Florida will also be looking for opportunities to present in a panel with professionals from outside of Florida. In-state speakers selected to present will be provided with a $50.00 discount off conference registration. Out-of-state speakers selected to present will be provided with free conference registration.

Interdisciplinary presenters/panels are welcome and encouraged. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Domestic violence in Collaborative matters (specifically seeking proposals on this topic)
• Ethical issues in Collaborative matters (specifically seeking proposals on this topic)
• Collaborative Models: Fitting the Model to the Family
• Varying Collaborative Models: Do They Work or Not?
• Original and Creative Options to Address Challenging Forensic Issues in Collaborative Matters
• Creative Use of Outside Advisors, Specialists, and Experts
• Marketing Plans for the New Collaborative Professional
• Technology and AI Solutions for Collaborative Cases
• Trust and Estate Challenges and Collaborative Solutions
• Pre- and Post-Nuptial Issues in Collaborative Process
• Collaborative Dispute Resolution Services in Post Divorce Conflicts
• Collaborative Marital Dispute Resolution: Besides Divorcing
• Application of Collaborative Solutions in Business Separation Issues
• Application of Collaborative Process in Multi-ethnic, Religious or Cultural Marital Dissolution
• Initiatives to Invest in the Next Generation of Collaborative Professionals
• Creating Educational and Practice Partnerships (with law schools and graduate schools training mental health professionals and financial professionals)
• Creating Partnerships with Our Community (i.e., with non-profit organizations, legal aid, judiciary, banks, social services, religious organizations, other dispute resolution organizations, bar
• associations, associations for mental health professionals, associations for financial professional, etc.)
• Methods to Connect Professionals Who Can Serve Clients not Currently Served by the Collaborative Community
• Collaborative and Mediation Paths: How Can They Work Together?
• Discussion between Collaborators and Mediators about Models
• Complex Financial Problems in Mediation and Collaboration
• Ethical Issues Raised in ABA Formal Opinion 513 (Duty to Inquire and Disclose) and its Impact on Collaborative Family Law Cases

Please design your 75-minute conference workshop for beginner, intermediate, or advanced experience levels. Presentations may be general or discipline specific for lawyers, mental health neutrals, financial neutrals, or allied professionals.

THE DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS 11:59 PM, November 15, 2024.

NO EXCEPTIONS