Dear Colleagues,
In response to Pauline's first question, The Collaborative Family Law
Association (CFLA) Bylaws state in part:
Termination of Membership. The Board of Directors may, by affirmative vote
of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members of the Board, fail to renew
membership, suspend, or expel a member of any class for failure to comply
with participation requirements, acts inconsistent with 8
membership, failure to pay dues or assessments, or for such other reasons as
may be determined by the Board of Directors, in its discretion.
*******
We have a different set of membership requirements for each role - attorney,
coach, child specialist, and financial neutral. They are fairly lengthy. I
will need more time to respond to Pauline's second question.
Yvonne
Yvonne Homeyer
Attorney & Mediator
Law Office of Yvonne Homeyer
225 South Meramec Ave., Suite 821
Saint Louis (Clayton), MO 63105
(314) 863-3321 Telephone
<mailto:Yvonne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Yvonne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<http://www.StLouisFamilyLaw.com> www.StLouisFamilyLaw.com
From: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2015 4:00 PM
To: collablaw
Subject: Re: [CollabLaw] Practice group policies for "non-collaborative"
members
Yvonne, I'm delighted to hear that your practice group did decide to adopt
and is having success with the recommendation of annual membership
applications and of using annual "re-up" requirements to address specific
needs of the practice community. I recall a vigorous and productive
conversation during the "Master Class" in St. Louis several years ago about
how your group could deal with members who don't take the time to learn best
practices and who as a result work contrary to the interests of the clients
and the practice community. The way your group is encouraging member
development while not tolerating poor quality sounds exemplary.
Would you share the portion of your by-laws that gives the Board this
authority over membership? It sounds like a very useful approach. And
would you share an example of current membership requirements? It sounds to
me as if your practice group has really done a fine job of using carrots and
sticks to ensure a committed and very competent roster of members.
Best, Pauline
Pauline H. Tesler
Law Offices of Tesler & Sandmann
Mailing Address: 38 Miller Avenue, Number 128, Mill Valley, California 94941
(415) 383-5600
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On Fri, Jan 23, 2015 at 1:29 PM, 'Yvonne Homeyer'
yvonne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [CollabLaw] <CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The St. Louis practice group, Collaborative Family Law Association (CFLA),
has annual membership. Each year, all members submit a renewal application.
It doesn't address the behavior issues you ask about in your email, but by
having all memberships expire on 6/30 every year, and all members having to
reapply ever year, we can control membership one year at a time. Our
practice group has time limits for associate members to complete all
trainings, time limits for all members to complete cross-trainings,
attendance/participation requirements, and other membership requirements.
Compliance is tracked annually.
We don't have a formal process for addressing the types of concerns you
raise but our Bylaws give the Board of Directors ultimate authority over
membership. A serious violation, such as ignoring the withdrawal provision,
would probably end up in front of the Board for action.
Yvonne Homeyer
Attorney & Mediator
Law Office of Yvonne Homeyer
225 South Meramec Ave., Suite 821
Saint Louis (Clayton), MO 63105
(314) 863-3321 <tel:%28314%29%20863-3321> Telephone
Yvonne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.StLouisFamilyLaw.com
From: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2015 10:26 AM
To: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [CollabLaw] Practice group policies for "non-collaborative" members
Greetings,
As Virginia has not adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Rules/Act, my
local practice group is wondering if any similarly situated groups have
state or local policies or procedures for suspending/terminating members who
consistently fail to act in accordance with the generally accepted
collaborative rules while participating in collaborative divorce cases
(e.g., refusing to keep any communications between group members from
clients, refusing to use a coach in any cases, verbally attacking the
opposing party, etc.)
Thank you in advance for any assistance you might provide.
