Collaborative Professionals of Washington

Collaborative Professionals of Washington is the official site of CPW. CPW is a non-profit association of independent collaboratively trained attorneys, mental health professionals, financial professionals, and other professionals trained in the collaborative practice, also referred to collaborative law. Collaborative Practice is an alternative dispute resolution process where both parties are represented by attorneys, but they agree not to go to court. Instead, they sign a participation agreement stating that they will stay out of court, and using the collaborative process they will work to resolve the legal issues related to their dispute. The collaborative process may involve the use of allied specialists such as coaches, facilitators, financial specialists, child specialists, and other collaborative team members as needed and agreed to by the parties. Collaborative Practice can result in less stress for the parties, is often less expensive (less costly), and often resuls in a faster resolution of the legal issues when compared to litigation in court. This is especially true in divorce and family law matters.