COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE WORKSHOPS

Victoria Smith is Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she teaches Collaborative Lawyering to upper year law students. Victoria provides workshops on the collaborative process, communication and negotiation skills needed for effective practice, and collaborative advocacy, to lawyers and collaborative professionals throughout North America and internationally.

Victoria's two day introduction to Collaborative Practice Interdisciplinary workshops focuses on understanding the core concepts of Collaborative Practice, including the evolution from traditional adversarial advocacy to collaborative advocacy, understanding the choreography of a collaborative case and the roles of the Collaborative Professionals. Her three day Collaborative Skills workshops address the key skills needed to be an effective collaborative practitioner, including interest based negotiation, effective communication skills, moving beyond impasse, managing strong emotion, the meaning of advocacy in a collaborative context, and the capacity to work in effective teams. Her programs are highly interactive, with much opportunity for participant involvement, demonstration and role plays. Victoria's workshops meet IACP standards and are approved by Collaborative Practice Toronto.

Victoria also provides workshops on advanced negotiation and conflict resolution advocacy workshops tailored to the needs of your collaborative practice group.

References and draft workshop outlines available on request.

EXAMPLES OF WORKSHOPS OFFERED

Introduction to Collaborative Practice. See sample agenda in pdf format

Three Day Collaborative Practice Skills Interdisciplinary Training. See sample agenda in pdf format

Advanced Negotiation See sample agenda in pdf format

Collaborative Advocacy See course description in pdf format

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

October 3, 4 & 5, 2011 Charlottetown, PEI
Collaborative Skills Training
Contact: Jacinta Gallant, jacinta@jacintagallant.ca

November 17, 18, 2011 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Introduction to Interdisciplinary Collaborative Skills Training
Contact: Derek Strouphauer, dstrouphauer@pjrlaw.com

December 1, 2, 2011 Whitby, Ontario
Collaborative Skills Training
Contact: Tom Hamer, jthamer@ehpnf.com

TESTIMONIALS

Please know that your seminar was one of the best I've attended ever.
Julie Rivers, Albuquerque, New Mexico

A fabulous training. I learned so much that is practical and useful in collaborative cases and other cases. One of the top 5 I have ever attended in the 20 years I have been practicing law. I did not want it to end.
Bonnie Robson, West Hartford, Connecticut

I wanted to tell you and Sherri one more time what a truly inspirational seminar that you presented. The group, as a whole, agrees that your presentation was the best legal seminar that we have ever attended. Again, thanks for a very informative and inspirational 2 days.
Bill Forbes, President CCCFLG

Victoria Smith has been instrumental in the development of collaborative family law in Quebec. Ms. Smith has trained the first groups of lawyers in Quebec in collaborative law. Both the process training and the skills training were specifically adapted to the varied needs of each group. Ms. Smith's passion for collaborative law has been contagious and she inspired the participants to commit to this new way of working with families in transition. The training provided by Ms. Smith was an effective combination of the theoretical foundation of the process of collaborative law, demonstrations and illustrations with pertinent examples which reinforced the learning and concise and informative documentation. It was clear to all the participants that Ms. Smith approaches her own teaching and interaction with her students with the same spirit of collaboration she is teaching to use in family disputes. In essence, she leads by example. Without exception, the participants appreciated Ms. Smith's course and expressed admiration for her skills. They came away wanting to practice collaborative family law and believing that they could continue to develop the skills which would allow them to do so successfully.
Louise Woodfine, Chairperson, Training Committee, and Martha Shea, President, Groupe de Droit Collaboratif du Quebec

Truly transformative!
Harvey Savage, Toronto

I have completed my fourth course with Victoria Smith at the helm. She is probably the most effective communicator I have ever met. She creates a secure environment in which to explore and practice listening and communication skills. While it is clear that the collaborative process is foreign to traditional litigation lawyers, we leave the course feeling inspired and hopeful, even enthusiastic to help clients reach their own agreements. Each time I leave her course I feel tremendously satisfied that I've been taught by the very best.
Carolyn Polak, Montreal

PAST WORKSHOPS

2011:

  • Creating Competence and Confidence: Jump-Start your Collaborative Practice!! - with Sherri Goren Slovin - Anchorage, Alaska
  • Collaborative Advocacy - Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Introduction to Collaborative Practice – with Sheila Brown, MSW, RSW, Acc.FM, and Jane Tremblay, CFP, FLMI, CDFA, FDS. – Charlottetown, PEI

2010:

  • Introduction to Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice – with Linda Solomon, LPC, L.M.FT, LCD C. – Syracuse, New York
  • Collaborative Practice – Interdisciplinary Skills Training – with Linda Solomon and Jane Tremblay – Halifax, NS
  • Collaborative Practice – Interdisciplinary Skills Training – with Jane Tremblay and Sheila Brown – York Region, Ontario
  • Collaborative Practice – Interdisciplinary Skills Training – with Jane Tremblay and Sheila Brown – London, Ontario

2009:

  • Collaborative Training – Introduction to Collaborative Practice Process Training – with Jane Tremblay and Sheila Brown – York Region, Ontario
  • Collaborative Practice – Introduction to Collaborative Practice Process Training – with Jane Tremblay and Sheila Brown – London, Ontario
  • Collaborative Practice – Interdisciplinary Skills Training – with Jane Tremblay and Sheila Brown –  York-Durham Region, Ontario

2008:

  • Collaborative Practice – Advanced Collaborative Negotiation Workshop - with Sherri Goren Slovin, JD –  Sonoma, California
  • Collaborative Practice - Introduction to Collaborative Practice - with Jane Tremblay and Sheila Brown – York-Durham Region, Ontario
  • Difficult Divorces - Putting Your Collaborative Skills to the Test - with Sherri Goren Slovin - Hartford, Connecticut

2007:

  • Introduction to Collaborative Practice - with Jacinta Gallant - Toronto, Ontario
  • Collaborative Negotiation, the 8th Annual Networking and Educational Forum, Pre-Forum Institutes, I.A.C.P., Toronto - with Sherri Goren Slovin
  • Mediation and Collaborative Practice, Allies At Last?, the 8th Annual Networking and Educational Forum, I.A.C.P., Toronto - with Sherri Goren Slovin
  • Collaborative Practice Skills Training - with Christopher Arnold – Oshawa, Ontario
  • Intermediate Collaborative Practice Workshop – New Britain, Connecticut - with Sherri Goren Slovin

2006:

  • Collaborative Skills Training - with Dr. Susan Gamache - Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Collaborative Negotiation Workshop - with Sherri Goren Slovin - Bath, England
  • Advanced Collaborative Practice - Hartford, Connecticut
  • Introduction to Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice - with Linda Solomon, Sheila Brown, and Jane Tremblay - Toronto, Ontario
  • Introduction to Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice - with Sherri Goren Slovin, J.D., Linda Solomon, and Jane Tremblay - Los Angeles, California
  • Advanced Collaborative Practice Training - with Sherri Goren Slovin, J.D.- the Berkshires, New York
  • Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice Skills Training - with Dr. Susan Gamache - Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Introduction to Collaborative Practice - Halifax

2005:

  • Advanced Collaborative Practice Skills Training with Dr. Susan Gamache - Toronto
  • Advanced Negotiation Skills Training, with Sherri Goren Slovin
  • Two Module Collaborative Family Law Workshop, with Sherri Goren Slovin - Baltimore
  • Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice Skills Training, with Susan Gamache and Jackie Ramler - Toronto

2004:

  • Train The Trainers - Montreal 2004 CFL Skills Training - Montreal
  • CFL Skills Training - Whitby 2004 CFL Skills Training - Toronto, with Madame Justice June Maresca

2003:

  • CFL Skills Training, with Madame Justice June Maresca - Montreal
  • CFL Process Training, with Madame Justice June Maresca - Montreal
  • CFL Process Training, with Madame Justice June Maresca, Epstein Cole - Toronto

2002:

  • CFL Process Training, with Richard Shields LLB and Judith Ryan LLB, MSW - Barrie

2001:

  • CFL Process Training, with Richard Shields and Judith Ryan - North Bay
  • CFL Process Training, with Richard Shields and Judith Ryan - Toronto
  • CFL Skills Training, with Richard Shields and Judith Ryan - Toronto

2000:

  • CFL Practice Training - Royal Botanical Gardens (with Richard Shields and Judith Ryan)