By Laura Burt, founding member of CCDP
Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals (CCDP) was initially formed in 2001 and was known as Mecklenburg Collaborative Family Law Practice Group. In early 2001, after discussions regarding the need to find a way to resolve family law cases in an effective manner without litigation, Charlotte family law attorneys Marshall Karro, Katie Holliday, and Laura Burt, along with Salisbury attorney, Pam Simon, travelled to Phoenix, Arizona for an introductory Collaborative Law training presented by Stuart (“Stu”) Webb and Pauline Tesler (both widely respected and experienced Collaborative Divorce practitioners).
Excited by the trainings, Karro, Holliday and Burt returned to Charlotte and formed the Mecklenburg Collaborative Family Law Practice Group. Karro, Holliday and Burt organized Collaborative trainings such that other attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals could be Collaboratively trained and become members of the group. Karro, Holliday and Burt, then referred to as the “steering committee,” proceeded to draft proposed membership requirements and codes of conduct for the group. Simon began a thriving Collaborative Divorce practice in Salisbury and was extensively involved in the drafting and passage of Chapter 50, Article 4, of the North Carolina General Statutes entitled, Collaborative Law Proceedings, which was enacted in 2003. With new statutes in place and an excited and motivated group of professionals, Mecklenburg Collaborative Family Law Practice Group was on its way to change the way families divorce in the Charlotte region.
Since 2001, the group has grown and evolved; in 2016, the name was changed to Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals. CCDP now has approximately 65 members including attorneys, divorce coaches, child therapists, and financial neutrals. More importantly, over the years, countless couples in the Charlotte area have been able to use the Collaborative Process to resolve their family law issues in a thoughtful, family-focused way.