The Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals’ origins grew from a local effort to codify one of the first collaborative law statutes in the nation when an ad hoc committee through the Family Law Section of the State Bar was established in 2000. This ad hoc committee’s push ultimately led North Carolina to become the second state to enact a Collaborative Law statute in 2003.
With the enactment of the statute, the ad hoc committee quickly transformed its focus from legislation to the promotion of the Collaborative Divorce process in the Charlotte metropolitan area with the formation of the Mecklenburg County Collaborative Law Practice Group. By the end of 2003, the group’s membership grew to over 36 lawyers. Shortly thereafter, the group began to add critical non-attorney members, such as divorce coaches and financial neutrals, to provide specialized non-legal expert advice in an effort to assist couples going through a divorce. Since then, the Group has added Child Specialists to assist families with issues related to the children of divorcing families.
Throughout its existence, the Group has been active in promoting a dignified, non-adversarial alternative to the traditional adversarial Divorce approaches. The Group’s members have spoken to local religious institutions, mental health providers, as well as other organizations to educate and reach the broader Charlotte Community on the advantages to Collaborative Divorce.
Now approximately twenty years later, the Group continues to grow to meet the needs of families going through a divorce. The Group meets throughout the year for substantive training so that its members keep abreast on current issues related to Collaborative Divorce and sharpen their skills. Although the Group changed its name in 2016 to the Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals, it continues to educate and promote Collaborative Divorce as a better and more effective process to reaching long-lasting resolutions for divorcing families.
As a family lawyer, Eric Trosch believes that trust and honesty are two of the most important qualities. I also believe in the importance of pursuing collaborative law whenever possible. There are many situations where it makes more sense for a client going through the painful process of a divorce, and all of the negotiations that it entails, to utilize a collaborative approach with his/her spouse/partner and make these decisions outside of court. This helps to alleviate the incredible stress that is already present in such family transitions.