Dallas Alliance of Collaborative Professionals

• Resource Documents
• Links
• Articles
• DACP Collaborative Family Law Pro Bono Service Project

Resources & Library

We invite you to review the various collaborative documents, helpful legal links, and articles for additional information.

At its Fall Retreat in November, 2006, the Dallas Alliance of Collaborative Professionals launched an initiative to offer pro bono process mediation and collaborative law services to the family district courts in Dallas County, Texas. The mission of the project is to “offer pro bono collaborative law services to clients of limited financial means with cases pending in Dallas County’s family district courts in consideration of the gratitude felt by members for having been the beneficiaries of the collaborative law process and the value it offers their clients.” Program guidelines for the project and forms were prepared. Permission is granted for groups to use the forms and adapt them as needed in initiating court–annexed Collaborative Practice pro bono programs. Click here to link to Forms. The judges of all the Dallas County family district courts were invited to participate in March, 2007. The following judges all agreed to participate: Hon. David Hanschen of the 254th District Court, Hon. Lori Chrisman Hockett of the 255th, Hon. David Lopez of the 256th, Hon. Lynn Cherry of the 301st, Hon. Tena Callahan of the 302nd, and Hon. Dennise Garcia of the 303rd. All members of DACP have volunteered to serve clients in matters referred by the courts. The project accepted it first mediation referral on March 29, 2007.

"Going to court is an adversarial approach. It is expensive, tends to fan the flames of conflict, results in personal attacks between the parties, and often results in both sides feeling dissatisfied by the end of the case. The choices you make now can have an enormous impact on you and your children for the rest of your life."
– Associate Chief Justice A. B. Sulatycky