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ELPO Law Attorney Selected to Present at International Collaborative Forum in Toronto
by Ashley Carter
ELPO Law attorney, Rebecca Simpson and therapist, Kim Wilson, along with Missy DeArk, a financial expert based in Louisville, Kentucky, were selected by the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) to represent this region as presenters at the 2023 IACP Networking and Educational Forum (International Forum) in Toronto, Canada.
The International Forum was held in Toronto, Canada on October 19-22, 2023, and was heavily attended by attorneys, therapists, and financial professionals from across the globe. On October 21, Simpson, Wilson and DeArk lead a 3-hour presentation: “Talk of the Town: Creative Strategies for Developing Collaborative Communities in Small Towns,” during which Bowling Green, Ky was spotlighted as a model for professionals in other small communities seeking to introduce Collaborative Practice as a dispute resolution option for families going through divorce and custody disputes.
Simpson, a Partner with English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley LLP, has been an attorney for over 23 years and has devoted her career to helping children and families through divorce and custody matters. Wilson is a local therapist who owns and operates Wilson Counseling, LLC and serves as a co-parenting counselor and divorce coach.
Recognizing the damage to families that can result from court room litigation, several local attorneys, and therapists, including Simpson, Wilson, and DeArk, have worked together in recent years to help families resolve disputes without litigation through a process called Collaborative Practice. Together, they developed an educational organization, Southern Kentucky Collaborative Professionals (“SKCP”), to educate the community about Collaborative Practice. More information about SKCP can be found at: http://kyrespectfuldivorce.com/index.html
Collaborative Practice is a unique and voluntary dispute resolution model which provides families the opportunity to reduce the negative impacts of separation by working proactively and cooperatively with teams of collaborative legal, financial, and mental health professionals who educate, support, and guide couples to make their own lasting and respectful resolutions, without resorting to litigation or the intervention of judges.
Collaborative Practice has been steadily growing in the Bowling Green area during the past five to six years; however, this process has been developing world-wide for more than three decades and is the work that inspired the creation of the IACP.
For more information on attorney Rebecca Simpson and collaborative divorce, visit http://www.elpolaw.com/attorneys/rebecca-simpson/
About the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP).
Established in 2001, IACP is an international community of legal, mental health and financial professionals working together to create client-centered processes for resolving conflict. IACP is comprised of over 5,000 members from twenty-eight countries around the world. The organization’s mission is “to transform the way families resolve conflict by building a global community of Collaborative Practice and consensual dispute resolution professionals.” Earlier this year, IACP was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its international efforts in transforming the way families resolve conflict around the world by offering families an alternative to litigation through Collaborative Practice.
