"Writing with clarity and grace, Pauline Tesler, an experienced family practitioner proposes a new model for family practice and a new identity for the attorney. Arguing that the traditional adversarial approach often impairs the capacity of one or both parents to rebuild their lives or copartner their children, Tesler offers a new legal process called Collaborative Law that aims to contain the passions of clients, soften the aggressive stance of the attorneys and by a range of imaginative, carefully constructed strategies succeeds in settling the issues fairly and without rancor, outside the court. Children who suffer for years because of their parents continued animosity would benefit enormously from legal interventions that are sensitive to their concerns. Collaborative Law is a bold and very welcome advance for the legal profession and a brilliant attempt to move the field forward. A must read for every family practitioner."

Judith Wallerstein, PhD
Researcher and author of The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study
San Francisco, CA

"Having spent more than 10 years sitting (happily) as a family law judge, I might not be expected to be a big fan of a book that offers a revolutionary alternative to the practice of divorce law as we know it. But it is clear to me that this excellent book presents a sort of magna carta for family lawyers and their clients who are struggling through the angry jungle we have created for them. I predict that Ms. Tesler's work and this book will be remembered for years as part of a major shift toward a more humanitarian way of practicing family law."

Judge Roderic Duncan, retired Superior Court family law judge, mediator, arbitrator and private judge with the American Arbitration Association
San Francisco, CA

"Collaborative law represents a sea change in our legal system, and it has the potential to restore the practice of law to its rightful place as a helping profession. Pauline Tesler's work, the first book-length treatment of this subject, expertly prepares the willing lawyer to begin the journey to becoming a collaborative practitioner. Every lawyer, and particularly every family law attorney, should read this book."

David A. Hoffman, Esq.
Hill & Barlow, P.C.
Boston, MA

"Collaborative law is an idea whose time has come, and this book is the resource that will allow lawyers to learn about it and to begin to practice collaboratively. No longer will clients have to suffer the costly, stressful, and highly antitherapeutic effects of litigating divorce and child custody matters, and no longer will lawyers have to feel that, in helping their clients, they may actually have harmed them. This is must-reading for all lawyers seeking a new and more humane way to practice their profession."

Bruce J. Winick, Professor of Law
University of Miami School of Law
Coral Gables, FL

"In five decades of family law litigation a nagging voice has persisted, whispering the questions Pauline Tesler has asked and answered out loud. 'Who am I? Who is my client? What is my task, really? And finally, how do I do my very best work for my client to accomplish this task?' Collaborative Law lights the way, and shows in very practical terms how to make "who we are" and "what we do" as family lawyers one and the same. I can't wait to get started."

Donald R. Royall
The Royalls Law Firm
Houston, TX

"As far as I'm concerned, collaborative law is the most significant development in family law since the advent of no fault divorce, and Pauline Tesler's book is the "must have" cornerstone of any library on the subject. Tesler's "Collaborative Law: Achieving Effective Resolution in Divorce Without Litigation" is a manual in the best sense of the word. It guides the practitioner, step by step, through the necessary paradigm shift into the brave new world of collaboration. It will never leave my desk, and I know I will refer to it often as I sail the uncharted waters of this revolutionary approach to divorce representation."

Norma Levine Trusch
Houston, Texas

"After reading Pauline Tesler's new book, Collaborative Law, I felt that a significant and creative contribution had been made to the field of family law. This new process offers to the majority of family lawyers and families the very thing that they have all been asking for - a mutual commitment to a resolution avoiding litigation without sacrificing protection and competent counsel."

Melvin A. Rubin
Coral Gables, FL

This practical, comprehensive, and well-written guide reexamines the concept and purpose of a family lawyer in light of the innovative "collaborative" concept. It then details the principles, techniques, and logistics for implementing this innovative approach to divorce resolution.

At the heart of this book is the detailed map for transforming a lawyer from warrior to healer.

Tesler skillfully shows how family lawyers can shift their definition of "success" from the adversarial "win for my client" to the collaborative "win for all." With this shift is the formula for protecting the children from bad divorces.

As the missing link between mediation and litigation, Tesler's Collaborative Law model shows how to balance legal support, generate integrative solutions, and fundamentally alter the mind-sets of the disputants and their lawyers.

Focusing as much on the psychological well being of the divorcing family as on the substantive issues, Pauline Tesler's Collaborative Law enlightens divorce work with humanistic principles of integrity, kindness, and respect. What a sensible way to do a divorce!

Dare to read this book only if you dare to change your very way of thinking!

Donald T. Saposnek, Ph.D.
Editor, Association for Conflict Resolution's Family Mediation News
University of California at Santa Cruz
Aptos, CA