Welcome
Every collaborative team has legal expertise.
Some have financial expertise.
Others include child specialists.
A Collaborative Coach brings something different.
They help hold the process.
Collaborative Practice asks a great deal of separating couples. It invites them to have difficult conversations, manage big emotions, remain open to different perspectives and make important decisions about their future—all while navigating one of life’s most challenging transitions.
That’s not easy.
A Collaborative Coach helps clients participate in the process with greater confidence, clarity and emotional readiness, while supporting the professional team to maintain respectful, productive conversations.
At Brisbane Family Mediation Centre, Michael Foote works alongside collaborative lawyers, financial professionals and other specialists to support the people behind the legal issues.
When clients feel prepared, the whole process works better.
Separation is never just a legal process.
It’s a human one.
Michael Foote is an experienced Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with a calm, practical and compassionate approach to helping families navigate conflict.
As Collaborative Coach, Michael works alongside collaborative lawyers throughout the process, supporting clients, preparing them for meetings, helping manage difficult conversations and ensuring everyone stays focused on what matters most.
His role isn’t to provide legal advice.
It isn’t to advocate for either party.
His role is to support the process itself.
Michael helps clients understand what’s expected of them, prepares them to participate constructively and assists the professional team to create an environment where respectful problem-solving can occur.
For lawyers, that often means clients who arrive better prepared, meetings that are more productive and conversations that stay focused on solutions rather than conflict.
Michael is also a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, bringing extensive experience in family dynamics, communication and dispute resolution to every collaborative matter.
The Collaborative Coach is often described as the person who “holds the process.”
While lawyers focus on legal advice, the coach focuses on helping everyone participate well.
Sometimes the greatest value of a Collaborative Coach isn’t obvious until the meeting that could have unravelled… doesn’t.
Michael meets with each client individually to understand their goals, explain the collaborative process and prepare them for what lies ahead.
Working closely with the collaborative lawyers, Michael helps prepare everyone for productive joint meetings by identifying concerns, clarifying expectations and building confidence.
Michael supports and facilitates the collaborative conversations, helping clients communicate effectively while assisting the professional team to maintain a respectful, solution-focused process.
Following each meeting, Michael debriefs with clients, prepares them for the next stage and continues supporting the collaborative team until resolution is achieved.
A Collaborative Coach can add enormous value to many collaborative matters, particularly where:
Collaborative Coaching isn’t about removing emotion.
It’s about helping clients navigate emotion well enough to continue making thoughtful decisions.
Collaborative professionals often tell us that having a Collaborative Coach helps them:
Ultimately, the coach helps create the conditions where collaborative practice can do what it was designed to do.
At Brisbane Family Mediation Centre, we believe certainty benefits both professionals and clients.
Our Collaborative Coaching services are offered on a simple fixed-fee basis.
$770 (incl gst)
$1,650 (incl gst)
$1,650 (incl gst)
For a deeper exploration of Collaborative Practice, team roles and the collaborative mindset, we recommend:
Collaborative Practice – A Guide for Professionals
By Clarissa Rayward
We’d love to work alongside you.
Brisbane Family Mediation Centre
