Established in 2012 following recommendations from the BC Justice Review Task Force, the BC Collaborative Roster Society (BCCRS, or the Roster) is a provincial organization dedicated to transforming how family disputes are resolved in British Columbia. Its mission is to maintain and support a roster of qualified, experienced professionals—lawyers, mental health practitioners, and financial specialists—who are trained in Collaborative Practice and dedicated to the healthy resolution of family law disputes in our communities.

The Roster aims to provide the public with access to experienced Collaborative Practitioners and to promote excellence in Collaborative Practice.

In addition to maintaining the “list” of experienced Collaborative Practitioners, the Roster offers resources and education to both professionals and the public about Collaborative Practice. It also administers a Pro Bono Collaborative Family Law Project, providing (nearly) free collaborative services to eligible individuals who cannot afford them.

To summarize:

	What we do	How
1	Establish and maintain a list of experienced Collaborative Practitioners	To be a member of the Roster, professionals must have an established level of file experience and must participate in a high level of collaborative education annually.
		The Roster website lists all of our professionals, with contact information and a brief biography.
		Members qualifications are reviewed annually.
2	Support professional excellence	We provide: Annual introductory collaborative practice training for new Collaborative Practitioners; Annual advanced collaborative training for all Collaborative Practitioners; and, On demand training for pro bono Collaborative Practice volunteers.
		Establish and maintain Practice Directives for Collaborative Practitioners
		Create new protocols for use by Collaborative Practitioners, and revise/improve upon existing ones
		Focus on Provincial Outreach
3	Promote awareness of CP	Pro Bono Project
		Involvement with Provincial Court rule changes as it relates to mandatory Consensual Dispute Resolution (CDR)
		Intervention in litigation cases where boundaries of Collaborative Practice are challenged
		Website/Social Media

Q: What is a local practice group and why isn’t the Roster considered a practice group?

A: A local Collaborative Practice Group is a community of professionals who work together to facilitate and foster a non-adversarial approach to dispute resolution, who share a commitment to Collaborative Practice and its principles.

The Roster is not a local group. The Roster is a Provincial organization that currently (as noted above):

1. Maintains a list of skilled Collaborative Practitioners
2. Supports province-wide professional excellence
3. Promote awareness of Collaborative Practice

Q: It seems like most senior Collaborative Practitioners are Roster members, compared to my local practice group. Why is that?

A:To be a member of the Roster, one must be a member of a local practice group and must have signed the requisite number of Participation. Therefore, those same Roster members are also members of your local practice group.

Q: Why is there overlap between what the Roster does and what my local practise group is doing?

A:The Roster is committed to facilitating stronger communication with the provincial practice groups to avoid such duplication of effort. At the moment, we have been:

1. Maintaining our website with information about the Roster
2. Posting monthly updates which are included in the CDV Newsletter
3. Having Roster members attend practice group board members, and reporting back to the Roster Board.
4. We hosted a cross-province meeting in June of 2025, with other collaborative practitioners, from the interior of the province to Vancouver Island.

Ideas we have for stronger communication include:

1. Facilitate an annual online meeting with the provincial practice groups so that we each can share plans and ideas
2. Regular updates to the Roster Website to share planned trainings and other news
3. Provide Roster updates to all provincial practice groups (and not just the CDV)
4. Expand the geographic diversification of the Roster Board and Roster Committees.

Q: What is the relationship between the Roster and the local practice groups?

A: The Roster has no authority over the local practice groups. We are of the view that the local practice groups should determine their own mandate and provide offerings (social, educational, other) to support their membership and to foster Collaborative Practice.

The Roster will continue to provide additional support to all Collaborative Practitioners in the province as set out above.