Sherrie R. Abney Scholarship for the Advancement of Civil Collaborative Law Practice
In October, 2014, the Global Collaborative Law Council, founded in 2004, sponsored its 10th Annual Collaborative Law Practice Conference. On the special occasion of the 10th Anniversary of its founding, the Board of Directors established the Sherrie R. Abney Scholarship for the Advancement of Civil Collaborative Law Practice in honor of Sherrie R. Abney, for her many contributions to the advancement of civil collaborative law practice.
Sherrie was a co-founder of the Texas Collaborative Law Council when it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) Texas non-profit corporation in October, 2004. In 2009, the Board determined that the mission of GCLC extended beyond the Texas border, and changed the name to Global Collaborative Law Council. Into its second decade, GCLC is proud to have members from coast to coast in the United States, and in Canada, Australia, India,, Spain, France, Brazil and the Czech Republic.
Sherrie was responsible for the creation of the Dallas Bar Association Collaborative Law Section, and served as its first chair. She was a charter member of the Collaborative Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and served as its Chair in 2015-16. She was a charter member of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Collaborative Law Committee, and currently serves as chair of its Expanding Collaborative Practice sub-committee.
Sherrie has published numerous articles on collaborative law, written case studies for trainings and developed numerous power points for presentations; and, she is always ready and willing to write another article or give another presentation. She has authored two books on Civil Collaborative Law: Avoiding Litigation: A Guide to Civil Collaborative Law, and a textbook, Civil Collaborative Law; a road less traveled. For several years, she was an Adjunct Professor at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, teaching a three hour course in Civil Collaborative Law.
Sherrie has contributed greatly to advancing collaborative practice beyond family law, nationally and internationally, by training professionals in the process and educating the public as to the benefits of the process. Her travels to give presentations and conduct trainings in the civil collaborative process have taken her from coast to coast in the United States, and to Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, Uganda, Argentina and Brazil.
The Sherrie R. Abney Scholarship, in an amount equal to the registration fee for GCLC’s Annual Conference, will be awarded annually to a GCLC member who has made significant contributions to advance civil collaborative law practice, by regular attendance at the Annual Conference and participation in activities that support the mission of Global Collaborative Law Council. The selection will be made by a committee, consisting of the President, Executive Director and Chair of the Scholarship Committee, and presented to the recipient at the Annual Conference.
The Board of Directors is please to honor an individual who unselfishly contributes her time, talent and treasure to the advancement of civil collaborative law practice.
