About Me

 I am carl Michael rossi, JD, LPC 

“I help people transform divorce from an ending into a beginning.”

I’ve spent the last ten years helping people create positive separate post-divorce lives by working together. Being divorced myself, I know that this is not where you wanted to be when you got married.  And I know that you are possibly concerned about all the “war” stories about other divorces.  Even if you’ve decided that your marriage has run its course, you likely do not want it to conclude in a battle. I focus my professional efforts primarily in Collaborative Practice because I firmly believe in the ability of individuals to work together; even in the challenging and emotional process of ending a marriage.

As deeply as I believe that, I also understand that the right support in that process is essential.  The ‘right’ support, in my mind, acknowledges you when things are difficult and keeps you focused on your future.  With that focus we can work alongside your soon-to-be-ex in a creative manner to find ways to take what you both had in your marriage and best use it to create what you each will need to move forward. I take a personal interest in each of my clients.  I don’t believe that how any other divorce has happened controls in any way what must or even should happen in yours.

My intention is always to keep our attention on what will work for YOU, what will meet YOUR needs. I believe that you are best supported when you have the right professionals in place.  And by working in Collaborative Practice, that allows for each of you having:

  • a coach in place to work with your individual goals for the future and with communicating them with each other
  •  a common neutral financial professional to show you what various options would look like
  • attorneys to work with you two to make sure that the agreements you two reach can and do meet your anticipated needs…

These  professionals work together to help you two create an agreement that will support you each to meet your post-divorce needs. I look forward to talking with you about your circumstances.  Whether you use my services as an Attorney or as a Coach or as a Mediator…or we discover that I am not the right fit for you…I would enjoy talking with you about the full benefits of Collaborative Practice.

MY BACKGROUND  
In the law…

  • Rossettie and Rosettie ‑ Corning, NY
  • The Legal Aid Society ‑ New York, NY
  • Fordham University School of Law ‑ New York, NY ‑ J.D., 1984 (admitted in New York [1963149] and Illinois [06238518])

In counseling…

  • Private Counseling Practice – Chicago, IL. Licensed Professional Counselor [IL 178-000842]; National Certified Counselor [210381]
  • University of Notre Dame ‑ Notre Dame, IN ‑ MA, Psychology, 1977
  • Fordham University ‑ Bronx, NY ‑ BS, Psychology, 1975

COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE INVOLVEMENT

CERTIFICATES AND TRAININGS

  • Family and Divorce Mediation through DePaul University
  • Nonviolent Communication Skills through LifeLink Corporation
  • Coaching for Clinicians through MentorCoach

 MAJOR PRESENTATIONS

  • “The ‘Greek Chorus’ in your Collaborative Case: How to Successfully Work with your ‘Felt but not Seen’ Participants”, IACP Forum, Washington, DC, 2010, and CP-Cal Forum, San Diego, CA, 2011.
  • “There is an ‘I’ in Team, New Mexico Collaborative Law Symposium, May, 2008
  • Bringing Visioning to the Collaborative Tool Box, IACP Forum, Toronto, 2007
  • “Relationships? Sure. They’re all about me. ‘ Annual Conference of The International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers, Monterey, CA, April, 2006
  • Featured speaker at “The Role of the Peacemaker in Healing Polarization.  Summer Peace Camp for Lawyers.”  Renaissance Lawyer Society,  Black Mountain, NC, July, 2005
  • Panelist, “Alternative Dispute Resolution: New Opportunities” at Chicago Bar Association, January, 2004
  • “Collaborative Family Law” at Forum of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Kansas City, September, 2003
  • Panelist, “Emerging Models for Collaboration” at International Academy of Collaborative Professionals annual forum, Galveston, November, 2002
  • Featured instructor at “Creating Value in Collaborative Practice”, Cincinnati, Ohio, September, 2002
  • Featured Tele-class Speaker for The Renaissance Lawyer Society, January, 2001
  • Presentation on listening skills to the Annual Conference of The International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers, Chicago, September, 2000

ARTICLES

  • “May I Have a Moment of Your Time?  Regular Debriefing Improves the Collaborative Team’s Efectiveness”, with Linda Solomon, LPC, LMFT, The Collaborative Review, Summer 2007   Volume 9, Issue 2, pp 14-15
  • “SHIFTING GEARS: How Do I know If I’ve Made the Paradigm Shift?”, The Collaborative Review, Winter, 2006. Volume 8, Issue 3, pp 7-9
  • “Stepping Off the Edge”: ‘Threads’ from the Collaborative ListServ, The Collaborative Review, Oct, 2002, V 4-2, p 22 (editor)
  • “Why Lawyers Can’t Hear.”  First published by the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers, 2002
    Reprinted with permission by the Florida Bar Association, April, 2005 and by the AARP Legal Hotlines, Summer, 2005
  • “Healing Polarization by Listening”, Cutting Edge Law magazine, V1-1

Resolving Disputes Respectfully