Conscious Contracts is a registered trademark for a process of contract formation. It is consistent with many of the best practices of modern contracts like plain language, design thinking, use of visuals, but has distinctive elements of its own:
- The Touchstone helps create the true meeting of the minds among the parties and makes sure there is alignment of purpose and values.
- The Addressing Change & Engaging Disagreement (ACED Clause) allows the parties to design a sustainable culture including how they will communicate, manage change, engage disagreements and maintain a more conscious culture.
Used on every continent, this model helps to build trust and certainty in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world. Practitioners are often trained in nonviolent communication, restorative justice, collaborative practice, mediation, and other skills that expand their toolkit and capacity to practice in a new paradigm approach. Most participants are lawyers but we have also trained coaches, consultants, mediators, and entrepreneurs.
We’ve initiated a certification program which leads to a license to use the name and brand. It includes training, a reading list, and mentorship. Certification is more than completing a checklist, it is about having the mindset for a collaborative, creative, and conscious approach to contracts, practice and experience in the model, and participation in a community of practitioners.
To become eligible for the next step toward certification, you must have completed a full introductory training by one of the certified trainers and to have read this book. (A full training is at least 8 hours.) See the training schedule on the site to begin the journey.
The next step is to take a formal mentoring course or to engage with one of our certified practitioners in a mentoring relationship. If you are seeking one-on-one mentoring, you may make your own arrangements with one of the certified practitioners to support you through working with clients from the beginning of the process to a completed document. (It could be more than one contract, based on circumstances.) The charge for that varies, depending on the mentor.
You can also enroll in one of our advanced courses which includes a mentoring program. That course provides structure and a community of support and is offered about twice a year. We have discovered that the group process provides a whole community of mentors! The value of the community was so rich, the first Advanced CC course decided to continue meeting monthly and we now have a monthly call for all CC practitioners.
When the mentor is satisfied that you have met the requirements and are able to provide high quality services, you will be notified of your certification, granted a license to use the Conscious Contracts® name and provided with a badge for your website and other materials. We’ll list you on the website as a certified practitioner as long as you stay in good standing.
Certification is currently offered in English, Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, and German.
Certified practitioners may also wish to become trainers. Trainers must first be certified in the practice of Conscious Contracts, serve as assistant teachers or co-teach with a certified trainer.