What is Collaborative Law?

Collaborative Law is a model for resolving the issues which need to be addressed when married couples separate. Both clients retain separate, specially-trained lawyers whose purpose is to represent his or her client so as to assist in resolving these issues fairly and equitably without either going to court or threatening to do so. Indeed, lawyers hired for a Collaborative Law representation pledge not to go to court under any circumstances. If the lawyers do not succeed in helping the clients resolve the issues, they must withdraw from the case. All participants agree to work together respectfully, honestly, and in good faith to try to find "win-win" solutions which meet the legitimate needs of both clients and their families.The parties agree to utilize neutral appraisers and evaluators where appropriate and to avoid subjecting their children to court-appointed forensics.

Why might one choose Collaborative Law over Mediation?

In mediation, the participants negotiate for themselves with a neutral third party helping to guide the discussions. While the mediator may give legal information to the participants, he or she may not give legal advice to either. Some people, for various reasons, are not comfortable negotiating on their own behalf. For example, there may be a pronounced imbalance of power between the spouses. Moreover, there are those who do not trust themselves during such emotional and vulnerable times to speak up adequately for themselves. In Collaborative Law, the lawyers take the lead in the negotiations. Frequently, the lawyers and clients meet together in "four-way" negotiations.

Is Collaborative Law the best choice for me?

It isn't for every client (or every lawyer), but it is well worth considering if some or all of the following are true for you:a. You want a civilized, rational resolution of the issues.b. You would like to keep open the possibility of a viable working relationship with your partner down the road.
c. You and your partner will be raising children together and you want the best working relationship possible.d. You want to protect your children from the harm associated with litigation between parents.e. You have ethical or spiritual beliefs that place high value on taking personal responsibility for handling conflicts with integrity. f. You value control and autonomous decision making and do not want to hand over decisions about restructuring your financial and parenting arrangements to a stranger (a judge).g. You recognize the restricted and often unpredictable range of outcomes and "rough justice" generally available in the public court system and want a more creative and individualized range of choices available to you and your spouse or partner for resolving the issues.

Why is Collaborative Law such an effective settlement process?

Collaborative lawyers view their professional obligations differently from traditional adversarial lawyers. Collaborative lawyers view the other lawyer not as an adversary but as a partner in a problem-solving process. This is often referred to as a "paradigm shift". Instead of dedicating oneself to grabbing the largest possible piece of the pie for their own client, no matter the human or financial cost, collaborative lawyers are dedicated to helping their clients achieve the highest intentions for themselves in their post-divorce renegotiated families. Collaborative lawyers do not act as hired guns. Nor do they take advantage of mistakes made by the other side. They do not threaten, insult, or focus on the negative either in their own clients or on the other side. They encourage the highest good-faith problem-solving approach from their own clients and themselves, and they stake their own professional integrity on delivering that, in any collaborative representation that they participate in. While Collaborative lawyers owe a primary allegiance and duty to their own clients, they know that the only way they serve the best interests of their clients is to act with, and demand, the highest integrity from themselves, their clients, and the other participants in the collaborative process. Collaborative Law offers the potential for creative problem solving that arises when two lawyers are pulling in the same direction to solve the same list of problems. Lawyers are natural problem solvers; however, in conventional litigation, they tend to pull in opposite directions. Collaborative lawyers can only succeed if they find not only solutions to their own clients' problems but constructive ways of addressing the other party's concerns that are satisfactory to their client.

What kind of information and documents are available in the Collaborative Law Process?

Detailed and complete disclosure is required. Both parties sign a binding agreement to disclose all documents and information that relate to the issues, and to do so early, fully and voluntarily. Hiding documents and stonewalling are not permitted.

What happens if one side or the other does hide documents or is dishonest in some other way, misusing the Collaborative Law process to take advantage of the other party?

This could happen. (It also can and does happen in conventional legal representation.) What is different about Collaborative Law is that the collaborative law agreement requires the lawyer to withdraw if the client is being less than fully honest, or participating in the process with less than good faith. For instance, if documents are altered or withheld, or if a client is deliberately delaying matters for economic or other gain, the lawyers have promised in advance that they will withdraw, discontinuing representation of the client.

How do I know whether it is safe for me to work in the Collaborative Law process?

This process does not guarantee that every asset or every bit of income will be disclosed, any more than the conventional litigation process can guarantee you that. In the end, a dishonest person who works hard to conceal money can sometimes succeed, because the time and expense involved in investigating concealed assets can be high and the results uncertain.Remember, you are probably the best judge of your spouse's honesty in these matters.

Many lawyers claim that they settle most of their cases. How is Collaborative Law different from what they do when they settle in a conventional law practice?

There is a big difference between a settlement that is negotiated during the conventional litigation process and one that takes place in the context of an agreement that there will be no court proceedings or even the threat of court. Most conventional family law matters settle figuratively, if not literally, "on the courthouse steps" (fewer than five percent of litigated cases actually ever get adjudicated in a court of law). By that time, a great deal of money has been spent and emotional damage caused. The process is for the most part driven by mutual coercion and fear which is why so many settlements occur just prior to trial. The settlements are often reached under conditions of considerable tension and anxiety.

In contrast, the Collaborative Law process is geared from the very beginning to make it possible for creative, respectful collective problem solving to occur. It is quicker, less costly, more individualized, less stressful, and almost invariably more satisfying. At its best, it is a process driven by mutual understanding.