Collaborative Law – The New Wave of Dispute Resolution

What is Collaborative Law?

Collaborative Law is a method of Dispute Resolution. A Dispute Resolution method is required when two, or more, parties cannot resolve their differences without some type of third party or outside intervention. Traditionally, outside intervention meant filing court papers and putting all the decision-making power into the hands of a judge. Although judges are well educated, well- informed and usually worldly in their knowledge and experience, they do not, and cannot, know you or your family personally, they do not know all the ins and outs of your life-style and preferences, they do not know what is most important to you, or the other side. As a result, judges sometimes do not make the best decisions.

The use of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods have risen dramatically. Parties report being increasingly discouraged by the time (both time consuming and waiting time for a final result) and cost (both financial and emotional) of court applications, as well as the lack of practicality and thoroughness in some court decisions. They find that they have to return to court in a few months, or a year, to amend or modify the order, or, worse yet, to enforce the order because the other party is still not following the order properly. Mediation is growing in popularity as a very useful tool in Alternative Dispute Resolution. Through the use of an independent mediator, the parties craft their own final agreement as to how the future will look, the details of what they will and will not, agree to. Successful Mediation can be very efficient, cost-effective (compared to court applications) and leave both parties committed to their Agreement. We will discuss of Mediation more in a future article.

Collaborative Law is yet another method of Alternative Dispute Resolution in which each party employs a Collaboratively trained lawyer to represent them. The lawyer advocates on behalf of and represents their client to ensure that the issues are resolved fairly with their clients’ interests in mind. This is done without either going to court or threatening to go to court. The Collaborative lawyer pledges that they will not go to court; a Collaborative lawyer cannot take court action. If the Collaborative process breaks down, then each party must retain a separate lawyer to resolve the differences. All participants agree to work together respectfully, honestly and in good faith to try and find the ultimate “win-win” resolution that each party is willing to move forward to the future comfortably with.

Collaborative Law is used extensively in Divorce and Family Law matters as well as Estates. It is effective in circumstances where both parties will continue to have something in common even after the dispute is resolved. Despite the Dispute, the parties still want to maintain some civility in the relationship, whether it is because it is family, or an ongoing business relationship, or other reasons. In Divorces and Family Law the common factor is generally the children, which should always be a priority, both parties wish to raise the children as best as possible despite their personal differences and pending Divorce. In Estates matters, the common factor usually is that the parties are family, brothers and sisters, cousins, uncles and aunts, etc., and they will always be family. The parties may desire to work out the dispute and maintain a working relationship with the other party.

Advantages of Collaborative Law (Divorce):

• You and your spouse will control all of your decisions.
• No one else, not a lawyer, psychologist, custody evaluator or judge, will tell you what to do.
• You will conserve your emotional and financial resources.
• You will use your time and energy more effectively.
• You have the potential to have a better co-parenting relationship in the future.
• If needed, you can employ joint, non-partisan professionals, because your divorce has legal, emotional, financial and parenting problems to solve, your may request or require non-partisan professionals as a resource in each of these areas to assist you and your spouse make a final Agreement.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Collaborative Law

What is Collaborative Law?

Why might one choose Collaborative Law over Mediation?

Is Collaborative Law the best choice for me?

Why is Collaborative Law such an effective settlement process?

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

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?

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

Web Sites:

My Profile - ACP(C):

My Profile - IACP:

Alberta Family Mediation Society (AFMS):

Association of Collaborative Professionals (Calgary) (ACP(C)):

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP):