Parties and counsel sign a participation agreement committing to settlement and disqualifying both attorneys if the process fails. Neutral financial and mental health professionals frequently participate.
Uniform Collaborative Law Act adopted in many states.
Alternative Names:
Collaborative Law|Collaborative Process
Why it Matters?
The disqualification provision is the process's defining feature and its principal risk, since failure requires both parties to retain new counsel and rebuild the case, which creates strong settlement incentive but substantial cost exposure if the process collapses. Assessing whether both parties are genuinely committed before entering is accordingly important, since the sunk cost of a failed collaboration is significant.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the defining feature?
What should be assessed first?
