Wednesday’s Video Clip: Litigation vs Collaborative Practice
What is the difference between a litigation file and a collaborative practice file?
Usually the clients find the result much more satisfactory from a cp file, as appose to having a result imposed upon them by the court in a litigation file.
What is litigation?
Litigation is a typical traditional court file. There are two lawyers involved. The parties usually take an adversarial position that involves positional bargaining. This usually involves a contested court proceeding. This results in a negotiated agreement.
What if the parties of a litigation file cannot come to an agreement?
If the parties cannot come to an agreement, the court imposes a result on both parties.
What is collaborative practice?
In a collaborative practice file, we focus on goals and interests of both parties. Again, both parties have lawyers. It is considered a respectful and peaceful process where communication should be appropriate at all times. The parties will have communication guidelines.
A collaborative practice file is likely to involve a full team. This often includes a neutral family professional and a neutral financial professional. Other professionals can also join the team as needed including business valuators and/or corporate or tax specialists.
Not only do the parties agree not to go to court, but the lawyers must agree that they’re not going to go to court; They also agree not to take advantage of each other’s mistakes.
An important part in the collaborative process is that there will be full and complete disclosure. Fairness is subjective. The goal is to come up with an acceptable result for both parties that satisfies goals and interests.
