Collaborative Law Resources and Forms

Family Cases - The following agreements are intended for divorce and other family law matters, but they can be adapted for any type of case.

• Collaborative Law Process Agreement – this is the form of agreement that the parties and counsel use when we are hired to represent a husband or wife in a collaborative law divorce case. This form can be adapted for use in a non-family case. This form is based on, and similar to, the form that appears on the web site for the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. We have made a few changes that we believe are improvements.

• Collaborative Law Process Agreement (no children) – this form is similar to the one above except that provisions relating to the parties' children have been removed.

• Ground Rules for the Collaborative Process – a list of suggestions for handling communication issues in four-way collaborative law meetings of the parties and counsel.

• Cooperative Process Agreement – this form is almost identical to the Collaborative Law Process Agreement, except (a) counsel are not disqualified from representing the parties if the negotiations reach an impasse, and (b) neither party can initiate litigation without giving notice, waiting until the end of a defined "cooling off period" (60 days in this particular agreement, but it could be longer or shorter), and participating in mediation.  This process provides a different type of incentive for settlement, as compared with a Collaborative Law Process Agreement (above), and is suitable for situations in which the parties wish to embark on a collaborative negotiation but have concerns about whether the negotiation will be successful and do not want to take the risk of having to hire new counsel.

Business Cases - The following agreements can be used in business, employment, and other non-family cases:

• Collaborative Law Process Agreement for Business and Employment Cases - in this Agreement, the parties and counsel agree to share information freely, engage in a good faith interest-based negotiation, and consider hiring joint experts if experts are needed.  Counsel agree that they are in the case soley for purposes of negotiation and agree to withdraw if the case proceeds to court.

• Cooperative Negotiation Agreement for Business and Employment Cases - this is virtually identical to the Collaborative Law Agreement above, except that instead of an attorney-withdrawal provision, the agreement provides for a mandatory "cooling off" period and mandatory mediation in the event of an impasse in the negotiations.

Other Resouces 

• Statutes and Ethics Opinions – for copies of statutes and ethics opinions on Collaborative Law, please click here.

Disclaimer - please note: The purpose of providing these forms and other materials is not to provide legal advice.  Please consult with counsel - either at BLC or other counsel - about these forms to see whether they are appropriate for your particular circumstances.