Family Attorney
Commentary: A look at collaborative law and professionalism.
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In response to dissatisfaction with the excesses of the adversary system, we are seeing the development of a number of new alternative approaches to the practice of law and the resolution of conflict. The comprehensive law movement, which is the umbrella concept capturing these alternative approaches, includes among others: preventive law, restorative justice, collaborative law, creative problem-solving and therapeutic jurisprudence. Professor Susan Daicoff finds that the common theme among all these approaches is that they “deal more comprehensively, humanely, positively (from a psychological viewpoint) and creatively with the individuals, relationships, communities and effects presented by the particular legal matter at hand.” All the approaches intersect at two points. First, they all “attempt to optimize the psychological well-being of the individuals, relationships, and communities touched by each legal matter,” and second, they all “acknowledge the importance of concerns beyond simply the strict legal rights, duties, and obligations of the parties.” The skill of counseling the client, whether an individual or an organization, to understand fully both the broader context of a legal matter, and the client’s best interests in that context is foundational in the comprehensive law movement. One of the vectors of the comprehensive law movement is collaborative law, which was conceived by a Minnesota lawyer, Stuart Webb, as a means to assist couples going through divorce. (See “Local lawyer celebrates a decade of ecollaborative’ divorces” in the Oct. 2, 2000 issue of Minnesota Lawyer.) Daicoff describes collaborative law as a “nonlitigative, collaborative process … where the spouses and their respective attorneys resolve the issues outside of court in a four-party process. It differs from mediation in that no third party is involved. …. It differs from traditional settlement negotiations in that: (1) no formal court proceedings are usually instituted until settlement is reached; and (2)… Source : accessmylibrary.com |
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