Civil Collaborative Practice at a Glance
Civil Collaborative Practice at a Glance
- Reduces financial, time, and emotional costs
- Avoids going to court
- Helps maintain important relationships
- Protects confidentiality and avoids publicity
- Keeps the parties in control of the process
- Encourages mutual respect
- Provides open communication
- Uses a future oriented, forward looking problem-solving approach
- Identifies and addresses all parties' interests and concerns
Civil Collaborative Practice- Resolution is the focus of Civil Collaborative Practice.
Civil Collaborative Practice begins with something both sides can agree on:
settlement by design.
Disputes in the business world are too often financially and emotionally disruptive for everyone involved. Litigation often adds to the problems by creating entrenched positions, damaging or severing relationships, and imposing ineffective, unresponsive solutions.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Collaborative Practice is a voluntary dispute resolution process frequently used in the family law arena. The principles of Collaborative Practice as applied to family law disputes are equally applicable in civil and commercial matters such as:
- Family and partnership internal business disputes and restructurings
- Probate/Trust and Estates contests
- Healthcare conflicts
- Employment disputes
- Construction claims
The important difference between Collaborative Practice and conventional litigation is the commitment to reach an agreement without going to court. The parties maintain control of the process and the decisions instead of relinquishing them to a judge or jury. To reach this goal, while in the Collaborative Practice process the parties agree not to seek court intervention through their commitment to remain in the negotiation process and focus on settlement by design from the outset.
The Collaborative process emphasizes identification of suitable solutions. Instead of airing grievances and polarizing parties, Civil Collaborative Practice creates a vehicle and an environment that helps parties reach a superior settlement by building on areas of mutual agreement.
Focus on the Future
Disputes can be resolved without burning bridges or severing key relationships - especially important when long-term responsibilities and connections remain after the dispute is resolved. Civil Collaborative Practice preserves the health and continuity of important relationships by preserving respect, encouraging cooperation and creating options and workable solutions.