Collaborative Law | Drew & McCallum | Business, Real Estate, Construction and Family Law Attorneys

Civil Collaborative Law

Collaborative law is a non-traditional approach to resolving disputes. It is currently emphasized in resolving family law issues, such as divorce and child custody. Its success in resolving family law matters has inspired lawyers to seek to utilize and adapt this approach to dispute resolution in other areas, including contract, business, and employment disputes.

Collaborative law is not just for minor disputes or for parties who fundamentally agree on most issues. Although collaborative law can assist in these situations, the collaborative process is designed for major disputes and to assist parties who have not agreed on any issues.

Some of the key features of the collaborative process, in any area of the law, are:

The parties, each with their own attorney, define the issues to be decided and unanimously agree on a resolution for each issue; no resolution is reached without the agreement of all parties
Uncontested exchange of all information relevant to the dispute, protected from disclosure outside of the collaborative process and without the costs of formal discovery procedures
The parties control the final outcome; reliance on the arbitrary decision of an arbitrator or judge is avoided and the parties have the ability to craft creative solutions that would not be possible through litigation
No court, except to finalize the agreement of the parties as necessary
Because the parties themselves control both the issues to be resolved and the final outcome, the parties also directly control the costs involved.

The collaborative dispute resolution process requires a team effort between the parties, the attorneys, and any outside experts required in order to receive the benefits of the process. You and the opposing party must each have counsel with unquestioned skill and integrity, as well as special training and commitment. A growing number of attorneys in Harris and Montgomery Counties, as well as throughout the state have received the necessary training and expressed their commitment to this process.

The lawyers of Drew & McCallum are trained in collaborative law and are prepared to answer your questions about this innovative approach to dispute resolution.

Please contact our office for more information regarding collaborative law or other alternative dispute resolution methods.