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Collaborative Law is where all parties involved and their attorneys work cooperatively to negotiate fair settlements without Court intervention.
Unlike mediation and litigation, the collaborative law process begins before any legal proceedings are initiated. The attorneys, trained and certified in the collaborative process, advocate for their clients while working toward agreement. This team approach to divorce and family law cases can include financial and mental health specialists (also trained in the Collaborative Law process) to assist in reaching a timely and cost-effective settlement.
Guy Vitetta of Vitetta Law Group was the first South Carolina attorney to be certified in Collaborative Law. He is a founding member and serves as president of the South Carolina Collaborative Law Institute, established in Charleston, South Carolina in 2004. The South Carolina Collaborative Law Institute has facilitated training in Collaborative Law for over fifty attorneys and other professionals to date.
In collaborative law, parties and their attorneys work cooperatively to negotiate custom made solutions without court intervention. Early, non-adversarial participation allows for analyzing problems, generating options, and creating a positive context for settlement.
Collaborative Law is different from mediation, arbitration, and litigation in important ways:
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Parties agree, by signing a Collaborative Law Participation Agreement, at the outset not to litigate the case in Court. When the option of Court is off the table, everyone remains focused on agreement. If the parties reach an impasse after the Participation Agreement is signed, the attorneys and any other professionals who have been a part of the process must withdraw from representation and are forbidden to appear in court on behalf of either party. The parties must hire new trial counsel to concinue with their case in the court system. |
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By design, Collaborative Law promotes healthy communication and skills for positive conflict resolution. Even after the marriage is dissolved, spouses continue to be “related” through children and other family ties long after the divorce. These skills can mean the difference between a divorce that “tears the family apart” and a divorce which transitions the family with everyone’s dignity intact. |
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