D-CEO: Collaborative Law Promises a Kinder, Gentler Approach to Business Disputes

Excerpt:

Buoyed by the passage of a family collaborative law statute by the Texas Legislature in 2001, practitioners of collaborative law have preached an appealing gospel to litigants fed up with the raw emotions, uncertainties, and financial demands of a divorce system too often characterized by a lawyer-driven, “scorched earth” approach to cases. So far, the influence of collaborative law has been felt primarily in the family law realm, but its adherents are pushing for a wider audience, saying that its voluntary, non-adversarial nature makes it ideally suited for companies seeking to resolve a business dispute while salvaging an underlying relationship.

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A lower cost, less combative approach that eschews “scorched earth” in favor of preserving business relationships? No wonder most lawyers are slow to embrace collaborative law.

Entire article: http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_CEO/2009/September_October/Collaborative...