“When I graduated from law school I was proud and excited to be a lawyer, but 20 years later I leave the office every day feeling battered and bruised I feel like the proverbial kicked dog.” Those were the words of one of my clients, a bright and successful trial lawyer.
Are you on the verge of burnout from the escalating incivility in your civil practice? Thanks to the pioneering efforts of some family lawyers, there may be a solution on the horizon.
Minnesota lawyer, Stuart Webb, the “Father of Collaborative Law”, was burning out after 8 years of civil practice followed by 17 years of family law practice. Before giving up and shutting down his firm, however, he began experimenting with new ways of trying to resolve family law disputes, and Collaborative Law was born.
In the old, highly adversarial way, lawyers filed motions and threatened to seek restraining orders. They argued incessantly over discovery issues and withheld documentation until compelled to produce it, in an effort to gain negotiating advantage. Such tactics fanned the flames of already volatile emotional disputes, and increased the financial cost of divorce, as well. Couples, who might have been able to weather a divorce with dignity and maintain a relationship for co-parenting, found the divorce process further estranged and embittered them. It also caused ongoing damage to their children and their financial condition.
In the new Collaborative Law way, the parties and their lawyers contractually commit in a four-party agreement to negotiate a settlement entirely out of court, through open communication and information sharing. The agreement strongly incentivizes the parties and their lawyers to cooperate and aim for win-win solutions, because if either party initiates a proceeding in court, counsel for both parties must withdraw.
Stu Webb’s successful experiment spread across the country and into Canada. In 2001 Texas amended its Family Code to include the first Collaborative Law statute. According to Harry Tindall, of Tindall & Foster, P.C. in Houston, one of the proponents of the legislation, it “was necessary to protect the collaborative process from the Texas “fast track” requirements of docket calls, pretrial conferences and discovery deadlines.” Tindall reports that his firm has successfully resolved about 40 divorce cases with the collaborative process.
People also remember what you do if your description triggers them to imagine that you can help with a problem they struggle with or know someone else who does. So keep those legal concepts simple and easy to understand, and try to illustrate the benefit of using you. Don Graul, a lawyer who handles family law mediations before attorneys get locked in battle, says that he helps parents get divorced with less pain for themselves and their children.
What does all this have to do with burnout in your civil, non-family practice? Well, if you would like to try the Collaborative Law solution, the opportunity is on the horizon. In August 2004 Dallas area civil lawyers, Lawrence Maxwell, Jr., Stacey Langenbahn and others, formed the Texas Collaborative Law Council, a non-profit organization. Its purpose is to promote the use of the collaborative process for resolving civil disputes, and to educate lawyers and the public as to the benefits of the process. On December 9, 2004, Texas State Representative Toby Goodman filed HB 205 to amend the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code to authorize Collaborative Law procedures in civil litigation outside the family law arena. Further, both the Dallas and the Houston Bar Associations have taken steps toward establishing new sections for Collaborative Law.
What kinds of civil cases are suitable for the collaborative process? Maxwell believes that, with trained collaborative lawyers, the process will work in his construction litigation cases, as well as probate, employment and business cases where the parties are motivated to preserve their relationships. On March 17 & 18, 2005 the Texas Collaborative Law Council (http://www.collaborativelaw.us/) and the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism (http://www.txethics.org) will jointly sponsor the first Texas training in the collaborative process outside of family law.
If you hurry, you may even get in on the 2nd Annual Collaborative Law Spring Retreat on March 4-5, 2005 in Austin. It is jointly sponsored by The University of Texas School of Law and The Collaborative Law Institute of Texas, a non-profit organization boasting 300 members. For more information, visit http://www.collablawtexas.com.
Can Collaborative Law really help you fend off burnout? It has for Brenda Keen, the Chair of the newly created Collaborative Law Section of the Houston Bar Association. She says, “This year marks thirty years of practice for me. If Collaborative Law had not come along, and someone told me I couldn’t retire until I’d practiced for fifty years – I would regard the next twenty years as “twenty to do.” Collaborative Law changed that for me.” Keen also says, “I don’t have to play games anymore. I can spend my time on what really matters.”
Space is limited in this column, but for more resources and information on how to find out about Collaborative Law, check out the article titled “Collaborative Law Spreading Like a Virus” on my website. Move from pipedream to possibility.