The Collaborative Law Process is a model of dispute resolution that offers parties a completely out-of-court process designed to avoid litigation. It therefore saves the parties time, money, and stress.

There are no court filings, depositions, or hearings.  Instead, the process is largely comprised by a series of meetings led by the “Collaborative Team,” which consists of the parties, their collaboratively trained attorneys, any collaboratively trained shared experts, and any collaboratively trained neutral. Each Collaborative Team meeting generally lasts no more than 2 hours. Meetings are generally scheduled weekly or bi-weekly, depending upon the complexity of the case, the need to gather external documents and information, and the desire of the parties to meet individually with collaborative counsel between Collaborative Team meetings.

Although the Collaborative Law process is largely led by the Collaborative Team, the model does have a set of rules and specific structure that come from best practices published by various collaborative law organizations and codified in the Uniform Collaborative Law Act. The rules and the structure of the process create confidentiality, protect the parties’ legal rights, and safeguard the process.

Growing in Use and Popularity

Nearly half the states in the country have adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, with North Carolina following suit in July of 2020. Many law schools (including several in North Carolina) now include classes on collaborative law.

Thanks to the North Carolina Civil Collaborative Law Association (“NCCCLA”), a very active non-profit association formed (per its website) “to lead the way in the advancement of civil collaborative law,” North Carolina is widely regarded as a pioneer in the promotion of the model and in training attorneys to practice civil collaborative law.

Resolution’s Role

In 2016, Amy was trained in the civil collaborative model, becoming one of only a handful of employment attorneys to do so. Amy later joined a group of thirteen North Carolina attorneys from across the state to create NCCCLA.

As a Founding Member and current Member of Board of Directors, Amy has been a leader in the collaborative law arena. Amy has helped create Best Practices, model documents, training materials, and regularly presents on the topic of civil collaborative law. 

Whether she is operating within the Collaborative Law model or using another dispute resolution tool such as mediation, Amy’s knowledge and skillset as a dispute resolution professional have been greatly enhanced by her work in the Collaborative Law arena. Talk to Amy about how to put that knowledge to work for you.