Page 22 - Tacoma-Pierce County Lawyer Magazine - September October 2018

settlement before trial (o en involving lengthy and expensive litigation before a settlement conference or mediation) and collaborative law (which begins from point A with working together toward a deeper and more meaningful resolution suitable for all participants).
Some have gauged that their clients do not trust their spouses. Yet, in dissolutions of marriage, given is the break-down of mutual trust and mutual love and respect. See Why Marriages Succeed or Fail by John Gottman, Ph.D. – 1994. erefore, clients are encouraged to trust the collaborative law process.
Pursuant to RCW 7.77 and the Collaborative Law Participation Agreement – good faith and full disclosure are requirements of the process. Avoiding formal discovery through a “cooperative” exchange of relevant information and documents can become a quagmire for attorneys and lead to malpractice. Embarking on such a path without the protection of formal discovery rules as a traditionally litigated matter and also without the protection of RCW 7.77 and the Collaborative Law Participation Agreement as a collaborative law matter can put the lawyer and the client at risk.
Civility is a set of attitudes, behaviors, and skills that call upon us to respect others, to remain open-minded, and to engage in honest and constructive discourse. Civility bene ts businesses by creating satis ed clients and reducing costs. It bene ts individuals by reducing stress and promoting healthy relationships.
Civility promotes a just and healthy society by de-escalating con ict and inspiring service as volunteers. We behave civilly by actively listening to others, by understanding our own biases and assumptions, and by treating others as we would like to be treated. In order to understand our inherent biases, we need
to engage in dif cult but necessary conversations about race, gender, otherness, and values.
and the disputes resolved.
e bene ts for clients working in a collaborative law process
to address the issues and to resolve the disputes include
privacy, con dentiality, management of time and expense, self-determination, deep and long-term resolution of con ict, durability, healthy recon guration of family. e collaborative law process involves inquiry, active listening, a client-centered focus on underlying interests rather than positions of parties, short and long-term goals, and the best interests of the children.
The UCLA de nes a collaborative law matter as follows:
(5) "Collaborative matter" means a dispute, transaction, claim, problem, or issue for resolution, including a dispute, claim, or issue in a proceeding, which is described in a collaborative law participation agreement.
RCW 7.77.010(5).
Matters ripe for collaborative law include family law matters such as dissolutions of marriage and parenting matters; elder law matters such as estate, probate, and guardianship matters; employment disputes; and other civil disputes.
In a study conducted between 2006 and 2010, primarily in jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, by the IACP Research Committee led by Past President Linda K. Wray – the following conclusions were reached: Eighty-six percent (86%) of all reported collaborative law cases resolved with agreements on all issues. An additional two percent (2%) reconciled. e collaborative law process terminated in less than eleven percent (11%) of collaborative law cases before reaching agreements on all issues. And of those cases that terminated, fourteen (14%) reached partial agreements. One percent (1%) of collaborative law cases reported no outcome. e same study found greater satisfaction by the clients with their lawyers.
What makes a matter a collaborative law matter is not simply that the professionals are “cooperative” with one another – though collaborative lawyers honor civility in the profession.
Make the collaborative law commitment.
Please join us at these upcoming events:
IACP - Annual Forum
October 25-28, 2018 - Seattle, Washington www.collaborativepractice.com
CLPPC - Basic Training in Collaborative Law
February 8-9, 2019 - Tacoma, Washington www.piercecollaborativelaw.com
CPW Annual Conference
March 7-9, 2019 - Vancouver, Washington www.collaborativeprofessionalsofwashington.org
See Robert’s Fund Civility Center for Law - www. civilitycenterforlaw.org. Like the Robert’s Fund Foundation, as professionals, attorneys ought to elevate the profession of law overall through civility in our practices no matter whether we are engaged in litigation, arbitration, traditional negotiation, evaluative mediation, settlement conference, facilitative mediation, or collaborative law. Civility should be the norm.
For a matter to be conducive to collaborative law – disputes – con ict – issues – something to collaborate about – must exist. Otherwise, we call those matters without disputes – con ict – issues – “uncontested.”
RCW 7.77.130 requires collaborative lawyers to conduct an ongoing reasonable inquiry as to coerciveness and/or violence in a relationship. If there are such issues, collaborative lawyers must look to the creation of a safety plan. Collaborative law disputes include the same issues that lawyers nd in litigated matters, including domestic violence, marital betrayal, nancial issues, bankruptcy issues, child development issues, special needs children, cultural issues, life changes, substance abuse issues, mental health issues, etc. e di erence between collaborative law and litigation is how the issues are addressed
Leslie R. Bottimore has practiced law in Pierce County for eighteen years. She opened her law rm in 2004. She is a Collaborative Lawyer, Mediator, and Litigator. She is Past President (2013-2014) of Collaborative Law Professionals
of Pierce County (CLPPC) and Vice President (2017-2018) of King County Collaborative Law (KCCL). She serves the Conference Committee of Collaborative Professionals of Washington (CPW)
and is an Ambassador to the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). She has served as Pro Tem Judge and Pro Tem Court Commissioner for the Pierce County Superior Court since 2016. She can be reached at (253) 272-5653 or at leslie@bottimorelaw.com.
22 PIERCE COUNTY LAWYER | September/October 2018