Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.745

RULE 12.745

COLLABORATIVE LAW PROCESS

(a) Application. This rule governs all proceedings under

chapter 61, part III, Florida Statutes.

(b) Collaborative Law Process.

(1) Initiating Process.

(A) A collaborative law process begins, regardless

of whether a legal proceeding is pending, when the parties sign a

collaborative law participation agreement.

(B) When a proceeding is pending before a court,

the parties may sign a collaborative law participation agreement to

seek to resolve a matter related to the proceeding. The parties shall

promptly file with the court a notice of the agreement after it is

signed and it shall operate as an application for a stay of the

proceeding. A court in which a proceeding is stayed under this

subdivision may require the parties and collaborative lawyers to

provide a status report on the collaborative law process and the

proceeding. The status report may only indicate whether the

process is ongoing or concluded and no other information. The

status report may not include a report, assessment,

recommendation, finding, or other communication regarding a

collaborative matter. A court shall provide notice to the parties and

an opportunity to be heard before dismissing a proceeding, in which

a notice of collaborative process is filed, based on delay or failure to

prosecute. A court may not consider a communication made in

violation of this subdivision.

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(2) Concluding and Terminating Process. A collaborative

law process is concluded by:

(A) the resolution of a collaborative matter as

evidenced by a signed record;

(B) the resolution of a part of the collaborative

matter, evidenced by a signed record, in which the parties agree

that the remaining parts of the matter will not be resolved in the

process;

(C) a party unilaterally terminating the

collaborative law process, with or without cause, by

(i) giving notice to other parties in a record

that the process is ended,

(ii) beginning a contested proceeding related

to a collaborative matter without the agreement of all parties, or

(iii) in a pending proceeding related to the

matter:

a. initiating a pleading, motion, order

to show cause, or request for a conference with the court;

b. requesting that the proceeding be

put on the court’s active calendar; or

c. taking similar action requiring

notice to be sent to the parties; or

(D) except as otherwise provided by subdivision

(b)(3), a party discharging a collaborative lawyer or a collaborative

lawyer withdrawing from further representation of a party.

If a proceeding is pending before a court, the parties shall

promptly file with the court notice in a record when a collaborative

law process concludes. Any stay of the proceeding is lifted when the

notice is filed. The notice may not specify any reason for

termination of the process.

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(3) Discharge or Withdrawal from Representation. A

party’s collaborative lawyer shall give prompt notice to all other

parties in a record of a discharge or withdrawal. If a proceeding

was pending prior to the initiation of the collaborative process, the

party’s collaborative lawyer shall comply with the requirements of

Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.505.

Notwithstanding the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative

lawyer, a collaborative law process continues, if not later than 30

days after the date that the notice of the discharge or withdrawal of

a collaborative lawyer is sent to the parties:

(A) the unrepresented party retains a successor

collaborative lawyer; and

(B) in a signed record:

(i) the parties consent to continue the

process by reaffirming the collaborative law participation

agreement; and

(ii) the agreement is amended to identify the

successor collaborative lawyer and the successor attorney signs the

participation agreement.

(c) Approval of Interim Agreements. A collaborative law

process does not conclude if, with the consent of the parties, a

party requests a court to approve a written agreement resolving an

issue in the collaborative matter while other issues remain pending.

(d) Alternative Dispute Resolution Permitted. Nothing in

this rule shall be construed to prohibit the parties from using, by

mutual agreement, any other permissible form of alternative

dispute resolution to reach a settlement on any of the issues

included in the collaborative process.

(e) Emergency Order. During a collaborative law process, a

court may issue emergency orders to protect the health, safety,

welfare, or interest of a party or a family or household member as

defined in section 741.28, Florida Statutes.

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(f) Disqualification of Collaborative Lawyer and Lawyers

in Associated Law Firm.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (f)(3), a

collaborative lawyer is disqualified from appearing before a court to

represent a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative matter.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b)(3)

and (c), a lawyer in a law firm with which the collaborative lawyer is

associated is disqualified from appearing before a court to represent

a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative matter if the

collaborative lawyer is disqualified from doing so under subdivision

(f)(1).

(3) A collaborative lawyer or a lawyer in a law firm with

which the collaborative lawyer is associated may represent a party:

(A) to ask a court to approve an agreement

resulting from the collaborative law process; or

(B) to seek to defend an emergency order to

protect the health, safety, welfare, or interest of a party, or a family

or household member as defined in section 741.28, Florida

Statutes, if a successor lawyer is not immediately available to

represent that person, but only until the party or family or

household member is represented by a successor lawyer or

reasonable measures are taken to protect the health, safety,

welfare, or interest of that person.