Valley Collaborative Law Group Opens, Seeks Cases

The San Fernando Valley has a new law group, but the attorneys don’t litigate, they collaborate. The San Fernando Valley Collaborative Professionals, an association launched in October and is awaiting its first client, said the group’s President Michelle Daneshrad. A website is due in January. The organization practices the growing, but little-known field of collaborative law, which is mainly applied in divorce cases. Attorneys who practice collaborative law work with mental health professionals and financial experts to offer expertise to clients. The goal is to get the opposing parties together and quickly come to a solution without battling in court. “In the collaborative process, the attorneys are a team,” said Daneshrad, a family law attorney who founded Woodland Hills-based Completion Law Firm two years ago. “They have a common goal to have all parties’ interests be met. In litigation, the goal is winning over the other.” Here’s how collaborative law works: the two parties agree to disclose all information upfront and negotiate in a respectful manner. Attorneys agree not to take sides or to represent the parties if they drop out and choose litigation. There also is joint retention of experts and consultants, which proponents say allows these individuals to be neutral. Furthermore, the messy personal details remain confidential. California carved out a special rule in its family law courts for the process in 2007, and L.A. County has a more specific roadmap. With clogged courts made even worse by budget cuts, proponents of the technique say the collaborative process saves individuals significant time and money while easing the court’s workload. Critics say the practice of collaborative law isn’t suited for many types of cases outside of divorce, and question whether collaborative groups can successfully attract a significant volume of divorce cases, given that the contentious nature of divorce would cause people to shy away from the process. Additional skepticism rests on whether these groups can successfully market to potential clients, who may not know they exist. The San Fernando Valley Collaborative Professionals group currently has 12 collaborative attorneys, six mental health professionals and three financial experts, Daneshrad said. The group is an umbrella organization of the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association, a countywide organization started in 2002 that provides training, public outreach and support for families and attorneys. In the Valley group and county association, attorneys and other professionals are paid individually and do not split fees. The groups serve as a referral and support organization. New practitioners must be voted into the new Valley group to ensure they are dedicated to the collaborative process, although experience working collaborative cases is not required, Daneshrad said. Frederick J. Glassman, president of the Los Angeles association and a member of the Valley’s organization, said the clients in divorce cases often seek a more amicable process in hopes of lessening the psychological damage on children and providing for their future. He said he’s had several collaborative cases where parents came to an agreement to fund their children’s college education. “They get in the room. They can create options out of the box. You can’t do that in court,” he said. The process is not for everyone. Those in relationships with an abusive partner, a partner seeking “to punish” the other for leaving the marriage, or a spouse who has hidden assets wouldn’t be appropriate candidates, Glassman said. In 10 years, Glassman has handled about 100 collaborative cases — all divorce. Only three have fallen through, he said. A big part of that success, he said, is that people who enter such a process usually want to end their marriage amicably. Still it’s been tough to build a collaborative practice, said Glassman, who has stopped litigating. People simply don’t know they have options besides the court room, he said. “It’s not mainstream yet. We are the newest kid on the block,” he said. Daneshrad, who hasn’t yet practiced collaborative law but has undergone training, said the group also has plans to take on employment and medical malpractice cases, although it remains unknown if the collaborative process can be as effective in such situations. To spread the word, Daneshrad said the group will use its new website and leave flyers at doctors’ offices, law firms, houses of worship and, if they can, the court. Speaking events and a monthly open house will also be held, she said. And while at professional events, Daneshrad said she will actively pitch the new group to potential candidates. Turning away from the adversarial tendencies of litigation can be a tough transition for lawyers, she said. One of her main goals is to attract lawyers who are committed but new to the process. “My mission is to transform the role of lawyers from being competitive and adversarial to collaborative and compassionate,” Daneshrad said.