Because 1) paradoxically, those for whom the true collaborative law process would work best are those who really don’t need collaborative law; and 2) “collaborative law” as it is practiced (as opposed to how it should be practiced) are not the same thing.
Now there’s going to be a collaborative family lawyer who will read this response and tell you that I am wrong and that collaborative law works wonders. you’ll notice, however, that that this so-called collaborative lawyer will avoid the hard questions, which include (but are not limited to): does collaborative law succeed without both parties to the case being committed to the success of the other?
On the surface, collaborative law sounds like a great idea, but as it is practiced it just doesn’t work for the majority of people because what goes by the name “collaborative law” among most of its ostensible practitioners is overwhelmingly 1) not truly collaborative and 2) was never really intended to be. ‘Kinda like the salesman who claim not to be “selling to” you but “selling for” you. Yeah, right. Sure, it can happen, but human nature being what it is, the odds are highly against it.
Even the name “collaborative law” is misleading in most cases because what passes for “collaboration” is just conflict avoidance and compromise, not seeking to make life better for both yourself and your spouse and family.
If you and your spouse are those who could benefit from collaborative law to settle your divorce case, you probably could have settled your divorce case without the complexity, burdens, and expense of the institutional “collaborative law” process.
Frankly, very few divorce cases consist of two people who do not see themselves as adversaries, but as being interested in helping each other leave each other better than they found each other. Now when’s the last time you heard of the divorce ending like that? If divorcing couples could get to that point, they’d choose to stay married, rather than divorce.
Here’s an article that claims to describe for you how the collaborative divorce process works:
How Collaborative Divorce Works – FindLaw
And here’s an article by the same company explaining to you some of the flaws in collaborative law as it is practiced today by 99.5% of the so-called “collaborative law” practitioners:
5 Reasons to Avoid Collaborative Divorce – FindLaw
Finally, here is an excellent article exposing the contemporary “collaborative law” movement as by and large a sham, and explaining why:
‘Collaborative Divorce’ Is Collaborative in Name Only – HuffPost
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