B04C0708A41099BA872584CB00595595 Hearing Summary

Terri Harrington, of the Colorado Collaborative Divorce Professionals, was selected by the organization to work with the commission on the draft of this act and generated a redline version of the uniform act that seems to address most of the concerns that have been raised regarding the act. The redline version applies only to family law collaborative law practice, as collaborative law practice in Colorado is already limited to family law. Ms. Harrington indicated that the CBA Alternative Dispute Resolution section has decided not to take a position on the act. The commission expressed concerns regarding the deletion of the disqualification provisions and section 10 regarding reduced fee arrangements in the redline version and wondered if there might be equal protection issues for low-income cases. Ms. Harrington indicated that section 10 regarding low-income cases could be put back in if desired. The commission also asked questions regarding the collaborative law process and how often the process ends and reverts to court. The process utilizes very specific contracts and clients are informed about the process and that collaborative practitioners are required to withdraw should the decision be to end the collaborative process and proceed in court. The commission requested that section 10 remain in the act for drafting purposes while stakeholders are consulted. The commission asked about the possibility of standardizing the forms and contracts used within the process and thanked Ms. Harrington for her work on the act.

Bonnie Schriner, family law attorney and collaborative law practitioner, speaking for herself, shared that people seek out collaborative law as a method to settle issues without litigation. The process works well and the uniform act fits very well with the current process and sets out what is required in collaborative law and contract perimeters. Collaborative law was intended to be used for all cases, but in Colorado collaborative law is only used in family law cases and, in Colorado, that is where the uniform act should be applied. The commission thanked Ms. Shriner for her testimony.

Commissioner Scott moved to draft the redline version of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, with section 10 reinserted, as a commission bill for introduction during the 2020 legislative session. Commissioner Mielke seconded and the motion passed without objection. Commissioner Scott agreed to act as commission contact on the bill. Commissioners Tipper and Gardner agreed to sponsor the bill.