A New Way to Avoid the Courtroom: The Ethical Implications Surrounding Collaborative Law

Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, The, Summer 2005 by Isaacs, Joshua

55. See Christopher M. Fairman, Ethics and Collaborative Lawyering; Why Put Old Hats on New Heads?, 18 OHIO ST. J. ON DISP. RESOL. 505, 528 (2003).

56. Id. The author claims that any argument made in favor of abandoning the traditional zealous advocacy standard for elective mediation should be applied even more forcefully to the practice of Collaborative Law. Id.

57. See supra note 17 and accompanying text.

58. See Goldberg Telephone Interview, supra note 34 (commenting that a Collaborative Law attorney "needs to engage in a balancing act so that their interests are represented but not supposed to fan the flames").

59. See id.', see also James K.L. Lawrence, Collaborative Lawyering: A New Development in Conflict Resolution, 17 OHIO ST. J. ON DISP. RESOL. 431, 442-43 (2002) (claiming that "[z]ealousness may be measured by utilizing the attorney's developed expertise in negotiation and problem solving rather than litigation").

60. See Goldberg Telephone Interview, supra note 34. Goldberg claimed that "you can only practice Collaborative Law in Minnesota if you are accepted onto the panel by the larger group, and for that to occur your reputation needs to precede you." Id.

61. See Schwab, supra note 4, at 361 ("a lawyer's reputation becomes a major component of successful negotiation: No one wants to collaborate with someone who has a reputation for taking advantage").

62. See supra notes 59-60 and accompanying text.

63. See Goldberg Telephone Interview, supra note 34. Goldberg claims that attorneys interested in manipulating the process would not be interested in Collaborative Law: "they go to litigation because that is where more money is. [Collaborative Law attorneys] are much more down to earth and view themselves as problem solvers and not as hired guns." Id.

64. See Macfarlane, supra note 3, at 216; see also Spain, supra note 3, at 153 (asking whether there should be a separate code of ethical conduct governing attorneys practicing Collaborative Law); Lande, supra note 2, at 1381.

65. See Rose, supra note 5.

66. See Carrie Menkel-Meadow, Ethics in ADR: The Many "Cs " of Professional Responsibility and Dispute Resolution, 28 FORDHAM URB. LJ. 979, 980 (2001).

JOSHUA ISAACS*

* B.A., Washington University in St. Louis, 2003; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center (expected May 2006). Thank you to my family for all of their love and support, the editors for all of their patience and guidance, and Daniel Goldberg for all of his input and assistance.