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.
(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.

(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.

(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.