Legal Trends Network

Cooperative Law, also known as Cooperative Negotiation or Cooperative Practice, is a negotiation process in which the lawyers and parties involved enter into a “participation agreement.” The agreements differ from case to case, but generally lay out the groundwork for the negotiation process with an emphasis on minimizing conflict and avoiding escalation toward litigation. In addition to describing the negotiating process, Cooperative Law Agreements often include stipulations as to how the lawyers involved will handle the litigation process if the parties choose to go that route, typically with a focus on sticking to the merits of the case and avoiding tactics that would accelerate the conflict.

In many ways Cooperative Law is similar to Collaborative Law except for the fact that Cooperative Law Agreements do not include a “disqualification agreement.” Some lawyers feel that the Cooperative Law modality is more fluid and less likely to pressure one of the parties to accept a resolution that they are not comfortable with. Cooperative Law Agreements leaves the door open to litigation, but discourages conflict and escalation to a much greater degree than traditional negotiation methods.

In its nationally discussed opinion, the Colorado Ethics Committee concluded that while collaborative law practice that contained disqualification agreements was unethical, per se, lawyers were permitted to participate in Cooperative Law, provided the lawyer comply with all the Rules of Professional Conduct. In August, 2007, the ABA's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, issued its opinion finding collaborative law practices ethical as a limited scope representation, so long as the clients provide their informed consent. Please see the Collaborative Law section of this website for more information on this alternative dispute modality.