One of the standard practices in a collaborative case is to use part of the first session to read the collaborative agreement out loud before the parties sign it. This strikes some people as a bit old-fashioned in the digital age but, given the importance of this agreement in making collaborative work, it's really pays to have everyone on the same page. My experience is that people often don't read an agreement through before they sign it, even if they think they did. But it is absolutely crucial for each party to be aware of what they are agreeing to do because if the collaborative attempt fails, the divorcing parties have to go back to square one with a new set of attorneys.
I had a client recently, for example, who balked at taking the time to read through the six-page document. He'd read it, he said, and was ready to sign. But we insisted and as we were reading through it he was quite surprised to find out he would be obliged to disclose certain types of information. Hearing it put like this, he decided maybe collaborative wasn't for him, after all. How much better to come to that realization in the half an hour or so it takes to go through the agreement rather than spending the time and money on hours of collaborative discussion only to have it fall apart when the disclosure is actually requested.
Collaborative is a new type of procedure for alternative dispute resolution, with a different set of rules. It is a procedure based on openness and communication. It just makes a lot of sense to begin that process by getting everyone, literally, on the same page.
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