John:
Great question; it is such a gray area, and one we are all trying
to address in our individual practices. For purposes of this reply, I will
make two assumptions: first, that your commitment agreement only contains
the usual prohibition against future litigation; and, second, that the
falling out between your colleague and his client is not the result of a
failure to disclose material matters, but, instead, relates more to
unsatisfactory personal interactions. Under these facts, there is no doubt
that you
could continue working on the matter if the wife retained new collaborative
counsel, and it would still be a collaborative case, so the only real
question is whether you have an obligation to withdraw if the other spouse is
unrepresented.
In responding, I use as a frame of reference the overall notion
that the goal of the collaborative process is to allow the clients to
resolve their differences respectfully and without litigation. I also note
that
your client has invested reasonably large sums of money in educating you
about the specifics of their case; your withdrawing at this point would
result in his having to pay another attorney to come up to speed. While,
undoubtedly, there will be some who believe you must withdraw, having looked
at
a similar situation recently, I believe there is no prohibition on your
continuing to represent your client, however, you need to clarify how you are
proceeding. I would suggest that you have moved from a collaborative case
to cooperative negotiation. In other words, you may have lost the
collaborative envelope, but you still do not have a litigation case, and you
are
permitted to continue to represent your client.
Michael McHugh
**************Eat Great & Lose Weight FASTER! Start the South Beach Diet
Online - FREE Profile!
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221822996x1201398599/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B213623126%3B35100424%
3Bk)
