Collaborative Case Terminations: The Case for the Final Meeting

ByDominik Musafia

When a collaborative case terminates, the transition to a binding process doesn’t have to be adversarial or chaotic. With thoughtful planning and clear communication, collaborative professionals can provide their clients ways to move forward with dignity while protecting work they’ve accomplished during the Collaborative Law process.

The Final Meeting: Your Most Important Tool

Ideally, hold a final meeting with both clients present to collectively determine what information and documents will be shared with incoming litigation attorneys. This meeting serves multiple purposes: it maintains the collaborative spirit of transparency, ensures both clients have agency in the transition, and prevents misunderstandings about what is protected by the Participation Agreement and what can be shared with the litigation attorneys.

Collaborative attorney Sara Wahl ensures that from the beginning of every collaborative case, the expectation is that if the case terminates, a final meeting will be held to make these decisions together. “This early framing is critical—it removes surprise and positions termination not as failure, but as a transition to the next phase of their legal process.”

Essential Elements of a Termination Letter

The primary purpose of a termination letter is to bring the newly hired litigation attorneys up to speed quickly, to inform them about agreements made in the Collaborative Law process, and to eliminate redundant work. Clients have already invested in the Collaborative Law process—there should be no reason for them to start from scratch with new counsel. By sharing agreed work products, documents, and context, you help the incoming attorneys hit the ground running, saving your clients both time and money.

A well-crafted termination letter accomplishes three goals: it provides practical support by sharing agreed work product created in the Collaborative Law process; it protects privilege by clearly delineating for future counsel what cannot be used as evidence; and it maintains client dignity by documenting agreements the clients have reached about their transition period.

The sample letter below, which Dominik Musafia has used, was originally drafted by Kevin Scudder; it demonstrates these principles in action. Notice how it:

  • Clearly identifies shared documents while explaining which are templates, not evidence of agreement
  • Explicitly invokes privilege protections (ER 408 and RCW 7.77)
  • Documents interim agreements the clients reached for the transition period
  • Reminds attorneys of Collaborative Law constraints (neutrals cannot testify)
  • Sets boundaries around property and financial arrangements during transition
  • Maintains a professional, respectful tone that honors the clients’ collaborative work

Sample Collaborative Termination Letter

The following is an example letter that can be tailored for your cases:

Dear Successor Attorneys:

CLIENT A and CLIENT B met with COLLABORATIVE ATTORNEYS 1 and 2 this morning to plan their transition into a new legal process. During our meeting, CLIENT A and CLIENT B agreed as follows:

  1. We have been asked to share the most recent drafts of the Parenting Plan, Agreed Supplemental Provisions, Order of Child Support, and child support worksheets. These are being shared not because they are evidence agreements, but because the new attorneys are welcome to use them as starting templates in consultation with each attorney’s respective client. The sole purpose of sharing the Word version of potential pleadings is to avoid starting from scratch. These are not to be filed or disclosed to the court as they are part of negotiations, protected by ER 408 (the evidence rule that shields such discussions), and protected by evidentiary privilege under RCW 7.77. CLIENT A and CLIENT B have not seen the working draft of the child support order.
  2. Attached to this email are two appraisals and a report/package of information from FORENSIC EXPERT (NAME) regarding CLIENT A’s retirement benefits. CLIENT A and CLIENT B have agreed that this information should come out of the Collaborative process for use in the next legal process. Also attached is a copy of CLIENT A’s and CLIENT B’s financial report dated DATE. The password for access to that document will come in a separate email. This last document is NOT to be used as evidence absent future agreement of CLIENT A and CLIENT B. The parties would like you to have this report as it lists and identifies their assets and debts in an organized manner.
  3. FINANCIAL XYZ, our Financial Neutral, will be sharing the source financial documents that CLIENT A and CLIENT B provided to FINANCIAL XYZ by separate email and with a password required for access. This will come to you next week.
  4. Pursuant to the Participation Agreement and RCW 7.77, neither [the Collaborative Coach] nor the [Financial Neutral] can be called as witnesses, and they cannot provide authentication of any work product in which they have been involved.

CLIENTS A AND B have shared with us the CR2A they have signed with the assistance of their new attorneys, providing for residential arrangements until DATE.

They have agreed that between DATE 1, and DATE 2 (the end of their 30-day transition period between legal processes) the children will be with CLIENT B for residential time. Thereafter CHILD A will be at a sports camp. Until a new temporary agreement or court order is in place, CLIENTS A and B have agreed to the following interim residential schedule:

Children with CLIENT B, except for the following times they are with CLIENT A:

…

CURRENT PRIORITY: CLIENTS A and B have acknowledged that they will be speaking with their new attorneys regarding a temporary residential schedule to begin after DATE.

CLIENTS A and B agreed to end their weekly phone check-in regarding the children due to the children’s ages. They will communicate with each other every Sunday, via email, to make sure they are on the same page in regards to the upcoming week’s schedule. They have also agreed that they will not have future meetings with their parenting coach. Neither parent will enter the other’s home, though CLIENT B drops the children off at CLIENT A’S home during child exchanges.

Neither party will attempt to reallocate personal or household property either directly or via requests through the children.

CLIENTS A and B have agreed to leave their current financial arrangement status quo for the 30-day interim period. During the collaborative process, they have successfully separated their finances, including bank accounts, credit cards, and other debts. Each client has his/her own credit card. They will confer with their new attorneys regarding what each client proposes regarding any temporary financial orders.

As a final note, both of us will be filing Notices of Withdrawal with the court next week.

It has been a pleasure to work with both CLIENT A and CLIENT B, and we wish them all the best. Please let us know if we may be of further assistance, or if any clarification is needed to this note.

Sincerely,

Attorney 1 and Attorney 2

Optional Items to Consider Including

Depending on your case, you may also want to address:

  • Communication protocols the clients have established (apps, email rules, etc.)
  • Agreements about children’s activities, schools, or healthcare during transition
  • Pet care arrangements if relevant
  • Information about pending matters (refinancing, home sales, etc.)
  • Other pertinent case-specific information

Moving Forward with Grace

The truncated end of a Collaborative Law case does not need to be a “failure”—it can be recognition that clients need a different process involving a decision-maker to resolve their remaining issues. By conducting a thoughtful final meeting and providing a comprehensive transition letter, we honor the work done in the Collaborative Law process and set our clients up for greater success and reduced fees in the next phase of their divorce.

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