Confidentiality

The Collaborative Law Participation Agreement signed by the parties at the beginning of the process provides that the parties agree to maintain the confidentiality of any oral or written communications made by the parties or their lawyers or other participants in the Collaborative Law process, whether before or after a lawsuit is formally filed. Moreover, Texas law provides that a communication related to the subject matter of the dispute made by a participant in the Collaborative Law process is confidential, is not subject to disclosure, and may not be used as evidence against the participant in any judicial proceeding. If a party opts out of the Collaborative Law process, an oral communication or written material used in or made a part of the Collaborative Law process is admissible or discoverable only if it would be admissible or discoverable independent of the process. An example of material used in the Collaborative Law process which would be admissible and discoverable outside of the process would be a federal income tax return of the parties or other such documents which were not specifically prepared for use in the Collaborative Law process.