Rule 14 Waiver and Preclusion of Privilege

Here's what this rule means for people in a collaborative law process.

Normally, what you say during collaborative law talks stays private and protected under Rule 13. But this privacy protection can be given up. If everyone involved, all the parties and any outside person who took part in the talks, agrees clearly and openly to waive that protection, then it no longer applies. This agreement can happen in writing or spoken out loud during a court proceeding, but everyone has to agree to it.

There's also a fairness rule built in. If someone shares information or makes a statement about what happened during the collaborative talks, and that statement hurts another person's case, the person who shared it cannot then hide behind the privilege to block a response. In other words, you can't reveal something that puts someone else at a disadvantage and then claim the conversation was private when they try to defend themselves. The other person can respond, but only enough to fairly answer what was said. They can't use this as an excuse to expose everything that was discussed.