§ 3315 Coercive or violent relationship.

Before someone agrees to use the collaborative law process to settle a family law case, their lawyer has to ask whether there's been any history of violence or controlling behavior between the two people involved. This isn't a one-time check either. The lawyer has to keep paying attention to this issue the whole time the case is going on.

If a lawyer believes their client, or someone thinking about becoming their client, has faced abuse or coercion from the other person, the lawyer can't move forward with the collaborative process automatically. Two things have to happen first. The person who may have experienced abuse must say they still want to go through with the collaborative process. And the lawyer must genuinely believe that person's safety can be protected well enough while the process happens.

Basically, this rule exists to protect people who may be in a dangerous or controlling relationship. It stops lawyers from pushing someone into a settlement process that could put them at risk, and it gives that person control over whether to move forward, as long as their safety can realistically be protected.