Virginia Code 20-180: History of family abuse
A. Before a prospective party signs a collaborative law participation agreement, a prospective collaborative lawyer shall make reasonable inquiry into whether there exists a history of family abuse between the prospective parties.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 20-180
- Collaborative law participation agreement: means an agreement by persons to participate in a collaborative law process. See Virginia Code 20-168
- Collaborative law process: means a procedure intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative lawyers. See Virginia Code 20-168
- Collaborative lawyer: means a lawyer who represents a party in a collaborative law process. See Virginia Code 20-168
- Party: means a person who signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter. See Virginia Code 20-168
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Prospective party: means a person who discusses with a prospective collaborative lawyer the possibility of signing a collaborative law participation agreement. See Virginia Code 20-168
B. Throughout a collaborative law process, a collaborative lawyer shall reasonably and continuously assess whether there exists a history of family abuse between the parties.
C. If a collaborative lawyer reasonably believes that the party the lawyer represents or the prospective party who consults the lawyer has a history of family abuse with another party or prospective party, the lawyer shall not begin or continue a collaborative law process unless (i) the party or the prospective party requests beginning or continuing the process and (ii) the collaborative lawyer reasonably believes that the safety of the party or prospective party can be protected adequately during the process.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 346.