Virginia Code 20-182: Privilege against disclosure of collaborative law communication; admissibility; discovery
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A. Subject to §§ 20-183 and 20-184, a collaborative law communication is privileged under subsection B, is not subject to discovery, and is not admissible in evidence.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 20-182
- Collaborative law communication: means a statement, whether oral or in a record, or verbal or nonverbal, that (i) is made to conduct, participate in, continue, or reconvene a collaborative law process and (ii) occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and before the collaborative law process is concluded. 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
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Nonparty participant: means a person, other than a party and the party's collaborative lawyer, that participates 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
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Proceeding: means a judicial, administrative, arbitral, or other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and post-hearing motions, conferences, and discovery. See Virginia Code 20-168
B. In a proceeding, the following privileges apply:
1. A party may refuse to disclose, and may prevent any other person from disclosing, a collaborative law communication.
2. A nonparty participant may refuse to disclose, and may prevent any other person from disclosing, a collaborative law communication of the nonparty participant.
C. Evidence or information that is otherwise admissible or subject to discovery does not become inadmissible or protected from discovery solely because of its disclosure or use in a collaborative law process.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 346.