SENATOR MAHER JOINS SENATE VOTE FOR UNIFORM COLLABORATIVE LAW ACT, INSPIRED BY CONSTITUENT

State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) this week voted with the Connecticut State Senate to advance legislation that would add Connecticut to a collaborative of more than half of the United States, adopting the Uniform Collaborative Law Act.

In addition to supporting the bill on the Senate floor and as a member of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Maher helped bring the bill to Connecticut legislature after her constituent Jill Bicks of Westport raised the issue with her.

The Uniform Collaborative Law Act adopts a framework to create a collaborative law process for certain legal matters under state family and domestic relations laws to find a non-adversarial solution. A collaborative law process is designed to resolve collaborative matters in law, like divorce or parentage, without intervention by a tribune.

In other words, the bill allows for an alternative form of dispute resolution in court to be utilized voluntarily by those involved in a legal case.

“When legal matters reach a courtroom or a law office, this bill is designed to prevent unneeded conflict or case complication by creating a collaborative process for individuals to undergo,” said Sen. Maher. “With Connecticut slated to become the 27^th state to adopt it, this bill aligns us with more than half of the country in the legal process to allow cooperation and collaboration for better and more amicable outcomes in cases heard around the state. Good legislation takes many forms, and I’m grateful to Jill for raising the issue to me providing clarification as we moved through the legislative process; I look forward to seeing the bill pass the House and become law.”

Senate Bill 1283, “An Act Concerning The Adoption Of The Connecticut Uniform Collaborative Law Act,” prevents parties from being ordered to participate in such a process by an authoritative capacity, specifies how the collaborative law process begins and ends and addresses issues ranging from stays to emergency orders and mandatory assessments.

The bill received unanimous support in public testimony, including from Bicks, who testified as a board member of the Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce that the bill would free up resources in the family court system and expand access for Connecticut families.

Justine Rakich-Kelly, executive director of the Children’s Law Center, testified that this bill would enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of collaborative divorce.

The bill received unanimous support and now heads to the House for further consideration.