In this article 24:
(1) Collaborative law communication means a statement, whether oral or in
a record, or verbal or nonverbal, that:
(a) Is made to conduct, participate in, continue, or reconvene a collaborative
law process; and
(b) Occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement
and before the collaborative law process is terminated or concluded.
(2) Collaborative law participation agreement means an agreement by
persons to participate in a collaborative law process.
(3) Collaborative law process means a procedure intended to resolve a
collaborative matter, without intervention by a tribunal, in which persons:
(a) Sign a collaborative law participation agreement; and
(b) Are represented by collaborative lawyers.
(4) Collaborative lawyer means a lawyer who represents a party in a
collaborative law process.
(5) Collaborative matter means a dispute, transaction, claim, problem,
negotiation, or issue for resolution, including a dispute, claim, or issue in a
proceeding, which is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and
arises under the family or domestic relations law of this state, including:
(a) Marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and property distribution;
(b) Child custody, visitation, and parenting time;
(c) Alimony, maintenance, and child support;
(d) Adoption;
(e) Parentage; and
(f) Premarital, marital, and post-marital agreements.
(6) Law firm means:
(a) Lawyers who practice law together in a partnership, professional
corporation, sole proprietorship, limited liability company, or association; and
(b) Lawyers employed in a legal services organization, or the legal
department of a corporation or other organization, or the legal department of a
government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.
(7) Nonparty participant means a person, other than a party and the party's
collaborative lawyer, that participates in a collaborative law process.
(8) Party means a person that signs a collaborative law participation
agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter.
(9) Person means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust,
partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation,
government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other
legal or commercial entity.
(10) Proceeding means:
(a) A judicial, administrative, arbitral, or other adjudicative process before a
tribunal, including related prehearing and post-hearing motions, conferences, and
discovery; or
(b) A legislative hearing or similar process.
(11) Prospective party means a person that discusses with a prospective
collaborative lawyer the possibility of signing a collaborative law participation
agreement.
(12) Record means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or
that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable
form.
(13) Related to a collaborative matter means involving the same parties,
transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the
collaborative matter.
(14) Sign means with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
(a) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(b) To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol,
sound, or process.
(15) Tribunal means:
(a) A court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other body acting in an
adjudicative capacity which, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has
jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party's interests in a matter; or
(b) A legislative body conducting a hearing or similar process.