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Cooperative Negotiation Agreements: Using Contracts to Make a Safe Place for a Difficult Conversation By David A. Hoffman I received invaluable editing and research assistanee from my colleague, Nicole DiPe ntima, at Bost on Law Collaborative, LLC, and very helpful suggesti ons from Israela Brill ? Cass, Ken Dehn, John Lan de, and Lyndm Robbins. The views expressed in this chapter, however, are my own, as are any mistakes. Comments and responses are most welcome: DHoffmmn@Bosto nLawC. In the 1980s the world of family law in the United States, recently transformed by the advent of no-fault divorce, began another dramatic transformation. Instead of relying solely on the courts and family law attorneys to structure the terms of their divorces, divorcing couples began using mediation in greater numbers. The promise of mediation was obvious: in addition to creating a safe place for a difficult conversation, mediation fostered an interest-based, problem-solving approach to their negotiations, helped parents develop cooperative strategies for co-parenting, and gave the parties a direct role in shaping their future. It also provided parties with the help of a neutral professional who was committed to helping both parties? Mediation did not eliminate the need for lawyers but often left them on the sidelines of these negotiations. For many divorcing couples, diminishing the role of counsel was advantageous because it reduced the risk that their lawyers would ratchet up the level of antagonism between the parties. The parties in divorce mediations were usually encouraged to get the advice of counsel before signing their divorce agreement, See D. Hoffman K. Tosh, “Coaching from the Sidelines: Effective Advocacy in Divorce Mediation,H17 Mass. Family L. J. See D. Hoffman K. Tosh, “Coaching from the Sidelines: Effective Advocacy in Divorce Mediation,H17 Mass. Family L. J. 85 (1999). In 1989, the founder of the Collaborative Law (“CL”)movement, Stuart Webb, was serving as a di