Mediation is a form of conflict resolution that empowers parties to resolve disputes on terms that all agree are workable. Years ago, when I first started to handle family law cases I asked a fellow attorney why we were not in mediation on a particular case. I told him that I felt like we could resolve the case in just a few months rather than years if we agreed to mediate. He responded, "then how will we make any money?" I was taken back by this response. Sadly, the case that could have benefited from mediation that we were discussing remained pending for years. Still worse than the time and resources lost to this case was the loss to the family members who spent years as adversaries in the court system. The task of reconciling these parties to one another was compounded again and again by years of fighting in court. After family court the parties are still family. It became apparent to me that family court would be benefited by an early focus on reconciliation of family relationships in most cases. Grandparents, parents and children should not be enemies. The adversarial process of our court system is ill equipped to offer solutions that promote and maintain healthy family relationships. Frequently the players in the system lament the fact that "parents just refuse to get along." However, the entire blame for this cannot be set on the parents. We force them into an adversarial process and they become more adversarial. It is like a movie scene where normal people are placed in a gladiator's arena and forced to fight to the death. Whether the combatants were violent before or not the situation demands that the parties attack one another just to ensure survival.
The courts that handle family law issues would be benefited greatly by early attempts at non-adversarial conflict resolution. Mediation at the earliest stages would benefit families seeking long term solution to conflict. In fact, most such cases would benefit from mediation before courts and attorneys are even involved.
The courts that handle family law issues would be benefited greatly by early attempts at non-adversarial conflict resolution. Mediation at the earliest stages would benefit families seeking long term solution to conflict. In fact, most such cases would benefit from mediation before courts and attorneys are even involved.
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