Mediation Services in Legal Disputes

In response to Al Martinez’s column (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” Aug. 16):

While Martinez’s column was very complimentary to conciliation/mediation efforts, I wish to express concern about the “lawyer bashing” contained in this article. Mediation is not a substitute for adequate representation of interest by attorneys in complex legal disputes.

What this article does not discuss is that the legal profession itself has created a mediation process in family law. At the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Family Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar has formed an attorney mediator panel that assists in the resolution of disputes. This panel is staffed by attorneys who volunteer on their own time with no compensation, and no cost is charged to the parties who participate. Last year, 762 families were seen by this panel.

In our own service which last year mediated 8,304 custody disputes, the role of the attorney was essential in these disputes. Attorneys help contain the conflict, provide important advice and information to the parties and manage the adverse interest of the parties in economic issues.

It would be a great mistake to make false promises regarding mediation. Mediation is a very powerful and effective way of resolving disputes, but persons bargain in the shadow of the law and they bargain in the shadow of the courts, and only to the extent that the parties’ adverse interests are represented will a fair and equitable result occur.

Serious questions are also raised by this column about the experience and training of the mediators. Mediating a back-yard dispute is one thing, but mediating a complex dissolution involving custody of children and long-term economic interests is something else. The last thing we need is a service promising to resolve disputes but in fact creating large inequities, imbalances of power and unfair result. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

Too often we scapegoat individuals and professions rather than find better ways to resolve disputes. All of us need to work together to promote the common good, not at the expense of others and not through simplistic attacks on other professions.

HUGH McISAAC

Director, Family Court Services

Superior Court, Los Angeles