CONFLICTING ROLES IN CHILD CUSTODY MEDIATION |
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| Authors: | Kimberly A. Smoron |
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| Affiliation: | Kimberly A. Smoron graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law in May 1997. As an attorney and mediator with BRIGITTE SCHMIDT BELL, P.C.;, she practices with Brigitte Bell, focusing on mediation and family law, mediating, and litigating all aspects of family disputes. After earning her community mediation certificdion from the Center for Conflict Resolution in August 1995. she regularly mediates cases in various divisions of the circuit court, in the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and at the Center for Conflict Resolution. She completed the American Bar Association's Divorce Mediation training in May 1997. Before beginning her legal career, she earned her B.A. with honors in philosophy from the University of Iowa. |
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| Abstract: | This article will first discuss the conflict in the mediator's role as a neutral and impartial third party with no interest in the outcome and his or her role as guardian or advocate for the best interests of the child. That discussion will define terms, consider the legal standard for the best interests of the child as it is used by the courts, and lay out how the legal standard is problematic in general but even more so for mediators. Part 3 will discuss options for mediators attempting to resolve this conflict by looking at a continuum of alternatives, using examples of opening statements that illustrate positions ranging from extreme nonintervention to complete inte mention. An assessment follows each example. |
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