Publication Date
2021
Abstract
Until Professor Trina Grillo’s article warned readers of its process dangers, the family mediation process was viewed as a positive antidote to extensive and costly litigation and as a valuable opportunity for families to work together informally to resolve their custody, support, and property issues. Grillo, an academic and a practicing mediator, asserted that family mediation was not living up to its potential, that mediators hurt women and minorities by mandating participation without lawyers, and that its use created a false sense of empowerment. She was concerned that some mediators were not neutral, failed to focus on clients’ individual needs, and were unable or unwilling to deal with women’s emotions, especially reasonable anger and frustration.
Grillo’s article was a major rebuke of family court mediation and sparked positive change, especially in how mediation programs screen cases for participation. This comment examines how some important issues from her article have been addressedand how other concerns remain.
Document Type
Book Chapter
Recommended Citation
Kelly Browe Olson, Post-Grillo: New Family Mediation Protections and Revised Dangers, in Discussions in Dispute Resolution: The Foundational Articles 169 (Art Hinshaw, Andrea Kupfer Schneider& Sarah Rudolph Cole eds., 2021).
Available at: https://lawrepository.ualr.edu/faculty_scholarship/307
