Family Dispute Resolution

Abstract

Abstract The evolution of family justice systems over the last half-century has been remarkable. Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice brings together the work of the field’s leading practitioners, researchers, teachers, and policymakers to offer a detailed examination of these changes, beginning with the development of family mediation in the 1970s and its role as a catalyst for the development of multiple family dispute resolution (FDR) processes, including parenting coordination, early neutral assessment, arbitration, and online dispute resolution. FDR processes, in both public and private sectors, have matured alongside significant changes in the process of separation and divorce and in society at large. FDR processes have become more responsive to specific client needs, addressing issues such as intimate partner violence, clients with substance misuse, personality disorders, LGBTQ+ parties, special needs children, parent–child contact problems, and the increase in unrepresented litigants. The book also examines the evolving role of lawyers as problem solvers, specifically, how they approach early settlement negotiation, advocate for clients in dispute resolution processes such as collaborative law and mediation, and advocate for children across all contexts. Additionally, case management initiatives and special issues, including social science research and the conflicting standards of practice, are explored. Family Dispute Resolution: Process and Practice provides a wide-ranging look at contemporary FDR processes. It is essential reading for all professionals and law and graduate students interested in working with separating and divorcing families.