A Telling Tale Of Mediation

When I was in court while ago, an attorney came up to me and informed me that I was assigned to be a mediator in a case. The attorney told me that he represented the wife and then he introduced me to the husband who was representing himself. The attorney asked me to give the husband my card so that he would have my information.

As I handed the husband my card, he looked at it and told me that mediation was not going to be successful. I asked him why he thought mediation would not be successful. He told me that there was no way that he would agree to lose his children. I told the husband that if that were the case, I agreed with him that mediation was not going to be successful. I told him if he would like, I would prepare a report right then and there and give it to the judge indicating mediation was not successful.

The husband looked at me with a quizzical look on his face. I told the husband that if he were coming to mediation with the idea that he would either win his children or lose his children, mediation was not going to be successful. But, if he wanted to come to mediation to discuss how to maintain the best relationship possible with his children, given the fact that he and his wife were going to be getting divorced and would not continue to live together, then we would have something to talk about. However, if he just wanted to fight and win or lose his children, then we did not have anything to talk about.

The husband looked at my card again and then said maybe he should come to mediation. I told him it was up to him.

—Andy June

June, Prodehl, Renzi & Lynch, has attorneys with years of experience guiding successful mediations in custody and divorce cases.