Family dispute resolution: the importance of clear protocols for cooperation between family relationship service providers and family lawyers

Under the Australian family law framework mandating mediation since 2006, the role of the family lawyer dealing with a parenting matter is two-fold. The first responsibility the lawyer has to the client is to give legal advice about the presenting issues in dispute. The second equally important role of the family lawyer is to assist the client in devising the best way to resolve those issues. Not all family lawyers have assumed, or understand, this changed role, and there is a lot of confusion among family lawyers, family relationship service providers, clients and mediation participants about what should be the first step in the process of family dispute resolution. This article argues that the success or otherwise of the mediation process can be attributed to both the timing of the mediation in the parents’ separation and, significantly, to the legal advice provided to the parents.