Some Themes Arising from the Last Edition of Family Court Review

• Author: John Wade
• Date: 01 October 2015
• Published date: 01 October 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12181

SOME THEMES ARISING FROM THE LAST

EDITION OF FAMILY COURT REVIEW

John Wade

In the last edition of the FRC, there are a number of articles which highlight ever-present themes in the many dispute resolution

industries. These themes are: The cyclical nature of family law and DR reform to and fro “faster, cheaper, less formal and more

accessible”; Access barriers for the poor and middle class; Access barriers due to geography, distance, and cultural differences;

Blossoming of a range of “abbreviated” (short and inexpensive) DR services; The essential, yet neglected, task of systematic

diagnosis of possible causes of conflict, and of a possible range of helpful interventions: DR practitioners should aim to “at least

do no harm”; If a DR practitioner exhibits care, and core communication skills, how much do different processes matter? The

Hawthorne effect—all pilot projects tend to succeed?; There is a constant flow of stories, systematic and statistical knowledge in

DR industries. Who is listening and translating this flow of information between the various DR silos and to the public?

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

The repetitive and predictable cycles of family law reform.

Access to DR services restricted by finances, geography and cultural differences.

The old saying “at least do no harm” should find a prominent place in all family DR services and training.

The Hawthorne effect—all pilot and new projects seem to “succeed” for awhile. What follows?

In the many family DR silos, there are “truths” embodied in stories, systems and statistics. Who can translate helpfully

from one silo to another?

Keywords: Abbreviated interventions; Access to services; At least do no harm; Dilute resolution silos; Dispute resolution

processes; Family law reform cycles; Hawthorne effect.

The ten articles in the previous edition of Family Court Review reflect anew many of the tradi-

tional themes present in the “conflict management” and “dispute resolution” (DR) industry. Every-

thing old is new again. I will set out a few of the themes which jumped off the pages as I read. Each

idea can be expanded helpfully and at length via three levels of attempted truth propositions—

namely, anecdote, conceptual analysis, and more formal research. Or more colloquially, stories, systems,

and statistics.

These ten articles deal predominantly with reactions to family conflict and separation, rather than

prevention of family conflict and separation. Darkly, these responses are sometimes distinguished as

“bottom of the cliff” and “top of the cliff.” As usual, helpful analogies can be found in the medical field

by comparing big themes, stories, and research surrounding reactions to and prevention of illness.

The themes that jumped off the pages for me were:

Cycles in family law reform and in DR reform

Access restricted by money: DR pathways for the rich and the poor in the private and pub-

lic sectors

Access restricted by geography and culture

The rush of abbreviated interventions

Diagnosis—do it

At least do no harm

Caring, core skills and—any process?

The Hawthorne Effect—all pilot projects succeed (and all institutionalized projects go into

decline?)

Stories, systems, and statistics—who listens and translates between the DR silos?

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 53 No. 4, October 2015 517–525

V

C2015 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts