The Interdisciplinary Team Approach to Resolving Family Disputes

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12363
• Date: 01 July 2018
• Author: Lawrence Jay Braunstein
• Published date: 01 July 2018

THE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM APPROACH TO RESOLVING

FAMILY DISPUTES

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Lawrence Jay Braunstein

Forrest Mosten and Lara Traum’s article, “Interdisciplinary Teamwork in Family Law Practice,”

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embodies what all family law attorneys should aspire to: to have the ability to zealously represent

their client, manage their client’s emotions and expectations, and help the family restructure into a

new unit, while always focusing on the best interests of the children. One of the focuses of the fam-

ily law attorney should be the health (present and future) of the family. This is no easy task and

requires the intervention and assistance of other well-trained professionals.

Emotion and expectation are not legal terms, yet, as opposed to other areas of legal practice, they

are ever present in the hearts and minds of litigants in almost every family law case. Although fam-

ily law attorneys are well trained, there is often a disconne ct in the belief of many family law attor-

neys that they alone can effectively manage the conflict that each family invariably faces and that

the use of mental health professionals is somehow a sign of weakness.

The growing use of mental health professionals as team members in the resolution of litigated

family law disputes is a paradigm shift in the practice of family law, as is the rise in the utilization

of the principles of collaborative law. In their article, Mosten and Traum have commented that attor-

neys “are generally accustomed to having ultimate control, shaping disputes and client nar ratives to

fit the needs of the litigation rather than shaping process options to fit the needs of the client.”

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Our courts are overburdened and often lack the time and resources to adequately resolve the mat-

ters brought before them. In a litigated matter the court usually offers two possible solutions; settle

the case (with varying degrees of assistance from the court or the direction to go out in the hallway

to settle the matter) or have a trial. The recognition that there are other process options other than

litigation or to be utilized during the litigation that might be more appropriate to resolve a given

matter recognizes that every family is unique.

Mosten and Traum state that “[f]amilies in crisis who turn to the court system need judges to

make quick decisions, often in a pendente lite format, and judges, in turn, need experts to help

guide those decisions.”

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They discuss the concept of “interdisciplinary triage”and suggest that,

although it is rare, the court appoint “an interdisciplinary team and charge its members to work

together”to craft a resolution.

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The utilization of this approach, as early as possible in the litigation,

will set the tone and guide the litigation toward a more effective, family-focused resolution for that

particular family.

Mosten and Traum (2018) have observed that “parties to litigation do not fully dictate the even-

tual outcome of their case.”

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In supporting the use of an interdisciplinary team, they suggest that

“consulting experts can still be trained to consider the emotional and holistic needs of the parties at

hand, learning that their opinions will impact a broader family picture.”

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This, in turn, will empower

and assist the parties in crafting a resolution specific to their needs and interests.

I submit that to be effective, a family law attorney should be trained to consider not only their

client’s emotional and holistic needs but also those of the other party to the litigation. The breakup

of a family is an emotional process. As the late Professor J. Herbie DiFonso has said, “Transitions

are learning experiences—they aren’t supposed to be easy.”

Correspondence: ljbraunstein@bzesqs.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 56 No. 3, July 2018 468–469

© 2018 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts