What is the role of Review Counsel in Divorce Mediation?
The role of review counsel is often critical for educating parties about judicial norms and shaping realistic expectations as well as fostering confidence so that parties can participate more effectively in mediation sessions. Competent review counsel can also help parties take ownership and responsibility for their concerns, questions and ultimately, their agreements in a mediation.
Review or consulting counsel should provide information and advice to a client to help the client make informed choices and protect the client from unforeseen circumstances based on all information available to further the goals of the client.
Review or consulting counsel should:
· Support the mediation process
· Advise the client with regard to the adequacy of financial disclosures
· Advise the client of the range of legal standards and realistic expectations
· Help the client prioritize interests and develop proposals
· Review and explain agreements between the client and his/her spouse/co- parent
· Respect confidentiality between his or her client and the mediator.
Review or consulting counsel should not:
· Encourage positional versus interest-based negotiating
· Encourage gamesmanship or posturing
· Exaggerate legal outcomes
· Attempt to control the mediation process
· Insist on drafting the Separation Agreement
· “Backchannel” with other review counsel
· Encourage the client to abandon agreements already reached
· Advocate for the client’s position directly with the mediator
· Encourage adversarial positions
· Undermine the client’s confidence in the mediation process or the mediator by criticizing the process or the mediator or making purely stylistic changes to an Agreement drafted by the mediator.
For more information, see the CT Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce’s website.