FDRIO Unconference on May 4, 2016

1. Early
Triage:
Defusing
Family
Conflicts
Before
Li9ga9on
Omar
Ha-­‐Redeye
JD,
LLM

2. "The
family
court
system
is
in
crisis
with
unrepresented
people
who
don't
have
a
clue
what
they
are
doing.
They
don't
understand
that
this
is
not
Judge
Judy,”
says
Jus9ce
Harvey
Brownstone

3. Current
State
of
Family
Law
– Currently,
the
process
is
unaffordable,
slow,
and
overly-­‐
complex
to
navigate
• 2
Trends:
– Those
who
can
afford
and
opt
to
go
to
private
media9on
(fast
and
more
efficient)
– Courtroom
is
dominated
by
self-­‐represented
li9gants
70%
of
li9gants
are
self-­‐represented
Ul9mate
goal:
to
bring
“meaningful
access
to
jus9ce”
a)
financially
affordable
b)
9mely
c)
easy
to
understand
d)
easy
to
maneuver
through

4. Value
in
Media9on
• move
media9on
from
the
peripheral
to
the
center
of
the
court
– Par9es
become
part
of
the
solu9on
– Par9es
take
accountability
and
responsibility
– Play
a
role
in
seng
their
own
terms
for
their
futures

5. Triage
Model
Pilot
Project
for
Family
Law
• Entry
Point
into
the
courthouse
• Step
1:
Intake
by
lawyer
– Single
session
early
neutral
consulta9on
• Disclosure:
standard
intake
summary
form,
funding
from
sources
• Administra9ve
assistance,
mandatory
early
screening
• Op9on
for
couples
to
choose
to
be
in
separate
rooms

6. Triage
Model
Pilot
Project
for
Family
Law
• Step
2:
Referral
to
Screening
and
Family
Coaching/
Counsellor
– If
unreasonable
communica9on
between
par9es,
mandatory
referral
to
coach/counsellor
– OR
– Referral
Screening
and
MediaCon
• If
unreasonable
communica9on
between
both
par9es,
mandatory
referral
to
media9on

7. Triage
Model
Pilot
Project
for
Family
Law
• Step
3
(Finally):
Referral
to
Judge
for
Court
Process
– Triage
would
be
assisted
here
by
several
different
levels
of
case
management.
• Judicial
first
appearance
and
judicial
conferencing

8. Considera9ons
• Emphasis
on
prac9cal
guidance
at
every
stage
of
triage
• Should
be
flexible
and
mul9disciplinary
process
• How
it
can
be
funded:
– Increase
court
fees
even
further
– Emphasis
cost
consequences

9. • @omarharedeye
• omar@fleetstreetlaw.com