Family law is full of its own unique challenges because the parties likely already know one another well and in many cases desire to repair a relationship or at least have some kind of communication in the future. Even if the case at hand involves something like child custody, two disputing parties may want to come together for the best interests of the children.
In litigation, the atmosphere is adversarial. Parties are encouraged to work with their lawyers to develop an offensive strategy that makes their case look good and a defensive strategy that pits the other party as problematic. From this standpoint alone, going through litigation versus family mediation in Louisiana makes it difficult for parties to resume a relationship after the dispute is over. Litigation tends to make communication between parties worse, or at best, at the same point as it was before the legal paperwork was filed for the case. Neither of these helps to repair relationships.
Mediation can even help conflicted parties learn how to communicate better with one another. Mediators may help find the root of a problem, making the parties more aware of how their actions or inactions contributed to a particular issue. In terms of repairing relationships, this can go a long way towards setting the parties up for better interactions in the future. While you do not necessarily have to meet in the same room for mediation, doing so can illustrate some of the positive aspects of working together. You might just have a better resolution and relationship for it.
