CHAPTER 33
I had a mediation scheduled for that morning. Mediation is an informal meeting of the parties, their attorneys, and a court-appointed mediator for the purpose of having a settlement conference. All parties in family cases are required to mediate before trial; in other words, they have to at least try to work it out before going to court. In this case, I was the mediator, other times, I'm there as the attorney. For family attorneys, it's a game of musical chairs, moving from the attorney chair to the mediator chair and then back again.
Since I was the mediator that day, I didn't have a horse in the race. In my opening speech, I always explain the rules and do my best to assure the parties that I'm neutral, like Switzerland. If they don't crack a smile at that, I know it's going
