Divorce Without Dishonor

     Those who care about the future of children need to be proactive in developing innovative and comprehensive ways to reduce parental strife and deal more effectively with high conflict custody and visitation cases.

     On October 27, 2005 I attended a special Family Law dinner meeting and the related seminar the following day. Both events were hosted by the Baltimore County Family Law Committee. The program topic of the Baltimore County Court’s new developing procedures for Handling High Conflict Child Access Cases drew the presence of about a dozen local circuit court judges and masters, several court administrators, a few mental health experts, some scholars and many interested family law practitioners. Some of the distinguished guests that I remember seeing included: The Honorable Dana Mark Levitz, The Honorable Thomas J. Bollinger, The Honorable John O. Hennegan, The Honorable Kathleen Gallogly Cox, The Honorable Robert N. Dugan, The Honorable Susan Souder, The Honorable Michael J. Finiifter, The Honorable Vicki Ballou-Watts, The Honorable Patrick Cavanaugh, Master C. Theresa Beck, Master Jacqueline E. Dawson,  Master Mary Kramer (Howard County),  Master William V. Tucker (Howard County),  Richard P. Abbott, Esquire (Family Law Administrator), Peter J. Lally (Court Administrator), Mark Urbanik, (Family Support Services Coordinator), Wendy Sawyer (Director, Office of Family Mediation), Master Richard J. Gilbert, and Andrew Shepard, Esquire (Professor of Law at Hofstra School of Law)

     Those in attendance share the view that the litigants in custody cases should be held more accountable for their contribution to increasing or decreasing levels of conflict. The availability of conflict-reducing dispute resolution mechanisms is essential in that endeavor.

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