Fairly Legal Review

Following is a review written by Dr. John Bertschler (my hubby):

Mediation finally reached the small screen in the form of “Fairly Legal,” which premiered January 20 (10:00 PM, USA). In case you haven’t seen it, permit me to offer one mediator’s observations and comments. In no particular order, here are some of the things Hollywood wants us to know about the practice of mediation.

1. Mediators, their associates and clients are all smokin’ hot (OK, time to find another career already).
2. We believe that truth and justice are more important than the law (this is a subversive idea that I endorse, with reservations).
3. We can be imaginative and creative in getting disputants to see things in a different light (hey, I like that one).
4. We should break the law, if need be, to see that justice is served (uh, no).
5. Being peacemakers, we are sure to drop whatever we’re doing to barge into the middle of other people’s conflicts, even if that means violent street crime (again, I don’t think so).
6. We philosophically disagree with win-lose “solutions” and encourage people to work toward win-win agreements (this one is true).
7. We’re happy to tell disputants what a fair solution would be. In fact, we’re so sure of it, we can write up the Memorandum of Understanding in advance, then manipulate the disputants to endorse what we’ve already written up, and have them sign it without reading it (let me get back to you on this one).
8. If we fail to get disputants to a full agreement, we can be cited for contempt of court (I’m pretty sure that’s not quite right).

Of course Hollywood’s version is not completely realistic and in some cases is just wrong. Nonetheless the show is entertaining and watchable, and we can be grateful that the profession is getting some notoriety and some time in the public eye.

We can only hope that when a potential client calls a mediator, he/she will get the straight goods about how mediation works in real life.