Who can attend a family law mediation is up to the participants. Since mediations often involve personal issues and require open discussion to be successful it’s important that everyone is comfortable with the people in the room.
An outsider who comes to a mediation is referred to as a support person. The most common support person in mediation is an attorney. Attorneys are especially helpful in shuttle mediation, where the participants negotiate from different rooms and the mediator goes back and forth between them. They can be less helpful if the mediation is in one room, since they have a tendency to get too involved, which can sidetrack the participants. Other common support persons include parents, siblings, significant others and pastors.
Support persons can be very helpful in mediation, but at the same time they can derail all progress. If you’d like to bring someone it’s important to think about how they will assist you in the process. Remember to reach out to the other participant and your mediator prior to the session to ask for permission to bring someone.