The lawyer‐behavioral scientist interface*

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Abstract
This paper briefly discusses problems of the present legal system in dealing with child custody cases and proposes two alternative modes for deciding custody disputes. Part One presents problems involved in the present process of deciding legal custody. It is argued that the adversarial process is often unresponsive to the child's best interests. Part Two describes two traditional roles of behavioral scientists: witness/consultant for the mother or father and expert to the court in child custody decision‐making. Part Three discusses two proposed alternative roles for behavioral scientists involving greater collaboration with lawyers. Called for are (1) team representation of the child by both a lawyer and a psychologist, and (2) a process of counseling and mediation among all parties to a case.

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