ABQ Times

When University of New Mexico Adjunct Professor Lawrence Jones isn’t teaching or mediating contentious cases, he's trying to help parents and professionals create a less stressful experience for children during separation or divorce.

Jones, who teaches law-related classes within UNM's Department of Political Science and serves as the Vice-Chair of the New Mexico Supreme Court's Statewide Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution, has a lengthy background in family court litigation. As a former Family Court Judge in New Jersey and the former President of the New Jersey Coalition of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NJCJFCJ), he has seen many unfortunate cases with children and contentious divorces. That’s why he and his wife, Joni Jones, created Point C.

“We thought this was a very interesting and effective way to address an important issue that gets overlooked a lot in family court when parents are at war fighting over the alleged 'best interests' of the child," Jones said.

Point C is a free public educational resource that focuses on the emotional health and welfare of children during and after a divorce, aiming to educate parents and professionals on how to support a child’s needs during separation or divorce. Point C includes a short 5-minute film Jones developed showing a young child growing up in a hostile divorce. The video is designed for parents and professionals directly or indirectly involved in the family court process, such as attorneys, judges, therapists, and custody experts.

“It was readily apparent in many cases that the divorcing parents, through their own contentious conduct and dysfunctional attitudes, were unintentionally but substantially hurting their children on an emotional level,” he said. “We hope parents watch the video, which may make them stop and seriously think twice about the potential impact of what they are jointly doing to their child."

Jones says many who have watched the clip have reached different conclusions about what ‘Point C’ personally means to them.

“The father is at Point A and the mother is at Point B. However, Point C is theoretically a goal of peaceful compromise for the sake of a child,” Jones said. “The video portrays how, from the child’s standpoint, the meaning of ‘Point C’ significantly changes during her parents’ endless battle as she gradually grows up from a young dependent child to a fully independent adult.”

Jones says the inspiration behind the video comes from his years on the bench as a Family Court Judge. He recalls sitting in on a very hostile custody trial years ago that left a big impact on him. During his lunch break that day in the courthouse cafeteria without any available paper to write on, he grabbed an old discarded pizza box on a nearby table and wrote the outline for Point C on its lid. He used that starting point to develop the video which he later presented at an annual educational conference packed with family court Judges at Judicial College. After that, it was posted to YouTube gaining support amongst professionals in divorce litigation.

“Many Judges were saying after Judicial College they really wanted to show the Point C video in their courtroom to try to make an impact on some parents who were so engrossed in fighting each other they couldn’t see beyond that battle," he said. "The Point C video is an example of a nontraditional resource that might help in these cases."

Jones says social media platforms have picked up on his work along with podcasts featuring discussions about it. Just this past June 2024, The Association of Family Conciliation Courts (AFCC), one of largest worldwide organizations for professionals involved with divorce or child-related issues featured Point C at their annual conference held in Boston this year while National Council Juvenile Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) highlighted it August 2024 cover story In Session publication

"One mediator related story where both sides agreed showing them both 'Point-C' made them start crying eventually settling case few days later enough getting thinking" added professor hoping tool takes further life own here New Mexico used mediators across state students learning mediation dispute resolution skills

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