07/30/2026
SENATE BILL 574: CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION
Earlier today, Community Boards sent an alert expressing our concerns about proposed language in Senate Bill 574 and its potential effect on mediation confidentiality.
We received a thoughtful response from a member of our community who asked to remain anonymous and who holds a different perspective. Because mediation asks us to listen carefully to differing viewpoints, we want to share this response and create space for further discussion.
A Different Perspective
“I disagree. I think that passing SB 574 in its current form would be a boon to mediators in the long run by building public trust through accountability.
“This bill does represent a tradeoff between competing values. Clients should trust that their sensitive personal disclosures will not be shared with anyone who might misuse them.
“But perfect confidentiality inherently precludes oversight. Allowing oversight makes mediation more trustworthy. For example, unethical attorneys have used the complete privacy of a mediation room to lie to, bully, and threaten their own clients into accepting a terrible settlement—for example, falsely telling an injured client that they will lose everything or face deportation if they do not sign a low-ball settlement because the lawyer wants a quick payout. Currently, confidentiality shields this malpractice from investigation.
“In the California Supreme Court case Cassel v. Superior Court, the court ruled that mediation confidentiality strictly blocked a defrauded client from using mediation discussions as evidence against their corrupt lawyer. This bill will hold attorneys accountable.
“Explaining to clients that a State Bar oversight board has the narrow authority to review discussions specifically to protect them from misconduct should ultimately increase trust in the mediation process, which is especially important in this era of declining public trust in institutions.
“I would ask you, as ethical mediators committed to honoring all perspectives on an issue, to promptly send a follow-up message to your mailing list outlining this viewpoint. Acknowledging this complexity will allow mediators to make up their own minds about this bill.”
We appreciate this response and agree that the legislation raises important questions about how to balance confidentiality and accountability.
Community Mediation Is Different
The examples described in this response involve attorney conduct during mediations in which lawyers may advise clients about legal claims, settlement options, and the consequences of accepting or rejecting an agreement.
That is not the Community Boards model.
Community mediators do not represent either participant, provide legal advice, evaluate the strength of a case, recommend a settlement, or pressure anyone to reach an agreement. They do not decide who is right or wrong. Their role is to support a voluntary, participant-directed conversation in which the people involved make their own decisions.
Our mediators help participants listen to one another, identify the issues that matter to them, explore possible solutions, and—when they choose—develop their own agreements.
This distinction matters. At the same time, the proposed legislation raises broader questions about confidentiality that may affect different forms of mediation in different ways. We believe those differences deserve careful consideration as the legislation moves forward.
Join the Conversation
We are using this post as a public forum on the Community Boards page where mediators, attorneys, mediation providers, participants, and community members can respectfully exchange perspectives about SB 574.
We invite you to join the conversation, ask questions, share your experience, and listen to the views of others.
We ask everyone participating in the conversation to follow the values at the heart of mediation: listen with curiosity, speak from your own experience, avoid personal attacks, and engage respectfully with differing perspectives.
Thank you to the community member who challenged us to broaden this conversation—and to everyone who continues to support thoughtful dialogue about the future of mediation in California.
READ SB 574: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB574
READ COMMUNITY BOARDS’ ORIGINAL ALERT BELOW
