Men have and will, at times, face discrimination in West Michigan courts when they assert their rights to pursue joint or sole physical custody.  The judges and friend of the court workers that perpetuate the discrimination often don't  realize that they are discriminating.  That is because many people are very susceptible to unconscious/ implicit bias.  At a recent seminar, Blind Spots: How to Avoid Poor Decisions and Bad Outcomes, the presenter, Kimberly Papillon, artfully demonstrated how people have unconscious/ implicit bias. She further made the case that those of us that rely on our biases are hurting ourselves and those around us.  Ms. Papillon's remarks mostly dealt with hiring decisions and she made a strong argument that those that use bias in hiring decisions limit their hiring pools in detrimental ways.  The manner in which men are discriminated against in family law cases is analogous.  When judges and friend of the court workers unconsciously/ implicitly see men as financial providers and women as care providers, then, of course, they generally decide that women should have primary custody and men should pay support.  But men in many custody matters are care providers and, frequently, should have joint or full custody.  Unfortunately, men must fight against the unconscious/ implicit bias that disfavors them and favors the woman.  When they do, they need a firm that will acknowledge that bias exists and has tools to fight it.  They can find the attorneys they need at Shaw Law Group, West Michigan's A.D.A.M. Firm.