“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”

    — Erich Fromm

DARING TO BE DIFFERENT

No two families are alike - neither are two mediations.   In designing the roadmap for your mediation, I carefully tailor the process to your particular needs.  My job is to educate, inspire, and encourage thoughtful negotiations for long-term solutions that will work for you, your partner and your children.  I pride myself on my  ability to think  "outside-the-box"  and I encourage parties to get creative with their separation plans. 

HOW IT WORKS

Mediation is a collaboration between you, your partner, your attorneys and the mediator, working to generate an agreement that addresses your individual and unique family needs.   Parties often come to mediation when they have reached an impasse, skeptical about whether they will be able to achieve anything new in the process.  Your role is to come to mediation with an open mind, ready to work. My role is to surprise you.

I meet with parties separately, at first, in order to get to know you and assess your case for mediation.  This helps me to design a process that is right for your unique conflict.  During the mediation, I will guide you and your negotiating partner through the process and facilitate the communications between you.  The mediation may include joint sessions, solo sessions, or a mix of the two, during which I will help you identify your needs, address your concerns, coach you through strategic negotiations, and help you generate practical solutions.   Although I am a lawyer, as your mediator, I do not give legal advice.  My job is to make sure you and your partner are aware of the relevant legal issues and assist you to make your own decisions.  

Your attorney has an important role in the process.  Your attorney's job is to inform you of your rights and obligations and advise you about  the litigation process and range of possible results in court.  Depending on the circumstances, your attorney may or may not attend the mediation, however they should be available during the session to assist you, if necessary.  

The goal in mediation is to achieve a settlement that is practical and well-informed, using all the resources that will help get you there.  

GOT ASPIRIN?

A mediated settlement has the potential, not only to bring a speedy resolution to conflict, but to provide parties with practical solutions that best suit their needs and lifestyle.  

In my years in family law practice, I empathized with my clients who often felt overwhelmed by legal procedure, cost, and lengthy detours on the litigation highway (judicial continuances, courtesy extensions, broad scope discovery requests).  While there are certainly necessary procedures and protections in litigation, the nature of the adversarial legal system has the unfortunate effect of creating acrimony, where parties - families - are often best served reducing conflict and bringing peace and finality to the dispute.  

Early in my legal career, a wise mentor once asked in a meeting: “What is it that we do?” to which someone replied, “We provide a service.  We are service providers.”  "No," he explained, "Clients aren't looking for a service, they are looking for a solution.  People come to us with their headaches.  They want an aspirin.”  The unfortunate reality of litigation is that too often it requires that you swallow a migraine before you can tackle your headache.  In mediation, you address the conflict head-on and create a resolution that works for you.