Mediation is one of the fundamental pillars at the Divorce & Mediation Law Firm. We believe that when the parties seek to reduce the stress, time and cost of aggressively litigating in court, they can have more control over achieving the best outcome and move toward their future life much sooner than they could when forced to follow the court’s calendar.

In addition, for many families where privacy is a concern, mediation can be very successful because discussions are kept private and key personal information may not need to be filed in court records.

Mediation is a voluntary, non-adversarial process where parties with different view points meet to discuss their differences. The parties agree to be guided by a neutral third-party mediator (not a Judge or decision-maker) to assist them in reaching an agreement and settle the case.

Many different types of family matter disputes may be resolved with mediation, and mediation is most successful when both parties wish to find a fair settlement of their dispute once and for all. Each party may be represented by an experienced attorney that is skilled in mediation, who will look out for their own client’s best interests and will raise issues and concerns that a client may not have considered or feels hesitant to raise. Alternatively, the parties can hire the mediator to assist them without counsel present. An unrepresented party is called a pro se litigant.

A mediation will generally proceed as follows:

• Orientation
• Review the facts
• Understand the wants and needs of the parties
• Identify the areas of agreement
• Identify the areas of disagreement
• Find options for settlement