SERVICES:

Civil Lawsuits

Understanding the Legal Process and the Human Process:

In the midst of a lawsuit, mediation offers a wise alternative to trial for many reasons, including flexibility, confidentiality and control over the outcome.  However not all mediators are created equal and not all effective trial lawyers and judges make for good mediators.  To increase your chances of a meaningful process and self determined resolution, it's important to choose a mediator who fully understands the application of laws, the ramifications of trial and the effects of conflict on human behavior, including highly charged emotions, challenging behaviors, face saving, and the general interplay of personalities with facts and figures.  

My approach to mediation is informed by my work as a litigator in state and federal courts, my work as a federal judicial law clerk, and my extensive training in mediation and conflict resolution skills from some of the top teachers in the country.   

In my work as a mediator, I incorporate the following skills as needed: 

• Encouraging constructive debate among the parties to the dispute without giving away requested confidences;
• Participating in private intra-party dialogue between attorneys and their clients to explore the application of law and rules of evidence, potential witness and expert testimony, assumptions, strengths and weakness;
• Clarifying interests, needs, and concerns by asking appropriate questions;
• Handling difficult people and intense situations with diplomacy and tact;
• Exploring creative options for meeting the parties' needs and interests;
• If an ongoing relationship between the parties might exist, facilitating dialogue that can improve the working relationships among disputants;
• Orchestrating a win-win situation.

Questions about services, availability and rates for Civil Lawsuit Mediations?

Contact the office at (207) 409-3542 or via the contact form.

The Benefits of Mediation:

Private family mediation allows couples and families to work through divorce, post-divorce disputes, and other family matters outside the impersonal world of the court system.  It fosters a sense of empowerment because the parties make decisions rather than leaving those decisions to a judge or magistrate.  Mediation also saves time and money, ensures privacy, and provides a forum where the participants can, if they choose, learn about conflict as a means of improved future communication. 

Privacy, Respect, and Accuracy:

All my divorce mediations occur in private, confidential settings where respect is emphasized.  Couples can choose to meet with me together in one room or individually in separate rooms.  Couples may choose to have attorneys present or to meet with me on their own.  I will help through the entire negotiation/dialogue process. If resolution is reached, I will draft a divorce agreement that accurately reflects the couples' wishes, interests and concerns.  The agreement is designed to be incorporated into the court's final divorce judgment.

The Process:

I will provide each participant with an agreement to mediate form and a list of items to review to prepare for the mediation.  Depending on your situation, the mediation will cover division of property, finances and debt, tax issues, spousal support, and those issues involving children, including parental rights, residency, child support, and future contact schedules.  While it may seem possible to address all of these issues in one day, it is more likely the divorce mediation process will involve two or more sessions.  Because of the unique stresses of divorce, additional sessions allow couples time to carefully consider their important decisions. 

For Parents with Children:

Although divorce is painful and difficult, mediation offers parents who have an ongoing relationship surrounding their children a way to build improved communication and cooperation skills going forward.  This is done by identifying patterns of conflict, encouraging open discussion, and exploring ways to de-escalate conflict.  It is also done by making decisions together, even as you embark on separate lives.  Mediation offers a unique way to make your transition as positive as possible.

Questions about services, availability and rates for Divorce/Family Matter Mediations?

Contact the office at (207) 409-3542 or via the contact form.

Mediating Workplace Conflict

Benefits of Workplace Mediation Before the Lawsuit Happens:

Workplace mediation benefits employers and employees alike because it provides fast, creative, mutually satisfactory resolutions while fostering mutual respect, improved communication and overall improved workplace culture.

When a dispute is mediated shortly after it arises, the chances of optimal resolution are much greater: the parties' differences have not had a chance to fester, the situation is generally more fluid, and the parties have more resolution options available to them. Also, mediated resolutions to workplace conflict last longer than resolutions authoritatively imposed because everyone involved contributes to and buys into them.  Mediation can mend frayed working relationships, even when the parties are extremely upset.

Cost Savings and Employee Retention:

Over 90% of cases settle at mediation, with a further 19% settling within the following weeks after mediation, once parties have seen and explored the other person's position. But by then, the organization has expended thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees and retention of the employee is less likely. Of the companies using mediation, over 81% said it was quicker, over 79% said it was more effective and almost 85% said it has reduced their anticipated legal costs.  Why not mediate before conflict devolves into a lawsuit?

Not a Settlment Conference or Collective Bargaining:

Workplace mediation is different from mediation within litigation. The primary goal of litigation mediation is to settle the case.  The primary goal of workplace mediation is to leave the participants better able to work together in the organization. Traditional "settlement conferences," in which the mediator separates the parties and shuttles back and forth between them, often will not be adequate to this task; nor are mediators who operate that way.  The participants will need to work through their differences together and this requires mediators skilled in sitting with participants during the exploration of their specific conflict aspects.  

As the parties gain an expanded understanding of the situation, their ability to work together toward resolution -and after resolution-increases.

Value of a skilled third-party neutral:  

Many human resource professionals have been mediating workplace conflict for years.  Some now seek mediation training to better serve their organization and coworkers in conflict.  However, at times because one or more participants cannot trust an employee to be neutral or to maintain confidentiality, both of which are essential to a successful mediation, bringing in outside professional mediators is vital.  Where the dispute could end up in litigation if not resolved, this is worth the relatively low cost.  

Virtually any difference that arises in the workplace can benefit from mediation if the parties are willing to deal directly with each other and if the company has the resources to provide a mediator. Indeed, over time, a workplace in which mediation is the preferred or presumed dispute resolution mechanism is likely to become a workplace in which colleagues and coworkers need less assistance in working through differences and begin to be natural collaborators. However, there are certain types of workplace conflicts in which any organization would be well-advised to offer mediation with a professional neutral. These include:

1. Sexual harassment complaints. People often assume that parties to a sexual harassment complaint cannot work together to resolve the dispute. That assumption can do both parties a disservice. Many hostile environment complaints arise as a result of differences in perception about what is funny or flattering and what is offensive behavior, or they arise as a result of one person's failure to respect the other or to understand the effect of his or her behavior on the other. If the parties are willing to talk with each other, these complaints can be mediated to excellent conclusions. The employer can save its relationship with both employees and avoid an expensive and painful lawsuit.

2. Personality Disputes between employees. Sometimes interpersonal differences prevent coworkers from functioning effectively together. If the company needs both employees and needs them working together, mediation can be very effective.   

3. Deteriorating performance. A good employee can stop performing well for many reasons. When a supervisor or manager addresses the problem directly, the employee can respond with fear and defensiveness, resulting in further deterioration. Mediation between them can help each understand the other's needs, requirements and requests and can yield an agreement about how they will work together in the future. Both are more likely to observe such an agreement because both created 

4. Terminations. Even though the termination poses litigation risks, mediation on the terms of the separation can be very helpful. The employee has a chance to communicate severance needs and to affect the nature and quality of the severance package, while the employer has an opportunity to eliminate its litigation exposure.  The employee may never agree that the termination was warranted but will more likely feel heard and understood and may also come to understand the reasons for the employer's action. These realizations can make it easier for terminated employees to move on without litigation.

Co-Mediation Model:

For workplace mediations, I offer either single or co-mediators.  Co-mediation, especially involving highly trained male and female mediators, can be the most effective form or mediation available.   

Questions about services, availability or rates for Workplace Mediations? 

Contact the office at (207) 409-3542 or via the contact form.

Facilitation

Facilitation Services for Multiparty Negotiation, Mergers, Boards of Directors Meetings and Intra-Organizational Matters

Is your organization at a crossroads?  Are you entering into a merger or some new venture and would like the assistance of a neutral facilitator?  Using a combination of creativity and conflict management skills, I provide faciliation services that are tailored to your specific needs, designed to assist you, your organization and your partners/collaborators in connecting your present situation to your future. 

Questions about services, availability or rates for Facilitations? 

Contact the office at (207) 409-3542 or via the contact form.