Blog

You Learned How to Mediate. Now, How Do You Build a Mediation Business?

I love teaching mediation. One of my favorite moments in a 40-hour mediation training is watching participants discover that they can actually do this work. The concepts begin to make sense. The skills start coming together. By the end of the training, they are...

Empathy in Mediation Is a Skill You Can Develop

Ask a room of lawyers which of them is empathetic and watch what happens. A few hands go up slowly. Most people look at the table. Underneath that is an assumption that empathy came issued at birth, and if you didn't get any, you facilitate paperwork and hope nobody...

Mediators Need Muscle Memory

Years ago, a client of mine was a Navy SEAL Commander. He was kind enough to permit me to bring a group of Boy Scouts I led to the Navy SEAL Training Center in Coronado. The kids were mesmerized. He showed us where the SEALs train, and where they suffer. We went to...
Virtual Visitation Rights A Looming Legal Question

Good article about virtual visitation­. I have a move away case going to court now. One of the issues is whether virtual visits via webcam is sufficient to allow for bonding between child and parent. I wonder what others think about that. I say no. Read the Article at...

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Why Divorces Get Ugly and How to Have a Good One

In my experience­, the process of HOW one gets divorced has a huge impact on the ugliness. The early selection of a divorce process is crucial. If possible, avoid litigation and choose a form of alternate dispute resolution like collaborat­ive divorce or mediation....

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The Non-Custodial Mother

Interestin­g article about non-custod­ial women. As a family law attorney, I am meeting more and more women who choose this arrangment for various reasons. It is still true that many women feel stigmatize­d. I find this phenominum similar to the visceral reaction that...

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