As a family law attorney I believe mediation is a crucial aspect of helping my clients through divorce issues like child custody and spousal support. This is a slightly redacted version of the summary of mediation I give to clients prior to starting our first session. By providing a summary I feel clients will have an idea of what to expect and be better prepared to have an effective session.

The general process is as follows:

1. Opening statement: a short statement I make discussing my role as a mediator, the confidential nature of mediation and out line the procedure we will follow.

2. Uninterrupted time for each party: Each party is given an uninterrupted opportunity to openly discuss their concerns. This also give the me an opportunity to fully hear the details of the case. Listening without responding may be challenging, but it is important at this point for each person to speak.

3. Exchange: At this point all parties and I have an open discussion to respond to each others uninterrupted time and fill in the gaps.

4. Set an agenda: Through the discussion numerous issues will come to the surface. I try to create a list of these issues and with the input of the parties we agree which issues are on the agenda for this session.

5. Creating an Agreement: At this point I provide some legal background of the issues to the clients. We then explore alternative solutions for these issues. This process ends with reaching a tentative agreement for each issue on the agenda.

6. Writing an agreement: At this point I typically draft an initial agreement to be reviewed and signed on a later date. Each party will leave with a draft of what was agreed upon and when they return we will finalize a final draft of the agreement.

7. Closing statement: During this final stage I will quickly review the progress made during the session and discuss the possibility of future meetings and sessions.

My summary gives some additional information, but my goal in providing this information is to help people of what to expect. Mediation is always becoming more accepted and I am proud to encourage it in my family law office.