1. What is “Screening”? Screening is a triaging process that has been used by mediators for years to help them provide safe and balanced mediations. The mediator meets separately with each party, before agreeing to take the case, and elicits specific information that will help the mediator “diagnose” their complex relationship dynamic. The main purpose is to ascertain whether bringing …
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Top Ten Questions about Screening for Power Imbalances and Domestic Violence in Mediation and Arbitration
What exactly is family mediation?
Family mediation is like a stepping stone in a fast-running brook. It usually will get you to the other side safely and dry. But sometimes the stone wobbles and another stone must be tried. MORE
Is it confidential? Is it binding? A recent case answers common questions about mediation
A recent decision of Justice A. Himel of the Newmarket Superior Court of Justice is instructive for family mediators, parties seeking mediation services and their lawyers. Butler v Butler addresses the question of mediation confidentiality, and whether an unsigned Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) can be enforced as an agreement. After a long day of closed (eg/confidential) mediation, the mediator dictated …
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12 Stages of Family Mediator Moves
Our 40 hour Basic Family Mediation course is rich with useful content designed to teach the fundamentals of family mediation, including this helpful flowchart, which is an excerpt from those training materials:
Overview of Family Relations
As mental health and family law professionals we know that every family we work with is unique. We also know that families are incredibly complex and dynamic systems… How we understand and respond to a family’s uniqueness informs our mediations and other ADR processes at every stage – from intake to completion. Developing and expanding on our skills of analysis …
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Farmer v. Farmer*: Nine Easy Steps to Being a Better Arbitrator
All arbitrators can make errors that lead to appeals. But there is a difference between making procedural errors that cause parties to feel that they did not receive due process, and simply being wrong in law. By following the tips above, arbitrators can reduce the chances of making procedural errors. Farmer v Farmer, Finlayson J, ONSC 5913
Arbitration: Sufficiency of Reasons
Judges sometimes make reversible errors that are overturned on appeal; so too with arbitrators. It is not very often, however, that judges or arbitrators have their decisions overturned for lack of sufficiency in their reasons, especially in complicated cases, involving lots of money. It also does not often happen that an appellate judge feels the need to set out a …
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Views from a Mediator-In-Training: Workshop on Determining Income for Child and Spousal Support
This short workshop was an excellent introduction for mediators and a great refresher for family law lawyers regarding the different sources of income and how they may affect income calculation for support purposes. The presenter, family law lawyer and mediator, Angela Princewill, was knowledgeable, friendly and funny. She did an excellent job presenting this difficult and important topic, from both perspectives, …
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