Our “case studies” introduce students who have successfully completed our family mediation training. We hope you appreciate their insights on how our training helped them build skills, establish their practices, and make a positive impact on families.
For today’s post, we interviewed family lawyer and sole practitioner, Ryan Keleher, from Brantford, Ontario.
“It was an excellent online training program which consisted of all the theory, precedents, lecture, role play, and feedback that a competency-conscious aspiring family mediator could ask for.”
Why did you decide to take mediation training?
As a family lawyer and business owner, I have occasionally found it difficult to choose which projects to prioritize after fulfilling my responsibilities to my clients. I always wanted to offer family mediation services. However, it was important for me to have a good educational and experiential foundation before asking family law clients to pay for those services.
What did you like about our training?
It was an excellent online training program which consisted of all the theory, precedents, lecture, role play, and feedback that a competency-conscious aspiring family mediator could ask for. The program was no “breeze”, but you know what they say about easy things. My experience was:
- the program was well administered and support for participants was attentive and friendly;
- the content was generous, holistic, and well-organized;
- the Learning Management System was easy to use;
- guest speakers were interesting, and respected multi-disciplinary authorities; and,
- coaches were thoughtful, experienced, patient, and encouraging, which made each session more enjoyable rather than intimidating.
How have you benefited from it?
I noticed material improvements in my knowledge and skills by the end of the program. The feedback I received from coaches seemed to confirm that, which was encouraging. This investment will help me develop the type of fulfilling, well-rounded family law practice that I always wanted to have.
To become a certified family mediator, I must now complete supervised practice, which I hope to do with the same excellent coaches from Riverdale and its sister company, Toronto Family Mediation Services (mediate393).
What are your plans for your mediation practice?
After certification, I plan on expanding mediation services in my practice. Demand for mediation and alternatives to litigation look promising from recent Ontario survey data, which makes sense given the financial and emotional cost of court for many families.
Share a little bit about yourself:
I recently moved to Brantford from Northern Ontario and am building a family law practice that offers traditional full representation in court, unbundled (à la carte) services, coaching, and mediation. My practice leverages technology to reduce operating costs and enable investment in the most value-added parts of my practice.
If you would like to know more about my experience with Riverdale or to discuss family law, please contact me.
