Category Archives: ADR Training

In January we offered four interactive days of instruction to students across Ontario using live webcast technology. Students avoided the time and expense of travel to Toronto, accommodations and eating out for four days. They loved that they could take the course from their homes or offices. One of our students had a child at home who fell ill, and …
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Over the past year we have had the privilege of working with a group of family dispute resolution professionals in PEI who are pioneering parenting coordination there. Parenting coordination (PC) is an innovative mediation, coaching, educative and decision-making process that offers high-conflict parents a way to resolve disagreements about their children without going before a judge. It is usually a …
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In one of the most compelling decisions I have read in a long time, a British judge decided to disallow a 14-year-old’s proposal to move to another country with his father, even though the son gave evidence that he very much wanted to move. It is a touching decision that almost made me cry, mostly because of the profoundly beautiful …
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These excerpts are taken from Family Arbitration: Perspectives of a Practitioner and Trainer, written by Richard W. Shields. This content will be part of the upcoming 40-Hour Family Arbitration Law & Skills training. Learn more here.   Before the Hearing – Appointing the Arbitrator Under section 58(d) of the Arbitration Act, any arbitrator who conducts a family arbitration must have received training, approved by the Attorney General. …
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This week we are teaching family law to a class of mediation students. It is only 30 hours, not nearly enough, but we try to use those hours to teach mediators the things they really need to know. One topic we touch on: Can people in family court be ordered to mediate? In Ontario, there is no such thing as …
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This week we are teaching a 30-hour course in family law for Ontario mediators. Although one only scratches the surface of family law in such a short time, we manage to cover a lot of ground. Mediation in Ontario is an unregulated field. Although there are outstanding professional organizations for mediators to join—four in Ontario alone—membership in such an organization …
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