Category Archives: Family Arbitration

Training Required for Family Arbitrators & Parenting Coordinators*

Family mediation and arbitration is an unregulated field of practice in Ontario. Although the Ontario Association of Family Mediation (OAFM) and Family Mediation Canada (FMC) have established high standards of practice, it is not necessary to obtain accreditation with either organization in order to offer family mediation services. The same applies to family arbitrators and parenting coordinators. Membership in the …
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Top Ten Questions about Screening for Power Imbalances and Domestic Violence in Mediation and Arbitration

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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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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The Promise of Family Mediation-Arbitration: Is it Real?

The crisis in access to family law justice has led to many great things happening outside of court. Collaborative practice, for example, has grown from disenchantment with the adversarial legal system’s assumption that positional bargaining necessarily protects the interest of parents and their children. Family mediation has become the go-to solution for both the public– seeking to avoid paying lawyers– …
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How to Help Your Clients Prepare for a Negotiation – Part 2 of 4

The mediator’s first job is to assess whether the proposed negotiation is suitable for all, is feasible, and can proceed in accordance with the guiding principle of “do no harm”. In this 4-part blog series, we will explore some questions mediators can review with clients before starting a mediation: PART 2 – IDENTIFY THE TERMS OF THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS Define …
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How to Help Your Clients Prepare for a Negotiation – Part 1 of 4

The mediator’s first job is to assess whether the proposed negotiation is suitable for all, is feasible, and can proceed in accordance with the guiding principle of “do no harm”. In this 4-part blog series, we will explore some questions mediators can review with clients before starting a mediation: PART 1 – INITIAL ASSESSMENT Do you really want to negotiate? …
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What is “Custody”? And Why Do Mediators Need to Know?

This week we are teaching our online 30-hour course in Family Law for Family Mediators, Parenting Coordinators and Arbitrators. It is a comprehensive overview and is good training for anyone who wants to know more about family law. We start the course discussing what comes first; changes in law or changes in society? For example, there is a social and …
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