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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Category Archives: Family Mediation
Views from a Mediator-In-Training: Workshop on Determining Income for Child and Spousal Support
Guest Blog Post: “What Have I Seen You In?”
When you tell someone that you are an actor, their immediate question is: “What have I seen you in?”. There is my usual response to the various commercials, tv, and film roles I’ve done; but what they don’t know is the impact my job as an actor has had in real life with real people. People like the participants doing mediation training with Hilary at Riverdale Mediation. This always …
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A Good Case for Family Mediators: Justice Sherr in L.B. and P. E.
As family mediators, we work “in the shadow of the law”. Our job is to help parties reach agreements that are better for them than their alternatives… meaning mediators must know what a court would do with a given situation. We also must put the interests of children first, and decline to mediate parenting outcomes that we believe will not …
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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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Conflict Analysis: What Is The Difference Between a “Conflict” and a “Dispute”? (and Why It Helps to Understand the Difference)
An early challenge for the family mediator is to help the client organize their thinking so that they clearly understand why they are coming to mediation, what they need to resolve and what they can let go or resolve later or in a different way. Mediators need tools to help them do this effectively. MORE
Family Mediation in Cape Town, South Africa
In late September, the Family Mediators’ Association of the Cape (FAMAC) hosted its third bi-annual conference and I was honoured to be a returning international guest speaker. This year I spoke on “Empowering Parents Through Interest-Based Mediation and Facilitative Parenting Coordination”. (Note: all the conference presentations are available on the FAMAC website) The Conference was opened by my wonderful …
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