It is both an emotional process and a legal process and the two do not necessarily parallel each other or move along at the same rate. The combination of an attorney and a therapist helps to guide you towards a more creative agreement while closing the gap between the legal and emotional process. As an Attorney-Therapist team, we work together to help you create an agreement that works for both of you. Although a judge signs the documents, you make the decisions. There is no court calendar to abide by and no appearances in court are necessary.
Decision making power always resides with the participants in mediation.
The desired result in mediation is agreement. It is the voluntariness of settlement and the degree of control that parties maintain over their fate that make these processes so appealing. The challenge is whether parties can voluntarily agree to the same thing to avoid the costs and risk of pursuing a litigated resolution. Life in modern times has become so complex, with so many competing rights and interests that courts and administrative hearings officers simply cannot keep up. Mediation is cost effective, private and confidential, on your time schedule and less stressful.