"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often the real loser - in fees, expenses, and waste of time."     Abraham Lincoln

What is Mediation 

Mediation is a way of resolving disputes and reaching a mutually acceptable settlement. In mediation an impartial, professional mediator helps parties communicate freely, generate needed information, clarify differences, identify issues, understand the important legal and personal issues at stake, consider creative solutions, and come to a mutually acceptable agreement which is enforceable legally. 

It is Empowering

In mediation YOU are the one who decides your case. The mediator is only a facilitator who helps you resolve your dispute, he or she cannot impose a decision on you - you are in control. Mediation may be your last chance to have control over the outcome of your dispute. If you go to court, the judge, who is a total stranger, will make decisions about your life and property. In the divorce setting, this means a stranger will decide about your children and their custody and support, about the division of your finances, and about who will live in your home.

 It is Successful 

Mediation can accomplish in weeks or months what could take years in court. Because mediation helps you avoid many of the legal expenses (such as the cost of discovery, expert witnesses, and many hours of attorney's fees), mediation can save you a lot of money. In mediation more of your assets are left in your hands. 

 It helps you Stay Whole 

Being involved in a legal dispute can literally consume you with stress and anxiety. Mediation helps you to resolve your problems quickly without the stress associated with lengthy and expensive legal actions. In a divorce, it helps you wind down your marriage with a minimum of animosity and bitterness; and in any setting it helps resolve your dispute quickly and creatively, keeping all parties positive and engaged in the process. Mediation helps you put your problem in the past so that you can start building a better future. In mediation you learn how to cooperate in negotiating a fair settlement that takes everyone's needs and perspectives into account. This is healthy for everyone involved.

 It is Efficient and Economical 

Studies show that parties to mediation are more likely to abide by the terms of a settlement agreement voluntarily, and to cooperate with each other in co-parenting arrangements negotiated in mediation, than are those who have the terms of their separation or divorce imposed on them by a court. This is because in mediation the parties have taken ownership of the process. 

 It is Confidential 

Unless otherwise required by law, everything you say or disclose in mediation is confidential, and cannot be used against you.