How to Prepare for Your Child Custody Mediation

When emotions are involved, a mediator can serve as a neutral party to tackle serious issues in a divorce. Child custody is often the most serious issue, especially in regard to how time is split between the parents and children. The first tip in regard to preparing for your child custody mediation is to know…

Read More

Attorney Fields Speaking on Family Law Mediation in Wellesley

Fields and Dennis, LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan Fields will be speaking on the topic of “Mediation Challenges for the Family Law Practitioner” in Wellesley on April 8th. He, along with Kate Fanger, Esq. and Ellen Waldorf, Esq., will be presenting on behalf of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation (MCFM) at the…

Read More

Speaking Engagement at MAGAL Conference

Thanks to the Massachusetts Association of Guardians Ad Litem (MAGAL) for inviting me to speak at their annual conference on November 7 on high-conflict cases in litigation and mediation.  The keynote speaker, Bill Eddy, was terrific.  The title, too, was excellent– “I’m OK, You’re a X$!#@&%!!!: High-Conflict Behavior in Family Law Cases.”

Read More

What to Look for in a Divorce Attorney and What to Avoid

Divorce is a trying time for everyone who goes through it, but each divorce is also different. Whether the couple has been married for a lengthy span, if there are children involved, if the parting is amicable or the separation is wrought with hostility and resentment. With so many unique concerns to consider, there is…

Read More

Mediation for Families

Mediation is a tool that can be invaluable to families. At Fields and Dennis, we are well-versed in all aspects of Family Law, and we often turn to mediation as an agreeable and less distressing means to an end.  There are many ways that mediation can benefit families at various stages of life. From divorce to estate planning and everything in between, mediation can be an…

Read More

Family Mediation Quarterly: President’s Letter

Dear Mediators: The most recent professional development meeting, “Collaborative Law and Mediation Tools and Techniques: A Common Ground” was a product of the joint committee of the MCFM and the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council chaired by our own Lynn Cooper.  The panelists, in addition to Lynn, were Dan Finn, Kate Fanger, Karen Levitt, and Lisa…

Read More

MCFM President's Letter: The Genius of Family

On September 13, as most of you know, MCFM marked an important milestone – our 30th anniversary.  We honored the occasion with an event at the Endicott House in Dedham.  Thanks to the organizers (in alphabetical order – Lynn Cooper, Barbara Kellman, Diane Spears, Laurie Udell, and Fran Whyman,) it was a well-attended and unqualified…

Read More

More questions than answers for mediators after ‘Bott’

The following letter to the editor of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly was published on August 23, 2012. Please click here to download the PDF. To the editor: The recent Supreme Judicial Court opinion, In the Matter of Bott, 462 Mass. 430 (2012), has attracted widespread attention in the local mediation community. Because of its potential ramifications, many…

Read More

MCFM FPresident's Message

Dear Mediators: I am so honored that you, my peers, have elected me President and hope that, over the next two years, I prove worthy of the choice. For those of you who don’t know me, I have been practicing law for 21 years and the last 16 have been in the family law area.…

Read More