Posts Tagged ‘mediation’
Jonathan E. Fields elected president of the MCFM
On May 1, Jonathan Fields was elected President of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation for a two-year term. He is honored to have been chosen by his peers in an organization in which he has served as an Executive Board member since 2005. The MCFM is a non-profit organization established over twenty-five years go…
Read MoreMarriage Foundation Recommends Mediation
“Judges do not traditionally speak out about the social issues that manifest themselves in their courts,” wrote Lesley Garner, Telegraph journalist and former advice columnist. So it’s somewhat surprising that Sir Paul Coleridge, a senior family court judge in the UK founded the Marriage Foundation, a campaign that promotes, among other things, mediation prior to…
Read MoreLawyer-Mediator’s Subsequent Representation of Party
A Nebraska attorney served as a mediator for an unmarried couple in a child custody dispute; later, after the mediation had concluded, this same attorney represented the mother against the father in a suit involving the father’s alleged wrongful theft of certain of the mother’s property. The father sought to disqualify the attorney on the…
Read MoreMediation Outcome: Not a Reflection of Self-Worth
A provocative new law journal article deconstructs the psychodynamics of the mediation / negotiation process. Professional mediators certainly understand, if only instinctively, the primacy of ego, self-esteem, and self-identity in any mediation; but the piece articulates a framework and diagnostic that even experienced mediators may find useful. Essentially, the author, Elizabeth Bader, posits that there…
Read MoreTV Drama about a Mediator Debuts January 20 on USA Network
On January 20, the USA network debuts its newest drama, “Fairly Legal.” The show focuses on Kate, a reformed litigator who, disgusted with the practice of traditional law, becomes a mediator, or as the network press release puts it, the “ultimate anti-lawyer.” I’ll tune in for the premiere. I’m a little concerned, however, about the…
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