​Arbitration.
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Parenting Coordination

Did you know that with the consent of both parties you can hire your own private judge to address the various aspects of your family law litigation?  

From property division, to difficult questions about parenting to day-to-day parenting decisions, arbitration is often less expensive and less time consuming than traditional court applications.  

How many times was your last family docket application adjourned after you waited for how many hours for your matter to be called?  How many months did you wait for your last family chambers appearance?  Wouldn't it be great to be able to call your own private judge and have your matter heard the next week?

Arbitration has the ability to offer you a legally binding decision in a fraction of the time of traditional Court processes.

The goal of parenting coordination is to help parents move past conflict and to achieve a business-like relationship. Courts simply don't have the time to do this work with parents and the court system can be especially difficult to navigate if you are self-represented. 

Parents attend parenting coordination with an agreed agenda, having defined the scope of what needs to be accomplished in advance, having already set the parameters around what decisions can be made.  Lawyers for both sides are generally not involved in parenting coordination sessions, but may become involved before arbitration decisions are made.  Parenting coordination sessions are generally one hour in length.

In Arbitration the parents define the boundaries.  What portion of your issues are you willing to bring to parenting coordination?  Do you want to mediate? Do you want an independent objective legally trained third party to have decision-making ability if mediation fails?  The possibilities are too numerous to list here.  If both parents can agree on an issue to be put to a court, that same issue can be resolved through Arbitration. 

I have spent my legal career working through high conflict files, and I use a variety of techniques from different disciplines to assist parents in achieving their new business-like relationship. Additionally, parents can be confident that they understand the laws involved and how their matter could be decided if they chose Court instead.

​If you would like to contact me to ask about my availability and you are self-represented, please include in your email a brief description of your matter and please always copy the other party involved (they will see a copy of your email in any event if you decide to proceed so please be mindful of this).

Mediation/Arbitration

Mediation/Arbitration, also known as "Med-Arb," is a legally binding hybrid dispute resolution process.  

Like with parenting coordination, the parties are in control of what issues are on the table to be decided.  Both parties will agree in advance on the time limits involved and whether the issues to be resolved are only subject to mediation or whether the legally binding aspects of arbitration will be included.  

I welcome self-represented parties in an effort to help families afford the resolutions they need, but often lawyers for both sides are involved in the Med/Arb process.  

I encourage families to resolve smaller or less contentious issues first before tackling the higher conflict problems which helps to add momentum and satisfaction to the overall resolution.  The timing of all of this is again in the control of both parties and is a matter to be agreed on in advance.

The Courts require parties to have at least tried alternative dispute resolution before they can schedule a court trial.  If you want to get a sense about how Mediation and/or Arbitration can work for your family, why not bring a single aspect of your litigation to Med/Arb and see how you feel about the results?

Arbitration

Arbitration is a private, confidential resolution process where parties submit their dispute to a third-party neutral who is called an arbitrator and is usually someone with specific legal training. The arbitrator acts essentially as the parties’ private judge, who listens to their positions and arguments, receives evidence and makes a decision, known as an award, which is final and binding and which is enforceable in the courts.

Ten Tips to Save Money Using a Parenting Coordinator

A PC is assigned to your case and you’ve paid a substantial amount of money to get started with that person. Between you and the other parent, you have brought somewhere between two and ten issues to the PC. How can you save money and get the most out of your parenting coordinator to get those issues resolved?  Read AFCC article here.

High Conflict Parenting Coordination

This article explains the background of parenting coordination; how the authority of the parenting coordinator originates; and the role of the parenting coordinator after court orders have been made.  Read the article here.

Effective Use of Mediation-Arbitration

Over the past 15 years, mediation arbitration (or “med-arb”) has grown into a popular method of resolving family law disputes. As its name suggests, med-arb combines the most effective features of both mediation and arbitration. Why has med-arb become so popular? When does it work and when it does not? What are the ethical and practical issues that must be considered?  Read the article here.