As a mediator, I am retained by both parties to mediate issues in any of the practice areas listed under legal representation. Because I have completed the requisite amount of mediation training and am a member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, communications between my mediation clients and me are confidential by operation of law. As a result, neither client may call me as a witness in any subsequent litigation in Court. Below are two types of mediation services that I offer:

Traditional Mediation
As a traditional mediator, I work directly with couples who have the desire and ability to work together to resolve their issues. My role is to assist my clients with the creation of their own settlement. Once I provide mediation services to a client, however, I can never represent that client as an attorney. For that reason, I recommend that each client obtain a separate attorney to provide individually tailored legal advice. Some clients choose not to retain an attorney, and in most instances, that is not a problem.

Mediation can be a healing process that sometimes involves less conflict and moves faster than with traditional legal representation. Mediation is not for everyone, but if both people have a desire to try mediation, can both safely articulate their own needs and desires in the other's presence, both have a relatively similar level of sophistication when it comes to the issue at hand (whether it be child-related or financial), and are both confident that the other person will participate with full financial disclosure, there's a good chance that mediation will be successful. I am also comfortable serving as a mediator with attorneys participating in the mediation, if the clients so prefer.

When we have resolved the outstanding issues in mediation, I draft a Separation Agreement which becomes the final Judgment of Divorce.  I provide my clients with a "self-help" packet with the necessary forms and instructions so they can file their divorce action themselves.

Case Evaluation
As a case evaluation mediator, I meet with both parties and their attorneys (if they are represented by counsel), review documents provided by them, and offer opinions and guidance to help the parties settle the unresolved issues. This can be a very useful tool for a complex case that is headed to trial with no likely settlement in sight. Trials are expensive and emotionally draining and should be avoided whenever possible. Case evaluation can steer a case away from a trial and quickly move it toward creative settlement.