April 23, 2022
Why I Will Never Stop Taking High Conflict Mediation Cases
When family law mediators get together, we often debate about whether it’s appropriate to accept mediation clients who are manifesting extreme stress or one or...
January 04, 2022
The Benefits of Remote Mediation Services
Prior to 2021, I had resisted offering remote mediation services. Occasionally, potential clients would contact me and ask me if I’d mediate their family law...
September 14, 2016
Choosing To Mediate Your Divorce: Taking a Deeper Look at Spousal Support and Child Support Law in California
(Four minute reading time) Every state has a different approach to spousal and child support. This points out to us, like a big neon sign,...
April 12, 2016
Choosing a Professional: Should Their Values Matter?
From my point of view, choosing a professional is the most important part of your divorce process because they are the lens through which...
December 22, 2015
In the Crosshairs: The Legislature is Poised to End Mediation in the State of California
About a decade ago I attended a lunch meeting in Contra Costa County with about 50 other area attorneys. The guest speaker, a mediator-attorney...
June 03, 2015
Transformative Mediation: Clients’ Highest Aspirations
I recently received an email from a European-based association which trains legal professionals from around the world. They are currently offering a class in Brussels...
March 21, 2015
Neutrality: What Does That Actually Mean?
I was sitting down with two potential clients in a one-hour consultation the other day when one of the people said to me, “Explain your...
February 07, 2015
Unmani Starts Writing A Book!
I have practiced mediation and Collaborative lawyering for over a decade now and after much talk with colleagues and a few clients, I have dedicated...
September 12, 2013
Choosing a Professional: Should They Have All the Answers, Or All the Right Questions?
Mediation has lots of positives: you and the other person together control the outcome, your values can be discussed as part of the picture, and...
July 18, 2013
A Mediator Educates, Not Represents
It’s not uncommon for people to contact my office requesting that I “represent them and their spouse” in mediation. Inevitably, a vision of having to...