San Francisco Mediation: A Better Solution for Family Law Issues

• Holistic Approach to Difficult Situations
  I previously posted on being interviewed about Integrative Mediation (see post here). In this post here, I provide more information and resources about this particular model of mediation. Although most of our mediations are “solo” mediations with just one attorney-mediator guiding a couple or family from start to finish through the divorce or premarital agreement process, there are some …
• Integrative Mediation: How involving other professionals in your divorce can help I was recently a guest on Chuck Finney’s local public radio show “Your Legal Rights” along with psychologist Stacey Shuster, PhD. We discussed divorce mediation and premarital mediation as well as the integrative mediation model in which two professionals from different specialities join forces to help individuals through difficult cases and keep families out of court. Here is the link to this …
• Our Family Law Mediation Team Has Expanded! Our Family Law Mediation Team has expanded! We now have three attorneys providing full-time Family Law Mediation services in addition to our paralegal/office assistant. I am in my 16th year of law practice and in my 11th year as a Family Law Mediator. Attorney/mediator Shelley Kennedy has been with our office for 5 years since graduating from UC Hastings College of the Law. Attorney/mediator …
• ADRNC Salute to Bay Area Mediators
  I recently had the pleasure of working with the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California (ADRNC) in creating their Public Service Announcement called “The Salute to Bay Area Mediators.” This Public Service Announcement was broadcast at the September 22, 2012 SF Giants vs. Padres baseball game in San Francisco where Bay Area mediators were honored for their contributions to the …
• More Posts Coming Soon in 2013…..
  After a bit of a hiatus in my blogging endeavors, I’ve decided to start posting more articles again. Of course, since mediation is a confidential process, much of what happens in my daily work life, (although very interesting!), cannot be written about here. So that has always been a challenge in having a mediation blog. But I think I can start answering some general and frequently asked …
• Support for Men in Divorce A while back, I posted a link to a support group which focuses on helping women through the difficult transition of divorce or separation (although they also work with men). This is my belated follow up link for a support group which focuses on helping men through this same difficult transition (although he also works with women).

  Larry O’Connor provides group support for men going through …

• Mediation Is Not Like A Court Hearing; Creating Peace
  There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation about mediation out there despite the prevalance of mediation in many legal and non-legal arenas. One of the ones that always surprises me is when people think of mediation as being similar to a court hearing when the fact is that it is purposefully not at all like a court hearing. It’s designed to be a peaceful process that promotes understanding …
• UK Promoting Divorce Mediation
  The benefits of divorce mediation are clearly being realized not only in the San Francisco Bay Area but around the world as well. Some courts in England recognize that divorce mediation is not only a better solution for families (“quicker, cheaper, and less stressful”) but also for taxpayers funding ongoing litigation and those courts are doing everything possible to encourage the use of …
• Peaceful Divorce Options
  In my 11 years of practicing law, I have noticed that attitudes and approaches to litigation and divorce vary from county to county. I have seen couples who wish to have an amicable and peaceful divorce be thwarted in those efforts because many of the attorneys in their area are holding strong and fast to traditional methods of positional and combative litigation. Although I am a full-time …
• Divorce Recovery Coaching
  As a divorce mediator, my clients come to me to help guide them through a very difficult time of their lives. In addition to managing the court filings and financial disclosures and helping couples reach creative agreements together and putting all of that into writing, I am also able to share with my clients the wealth of resources I have gathered over my years in practice. Individuals going …