WHAT IS MEDIATION?
Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution. The idea of mediation or conciliation is that discovery work and preparation have been completed so that the case is ripe for settlement.
Mediation Services
With conciliation, we sit down for a limited period of time with a mediator in a caucus environment. In a caucus situation, the parties are in separate rooms with their attorneys, and it is a fifth person,
The mediator, who will go back and forth between the rooms in an attempt to narrow issues and facilitate settlement negotiations. Good mediators are adept at filtering the conversation so as to keep the settlement negotiations on track and pointed in a positive direction.
MEDIATION IS CONFIDENTIAL
The parties can talk about their case to other people, but the attorneys and the mediator cannot. With a good mediator, the client is still in control, but the mediator will lead you to an acceptable conclusion. The clients might not think of certain options as acceptable at the outset of the mediation. we will shine a light on facts that have been overlooked. Or perhaps that has not been considered.
During the Mediation Services,
The currier martin helps the clients understand what the court will consider important,
IS MEDIATION COURT ORDERED IN EVERY DIVORCE?
it depends on cases but mediation is ordered by the court unless there is a good reason.
When one side believes that mediation would not be appropriate they can go to the court,
and challenge what is called the court’s standing order for ADR participation.
The reason for the order is because the judges know that the success rate for mediation is very high. About 95% of cases that go to mediation settle at mediation. Most of the family courts in Harris County now require mediation even prior to temporary order hearings, particularly if child custody is an issue.
ERNEST MARTIN IS AN EXPERIENCED MEDIATOR
I am a mediator and I enjoy doing mediations. In fact, I strive to be an attorney who is really a full-time mediator. I think that reasonably minded attorneys have a skill set that makes them good mediators and those same reasonably minded attorneys often become better attorneys by becoming mediators. One of the things I enjoy about being a mediator is that when the session is over if I’ve been able to help the parties reach a good agreement, it is something that I can feel good about. It is something that I take home with me and say, “I helped a family today,” and I’m very proud of that.
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