Eight Tips for a Successful Mediation in a Family Law Matter

1. Scheduling the Mediation

The first step to ensuring a successful mediation begins before the mediation is even scheduled; it is important to consider factors that will help set the stage for a productive mediation. For instance, parties often have the choice to attend either: 1) a private mediation, in which they select and pay for a mediator, who is often a seasoned family law attorney, and will have the mediation at a time and place convenient for the parties; or 2) a courthouse mediation, which frequently also has a seasoned practitioner serving as mediator, such as a retired family law judge, and is held at the courthouse where the case is pending. The primary difference between a private and courthouse mediation are the costs ' a courthouse mediation is more often than not conducted at a significantly reduced cost (as compared with paying another family law attorney an hourly rate to serve as mediator); however, the tradeoff is time. In a private mediation, the parties can agree to start a mediation at 9 a.m. and go well into the night or continue the following morning, if necessary, to reach an agreement, as opposed to a courthouse mediation, which is often limited to only a few hours and has to be pre-scheduled with the court.