Mediation

With an experienced legal team that includes a certified family law specialist, the Oxnard law firm of Richard Ross Associates is qualified to handle your divorce in the manner that best meets your needs, whether that approach involves a traditional adversarial process in court or a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) such as mediation or collaborative law.

Mediation

A mediation is a process facilitated by a neutral third party (the mediator) who allows the parties to express their interests and concerns in an attempt to have them mutually agree on all the contested issues in a divorce, such as the property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support.  The spouses are usually represented by their attorneys, who are present at the mediation and may speak on behalf of their client.  The mediator may meet with the parties individually or as a group, and will work to defuse conflict and emotion while getting the spouses to talk with one another about the issues that concern them most.  Since the mediation takes place outside of a courtroom, the parties are not bound to follow the rules of evidence and other procedures and are free to explore the issues in the manner most suited to their resolution.

If the mediation is successful, the mediator will draw up an agreement with input or review by the spouses' attorneys.  Once complete, the agreement is presented to the court and is generally approved by the judge and incorporated into the order granting the divorce.  If the mediation was unsuccessful, the parties generally proceed to court and resolve the issues in the traditional adversarial fashion.  Hopefully, the mediation at least served to flesh out the interests of the parties and reach agreement where possible, so any courtroom litigation will focus only on the issues left outstanding between the spouses.  In this case, even though the mediation did not resolve all the issues, it may help the trial phase to go more quickly.

Why Mediation?

In court, people focus only on their positions on the issues.  A mediation allows the parties to explore the interests behind the positions, which can lead to creative solutions that meet the needs of both spouses, creating a win/win scenario rather than the win/lose paradigm of courtroom litigation.  Also, when an agreement is reached together through mediation, rather than being imposed upon the parties by the judge, it is more likely to be followed by the parties, without the need for going back to court to seek enforcement of custody or support orders.

The attorneys at Richard Ross Associates are experienced in resolving divorce matters through litigation as well as ADR methods, including mediation and collaborative law.  Contact our office for a free consultation to discuss your pending divorce or other family law matter and determine whether an ADR approach may be right for you.