FAQs

When families are in conflict regarding issues related to an older member of the family, we help them come to agreement. We don’t impose a solution, or tell people what to do. We respectfully involve all members of the family so they can voluntarily come to consensus. Families may have conflicts related to the elderly person’s living situation and safety, healthcare decisions, finances, or other issues

Often, adult family members are spread out geographically. Families in mediation may also bring strong personalities and ingrained family dynamics to the table when discussing issues relating to their mother or father, for example. Our mediators are attorneys, so they bring knowledge of legal issues to the process. But we are also experienced in involving family members who are reluctant to discuss important issues, or too emotional to participate in decision-making. Involving the elderly family member to the extent he or she is able is also a priority for us in any family mediation.

All family members who are involved in addressing the issues related to the elderly family member will ideally participate in mediation, and therefore share the cost of the mediation. We discuss this at the outset to ensure a fair process in which everyone gets to have a voice.

There are no rules about how long the mediation process takes. We work with you to move as slowly or quickly as you want, or the situation requires. Once engaged, we contact all family members. Mediation can take place in person or via teleconference, and we may set one meeting or a series, depending on the family needs.

I have resolved more than 90 percent of the hundreds of employment disputes I have mediated. Most disputes are resolved in a one-day mediation, but if we do not reach a conclusion, I persist in working with the parties either by phone or through additional in-person mediation to finalize the resolution of the case.

My approach is generally evaluative, meaning that I become very familiar with the factual and legal issues in the dispute and apply my more than 25 years of previous experience as an employment lawyer to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the case. In this way, I help persuade the parties to compromise their positions to avoid the exposure and the risk of losing the case at trial. In addition, I believe it is critical that, in addition to hearing from counsel, I listen to the parties on both sides who I encourage to fully participate in the discussion.

When parties are represented by counsel, their attorneys will typically consider several different mediators and identify one on which they can agree. You should look for a mediator with litigation experience, as well as experience mediating various types of employment disputes. When practicing law, I represented both employers and employees, and thus I understand the needs of both sides of these disputes. As an attorney-neutral, I have mediated disputes involving large corporations and family-owned business; cases with multiple plaintiffs and class actions; and cases involving all types of discrimination and harassment claims as well as contract and tort claims. With my broad range of experience, I know how to apply creative solutions to overcome obstacles.