The Rochester Beacon recently published an article called The Power of Repairing Harm.  In that article they site a study by the Utah Law Review in this way:

In many states, restorative justice has become a standard practice to decrease the harm caused by crimes while considering the needs of all those involved—victims, offenders and communities. An analysis published in the Utah Law Review two years ago that drew on data from 50 states found that 45 states have codified restorative justice into statutory law or regulatory law.

In this article, they go on to explain the benefit and the logical wide spread adoption of such forms of justice within the legal system.  

It is much appreciated the manner in which mediation services are explained for their undeniable benefits to both parties in legal situations.  The outcomes of these ADR cases are so indisputably preferable to legal consequences traditionally imposed by courts.  

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I found this interesting article on Babygaga.com about "parallel parenting" as opposed to co-parenting.  The jist of it is that parallel parenting is ideal in cases where the parents to a child engage in a more business like relationship when it comes to parenting.  Co-parenting is only possible when the two parents involved can communicate and work together on a mutually agreed upon parenting plan.  When communication and collaboration are not possible, parallel parenting is the next best thing.  Read more about parallel parenting here.  

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I don't often look to celebrities for their life choices, but in this case, it's great to see what ANYONE is doing for co-parenting that WORKS.  Co-parenting is such an essential part of an divorce.  It requires a lot of planning, communication and coordination.  

If you're looking to be inspired, check out this article on insider.com 

In support of using Mediation in Medicine, an abstract found on PubMed.gov (National Library of Medicine), Debra Gerardi says:

"Healthcare organizations must find ways for managing conflict and developing effective working relationships to create healthy work environments. The effects of unresolved conflict on clinical outcomes, staff retention, and the financial health of the organization lead to many unnecessary costs that divert resources from clinical care. The complexity of delivering critical care services makes conflict resolution difficult. Developing collaborative working relationships helps to manage conflict in complex environments. Working relationships are based on the ability to deal with differences. Dealing with differences requires skill development and techniques for balancing interests and communicating effectively. Techniques used by mediators are effective for resolving disputes and developing working relationships. With practice, these techniques are easily transferable to the clinical setting. Listening for understanding, reframing, elevating the definition of the problem, and forming clear agreements can foster working relationships, decrease the level of conflict, and create healthy work environments that benefit patients and professionals."

Mediation can be used as a tool to improve communication and resolve conflict and tension in any environment.  If you have a workplace issue, do not hesitate to contact us and find out how we can help.  

The Digital Journal posted this about the costs of litigated divorce vs. mediated divorce. 

"When going through a divorce process, money is often the last thing people want to add to their list of worries. Choosing to go through a litigated divorce is estimated to cost couples up to $32,000 and that’s if things go well as planned. In most cases, the cases don’t go well and even more money ends up being spent. Thankfully, mediated divorce offers a far more cost-effective alternative as everything can be mediated."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4715373#ixzz6Perjnhwq

Digital Journal just posted an article called 'Mediation is the Secret to a Simple and Cost-Effective Divorce.  

Naturally, this may seem obvious, but may still be an under utilized option.  

In many cases the emotional and mental distress caused by divorce can cause parties to have tunnel vision and render them incapable of thinking through possible alternatives that are less-costly.  

"Anger and disappointments are common feelings in most divorce negotiation processes. In most cases, the involved parties have a hard time reaching agreement on divorce issues such as child custody, division of property, child support, and visitation issues among others. However, mediation often provides the divorcing spouses an opportunity to take control of their future lives by resolving the contentious issues without the necessity of litigation."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4715373#ixzz6PeqffwL5

WKRN.com is reporting that more couples are in need of marriage counseling services during the pandemic.  The couples usually have unresolved issues in their relationship and due to having to spend 24 hours a day together, they can’t ignore those issues or avoid them.  If counseling during the pandemic is not possible for a couple, they recommend “Time outs” where individuals have time apart, even if they are in the same house.  Click on the image to see the report or read more on this topic.  

You don’t have to be a celebrity to get good legal advice. People magazine posted an article by Celebrity Lawyer Laura Wasser.  Some of her clients include: Jennifer Garner, Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise and Kim Kardashian.  The main take away is something she says regularly: “try and utilize the three Cs: consideration, cooperation and communication. Adaptation and flexibility is key during this time,” says Wasser, 51. “A big part of this is the communication. Whenever there’s change, you have a situation where people are having to adapt to that change.”

​I couldn’t agree more.  Although there are plenty of reasons to fight harder during this time, there is also an opportunity to turn in and slow down as well.  

I found this article on Cornell University’s website fascinating!  I knew there were already some forms of “tone meter” when you text or message through some applications, but this is next level.  I can certainly see how AI could do a better job at being unbiased, but I think the human factor or being able to read body language and power dynamics are also extremely important in mediation.  What do you think? 

Law.com posted an article discussing how fortunate it is that the legal profession can thrive virtually as the many other industries are unable to adapt.  They focus a few paragraphs on Mediation specifically and how it is essentially the same as in-person:

The Zoom technology is remarkably easy to use. The virtual mediations I’ve done so far have involved participants covering the entire spectrum of computer prowess, and all have fared quite well. More importantly, the real engine of successful mediations–personal connections—hits on all eight cylinders in the virtual format. Following one recent virtual mediation of a significant injury case, the defense attorney told me how she was able to adjust her comments in the opening by reading the reaction of the plaintiff on the video. Just as with in-person mediations, the real-time feedback is there.
So, from the perspective of our clients, virtual mediations have been an unequivocal success. And I can also say that, from a mediator’s perspective, it is no less so. Success for mediators comes only when we can personally connect with the parties and counsel. A quote attributed to Teddy Roosevelt says, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” At the mediation of any significant case, there comes a point when I am leading clients, step by step, to a place that, though necessary to get to, is tough terrain to traverse. If they don’t trust my judgment and motivation, they won’t take my hand. If you had asked me, even weeks ago, if this level of rapport could be established over a virtual medium, I would have said, “No way.” I was wrong. Happily, thankfully, mercifully, I was very wrong.

Done Medation plans to resume all mediations via videoconferencing using Zoom as mentioned in this article.  To schedule a mediation for yourself, contact us today.