Collaborative Law Center of Atlanta

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When you are ready for help, call us at (404) 475-0333 or contact a professional from our directory	Mediators as Collaborative Law Professionals Mediators are third-party-neutrals whose sole purpose is to utilize conflict resolution skills and techniques to facilitate productive communication in the CL process. Mediators may be used at various points in the process, but are most often used in the initial stages. How is a Mediator different from a Divorce Coach? A mediator's primary focus is communication facilitation, whereas a Divorce Coach may be focused on a variety of circumstantial needs (addiction, parenting, gender identity, medical, psychiatric, religious, etc.). How is a Mediator similar to a Divorce Coach? Like coaches, mediators are expected to remain neutral throughout the collaborative process, assist in facilitating communication, clarify goals and objectives of the parties, develop trust, and work in a team-based collaborative manner. When is a Mediator helpful to the collaborative process? As an initial effort before the parties meet with other members of the collaborative team. When communication barriers are recognized between the two collaborative attorneys. To facilitate four- or five-way conferences, especially if there is an expectation of high emotion. What are the benefits of using a mediator in these situations? Using a mediator as a first step helps the parties to quickly "weed out" the difficult issues from those that can be easily resolved. This also helps them feel empowered from the beginning, before they get their respective attorneys involved. This often saves time and energy, which are popular motivators of parties selecting collaborative law in the first place. No matter how long two attorneys have known each other or how committed they are to the collaborative process, they may still encounter situations that prevent them from seeing each other's point of view. Rather than unnecessarily throwing the divorcing parties off balance with their differences in a four-way conference, a mediator could help the attorneys come to a common ground prior to a conference with the parties. High emotions are expected at some point during divorce proceedings, even between couples that appear to be extremely cooperative and reasonable in the beginning. If a divorcing couple appears to be at high-risk for breaking down and possibly abandoning the collaborative process, a mediator may be called in to facilitate the four-way conference to keep all parties on task and working toward common ground. Even if it requires "shuttle" conferencing between the parties, it may preserve the ultimate goal of keeping the parties from litigation.

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals www.collaborativepractice.com CLCA members are all members of the International Academy of Collaborative Practice

Collaborative Law Center of Atlanta, Inc.

1756 Century Blvd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30345

(404) 475-0333

www.collaborativelawatlanta.com

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