Mediation

Mediation is an opportunity for a person to have a voice in the outcome of his or her family law case. If you and the other party are interested in having a voice, that means you both will retain some level of control over your future (as opposed to leaving it a judge’s hands). Mediation can be a win-win situation for many parties, but it requires compromise and sometimes requires giving up the need to be “right.”

In Arizona family law cases, the two most frequently used forms of mediation are Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and private mediation. ADR is ordered by your family law judge. An ADR settlement conference will be presided over by a judge pro tem, a judge appointed especially for the purpose of mediating your case. ADR is free to its participants, and because the judge pro tem handling your case is serving pro bono, each ADR session is limited in time (although a judge pro tem may volunteer to allow you to exceed the time limitation).

For private mediation, you and the other party select the mediator together. You will work with the mediator to schedule a mutually agreeable time and place for the mediation to occur. Usually, there is no limitation on the amount of time a private mediator will work on your case.

However, with private mediation, you and the other party will have to bear the mediator’s fee which is likely to be hundreds of dollars per hour. By participating in mediation and reaching agreements with the other party, you will:

• Keep more control over your family’s future.
• Save legal fees and costs by not going to trial.
• Streamline the process, possibly resulting in a quicker resolution for your case.
• Feel more invested in the obligations and responsibilities associated with your family because you had a hand in crafting those things.
• Avoid much of the emotional turmoil that comes with with contested litigation.

Our attorneys have participated in ADR and private mediation to help our clients come to agreed upon solutions. The firm’s founding partner, Wendy Raquel Hernandez, currently serves as a judge pro tem in Maricopa County Superior Court and frequently works with parties and their attorneys to achieve case resolution for the highest good of the family.

Mediation

Mediation is an opportunity for a person to have a voice in the outcome of his or her family law case. If you and the other party are interested in having a voice, that means you both will retain some level of control over your future (as opposed to leaving it a judge’s hands). Mediation can be a win-win situation for many parties, but it requires compromise and sometimes requires giving up the need to be “right.”

In Arizona family law cases, the two most frequently used forms of mediation are Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and private mediation. ADR is ordered by your family law judge. An ADR settlement conference will be presided over by a judge pro tem, a judge appointed especially for the purpose of mediating your case. ADR is free to its participants, and because the judge pro tem handling your case is serving pro bono, each ADR session is limited in time (although a judge pro tem may volunteer to allow you to exceed the time limitation).

For private mediation, you and the other party select the mediator together. You will work with the mediator to schedule a mutually agreeable time and place for the mediation to occur. Usually, there is no limitation on the amount of time a private mediator will work on your case.

However, with private mediation, you and the other party will have to bear the mediator’s fee which is likely to be hundreds of dollars per hour. By participating in mediation and reaching agreements with the other party, you will:

• Keep more control over your family’s future.
• Save legal fees and costs by not going to trial.
• Streamline the process, possibly resulting in a quicker resolution for your case.
• Feel more invested in the obligations and responsibilities associated with your family because you had a hand in crafting those things.
• Avoid much of the emotional turmoil that comes with with contested litigation.

Our attorneys have participated in ADR and private mediation to help our clients come to agreed upon solutions. The firm’s founding partner, Wendy Raquel Hernandez, currently serves as a judge pro tem in Maricopa County Superior Court and frequently works with parties and their attorneys to achieve case resolution for the highest good of the family.