Seven Tips for Setting Boundaries and Consequences with Teens (2/06/12)
Lorraine Segal
One huge source of conflict and stress for parents of teens is figuring out how to set appropriate guidelines and consequences and then follow through successfully. Here are some tips and suggestions based on communication and conflict resolution principles.

Canadian Report Encourages Specific Training and Standards for Elder Mediation (1/31/12)
Keith Seat

In the growing area of elder mediation, which now includes mandatory mediation of adult guardianship issues in British Columbia, a new report calls for mediation practice guidelines, training and ethical standards. The report from the Canadian Centre for Elder Law emphasizes the heightened sensitivity and skill needed by mediators. Ethical issues include determining whether parties have the capacity to participate meaningfully in mediation, the need for legal representation and questions of abuse and neglect.

Canadian Lawyer Legal Feeds (January 16, 2012)

Family Law Council Files Rare Amicus Over Mediation Issue (1/30/12)
Victoria VanBuren
The council submitted the brief on Jan. 9, urging the Supreme Court to grant a mandamus to force a family law judge to approve a mediated settlement agreement (MSA) in a custody dispute. The judge in that suit, 309th District Judge Sheri Dean of Houston, refused to approve the MSA between Stephanie Lee and Benjamin Jay Redus, on the ground it was not in the best interest of a child. The council argues in the amicus that the judiciary should not create common-law exceptions to the enforceability of MSAs.

Going Deeper in Mediation (1/23/12)
Rachel Fishman Green, Esq.
This article looks at going deeper in mediation. Specifically, how to resolve zero-sum divorce disputes through mediation. This case study examines detailed scenarios and arguments that often arise in divorce mediations.

Divorce (In Itself) Does Not Pose Risk For Children (1/23/12)
Andra Brosh
“It is not divorce in itself that can lead to problems in children. It is the divorce linked to interparental conflict, a lack of co-parenting, an unsuitable family climate, etc.,” according to Priscila Comino, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country’s (UPV/EHU) Faculty of Psychology.

The Identity of the Mediation Profession (12/19/11)
Constantin-Adi Gavrila
While large scale efforts are being made in order to be recognized as a worldwide and a free standing profession, the mediation became a profession in some countries and it remains an experiment in others.

Respect Mediation? Love It? Prove It, Shove It, Move It: Mix Things Up, Break the Patterns (12/12/11)
Stephanie West Allen
Body posture influences quantitative estimates. We predicted that people would make smaller estimates while leaning slightly to the left than they would while leaning slightly to the right, and this prediction was borne out by our results.

What's Your Generation? (12/12/11)
Phyllis Pollack
The second issue of ADR Times Perspectives (Vol. 1, No. 2, Nov. 2011, hit my e-mail inbox the other day. Having enjoyed the first issue, I eagerly thumbed through this second issue and found an interesting article by Jasper Ozbirn entitled “Generational Gaps in the Workplace” (at pages 8-9.) According to its author, the purpose of this article is “. . .to provide the briefest of primers on how generational differences can play out in the workplace to create a conflict.” (Id.)

Kris Humphries Divorce from Kim Kardashian (12/12/11)
Andra Brosh
The Kim Kardashian/ Kris Humphries divorce is top news, just about everywhere you look. It is important to keep in mind that divorce can be one of the most excruciating periods in life, no matter who you are or how long the marriage lasted. Both Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries have a potentially tough road ahead of grieving and healing. It’s important to keep in mind that divorce is a transition, not a way of life.

Holiday Parenting Part II (12/05/11)
Jeff Murphy
Here in Part II, I want to remind you that it’s you and your spouse who divorced and not your kids.

Holiday Parenting Doesn’t Have To Be A “War of the Roses” Part I (11/28/11)
Jeff Murphy
It’s a shame so much stress and tension surrounds Thanksgiving and Christmas. Too many movies are made about the sometimes ugly get-togethers with relatives who don’t get along the rest of the year and don’t want to see each other now, but feel obliged to.

Kris Humphries Divorce from Kim Kardashian (11/21/11)
Andra Brosh
The Kim Kardashian/ Kris Humphries divorce is top news, just about everywhere you look. It is important to keep in mind that divorce can be one of the most excruciating periods in life, no matter who you are or how long the marriage lasted. Both Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries have a potentially tough road ahead of grieving and healing.

New Frontiers in Cross Border Family Mediation (11/07/11)
Sabine Walsh
Front my point of view as a mediator and as a participant in the training programme, I can see only enormous benefits for bi-national families in using mediation to resolve, and even prevent the crises that can result in children being taken from their home country and the fallout that ensues.

Desire (10/31/11)
Jill Howieson
Desire. I have some transcripts from real-life family mediations to analyse and reading the transcripts, it struck me that I was reading about desire.

Sure You Want to do This? A 2nd Marriage-Hope v. Experience (10/31/11)
Jeff Murphy
Nineteen percent of all marriages in 2008 were a second go-round for at least one party. If there were problems that led to a divorce in the first marriage, how sure are you that you won’t repeat them again in the second?

Prenups – Don’t Lawyer Up, Mediate! (10/24/11)
Laurie Israel
Prenup articles typically talk about how resolving and clarifying money issues prior to marriage is a good thing.   However, they do not take into account the very important component of most good marriages: the sharing of money and resources.  So prenups aren't necessarily the best thing since sliced bread -- they can pose many problems for the future spouses.

Taking the "Me" Out of Mediation (10/24/11)
Delores Manwar
The "Me" impacts many areas of the mediation process. We can leave the “Me” out of mediation and replace it with an armor of understanding, empathy, open mindedness, and non-judgmental practices.

Unsure Where to start? A Handful of Separation and Divorce Resources to Get you Going (10/24/11)
Susanna Jani
For many people, going through separation or divorce can be truly overwhelming. In fact, I feel pretty confident in saying that, for many, the experience can be brutally overwhelming.

Here Comes the Bride…zilla, that is! (10/24/11)
Vivian Scott
Getting married is such an exciting time. The one you love proposes, you honor your best friends by asking them to participate in the big day, the planets align, and all is right with the world. Until the issues of time and money bring out the worst in you and everyone around you.

Making Nice in Divorce Mediations (10/24/11)
Nancy Hudgins
Over the years, I’ve given and received lots of advice for how to act during a divorce mediation. Put simply, it can be summed up in two words: “Make nice.”

Getting Your Man (or Woman) To Do What You Want (10/17/11)
Victoria Pynchon
“We’ve evolved a few tricks over the millennia,” writes Stosny, “but most of them are not adaptable to complex modern relationships.”

When Negotiating Salary, Women are also Negotiating Social Approval (10/03/11)
Tammy Lenski
Women, when you’re negotiating salary, business contracts, departmental budgets, auto purchases and the like, figure out a way to imagine yourself as negotiating on behalf of others and not just for yourself.

“I Listen Better When I Can Talk” (and other disadvantages of videoconferencing in distance mediation) (9/26/11)
Susanna Jani
In a recent post, I explored some of the advantages of using computer-based videoconferencing platforms to conduct family mediations from a distance. In spite of our preference for these platforms, our distance mediation team recognizes that they also come with a number of disadvantages.

Marriage Closure Therapy: Tips for Family Mediators (9/19/11)
Susan Bulfinch
Marriage Closure Therapy is a therapeutic intervention that assists couples who are struggling with the decision to stay married or to divorce. Tips for mediators working with divorcing couples are provided.

Love Is Never A Mistake (9/19/11)
Brooke Goldfarb
When you came together at the time it was meant to be. It was not a mistake. Your children are not a mistake. The life you built together was not a mistake. If it is time to move on, then let's move on, but let's honor the past as we look to the future