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Working with
Your Attorney in Mediation
By
M. Brady Mikusko, MA, MSW
In order for
mediation to work well for you, it is important to use your attorney
effectively and efficiently. Here are some guidelines to facilitate
that goal.
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Meet with your
attorney early in the mediation process. Your attorney will provide
you with basic legal information on such issues as child support,
spousal support, marital property/separate property. This
information will help ground you in some of the legal realities.
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Ask questions during
that first meeting. Take notes. Listen carefully. It’s easy to hear
what one wants to hear and it’s hard to understand sometimes when
one is upset, so don’t be afraid to ask your attorney to explain
something as many times as it takes to really understand.
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Use this
information to help you make decisions as issues come up in the
mediation. You might want to ask your attorney for their view of
the “range of outcomes.” A range of outcomes would include the best
case “scenario,” the worst case “scenario,” and other possible
outcomes if the case is litigated. To ground yourself in the
financial realities of divorce, you might want to ask your attorney
what it would cost to take your case to court, or to settle if not
mediated.
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Once mediation
begins, use your attorney as your consultant. Attorneys
can provide this service best when you keep them regularly informed
on the mediation: how it is progressing and what issues you need
more help with to facilitate your decision-making. In order to
minimize cost, keep a running list of questions to ask your attorney
when you call. Remember: one question per call can be expensive.
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Attorneys will help
you evaluate any proposals/ideas that arise during the mediation.
Attorneys will also work with you in creating a proposal or
several proposals to bring to the mediation table. Don’t be afraid
to ask them. If you and your spouse reach a impasse on an issue,
your attorney may be able to brainstorm with you to create some new
options that you can take back into mediation to facilitate
resolution. Remember: your attorney is there to help you.
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When the mediator
has written the first draft of your mediated agreements, he/she
will send it to each party and to the attorneys for review. Call
your attorney shortly thereafter and make an appointment to
carefully go over the draft. If your attorney has changes to
suggest, either minor or major, this is not a sign that the process
isn't working. On the contrary, this is exactly what you want your
attorney to do for you.
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Take notes of the
recommended changes, or ask your attorney to write them down on a
piece of paper and give you a copy. Or, if it seems best, have your attorney write a letter to you and provide a copy to the mediator.
Whatever form the feedback takes, bring their recommendations, along
with your own revisions/concerns, back into mediation, for a review
of the draft. These steps are important. Careless review of the
draft can result in several more drafts, which increases the cost
and takes time.
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Keep in mind that
both of you will have recommendations from your attorneys, and you
will need to decide together how to handle this feedback. The
mediator will make final revisions on the draft, and will probably
send it one more time to all parties to read prior to signing.
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By
M. Brady Mikusko, MA, MSW, Advanced Practitioner – Association for
Conflict Resolution, and early financial supporter of
Divorce Peers.
Contact information: M. Brady Mikusko, 415 North Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104;
telephone 734.747.8240;
<click here to eMail>.
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> List of Divorce Court resources: Mediation |
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Agreements
Attorneys' Roles in Mediation
Divorce Court - Mediation Overview
Divorce Court - Property division precedents
Divorce Support Groups - Leadership Page
In Favor of Mediation
One Mediator's Life as a Parent
Parenting Time Coordination via Internet-Based Scheduler
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"The Messy (Legal) Steps of Divorce"
After Your Judgment of Divorce
Attorneys' Roles in Mediation
Child Custody and the "100-Mile Rule"
Divorce Court - "Forget Me Not" Program for Never Married Parents
Divorce Court - "Reasonable" Parenting Time, Defined
Divorce Court - "SMILE" Program Description, Advice
Divorce Court - Analysis of "Best Interests of the Minor Child"
Divorce Court - Legal Divorce Process
Divorce Court - Mediation Overview
Divorce Court - Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL)
Divorce Court - Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL)
Divorce Court - Michigan Court Rules (MCR), pro per advice
Divorce Court - Michigan Friend of the Court Bureau
Divorce Court - Michigan: One Court of Justice
Divorce Court - Parenting Time Make-Up Policy
Divorce Court - Property division precedents
Divorce statistics - Michigan Divorces, Wayne County (MI)
Eavesdropping between Divorced Parents
In Favor of Mediation
One Mediator's Life as a Parent
Title to Property: Words Determine Rights
Why Not Date During Divorce?
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