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Recent Posts in Locations Served Category
| October 24, 2010 |
| How Confidential is "CONFIDENTIAL" MEDIATION? |
| Posted By Thurman W. Arnold III |
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Q. One of reasons why I am considering mediation is that that I've heard it is confidential. It is really important to me and my family that our personal matters not become public. How confidential is it? I mean, I'm not Mel Gibson and I don't want my public affairs aired - ever!
A. There are several layers of confidentiality from our perspective at DFMS.
First, it is important to know that in terms of a mediator's involvement and the mediation process itself, one party alone can not compel the other party - or the mediator - to disclose what was said, how it was negotiated, what the concerns were, what was offered, or anything else that happened both within the mediation as it occurs in the presence of the mediator or outside of the mediator's presence to the extent it was a discussion that involved the subject matter of the mediation.
California Evidence Code section 1119.
What this means is that in another court proceeding (or the underlying proceeding when a case is pending but the parties choose to suspend it while they attempt resolve some or all of their conflicts through mediation), the mediator cannot be compelled to testify or open their files absent consent by both parties and of the mediator themselves.
Evidence Code section 1122.
The law is arguably uncertain whether Mediators must open their files when both parties demand it and for instance can be compelled to testify against their will, because the mediation privilege also belongs to the mediators. I will separately blog those cases for those who might be interested. In essence while there is federal authority that suggests that mediators can be forced to testify as least as to some matters occurring during mediation, California cases have applied a stricter standard in apply the California mediation privilege statutes. Our belief is that mediators cannot be compelled to testify about the mediation process itself, whether both parties consent to it or not.
What this does not mean is that a gag is automatically is placed in the mouth of one of two parties (or both) who want to argue or spin their case in the popular press. People can and will say what people can and will say. What it does mean is that third parties - employers, children, co-workers, and the press cannot learn a thing about what transpired in your mediation, except as to what was actually filed with the Court, absent the consent of both (or all) party participants. We live in a world of celebrity innuendo where many people believe that they are entitled, as a matter of right, to learn about the personal lives of politicians, actors, and community public figures - and this they can often do, in fact, by taking a trip to the local courthouse. But not where these disputants have cloaked themselves behind the mediation privilege which current California jurists must obey (except, of course, in cases involving bodily harm or more, or fraud).
Contrast the public Court experience with mediation, where nothing is filed anywhere to become a matter of "public record," except what both parties agree upon and jointly decide to show the world.
Mel Gibson's bitter entanglements have, in my opinion, cast an unfortunate pallor over mediation but this is not the fault of the mediators or of the mediation process. I believe that both parties in the Gibson/Oksana case attempted to abuse the mediation process for different reasons - possibly only after the fact (after the mediations concluded) - and in order to respond to public criticisms, or to seek more money, in tandem with the strategic releasing of the alleged audio recordings.
Their case is a modern Greek tragedy, and the backdrop of mediation and the participation of the mediators are simply props for the larger display of the parties themselves. This may be unfortunate as it affects the public perception of mediation, but it really has everything to do with parties who embrace the attention that public conflict brings and nothing to do with the integrity of mediation.
The beauty of mediation is that the process belongs to the parties, not to the parties' lawyers, and not to the mediators. Therefore there is nothing for the mediators responding to public battles to do but to maintain their own silence and integrity.
Next, the mediators at DFMS have each had experience with high profile cases, including lobbyists, local politicians, celebrities and other high profile folks, and many 'less privileged' people ("privilege" can be an oxymoron). It is our commitment to the parties, and to the process, that we maintain utter and complete confidentiality unless compelled by a Court order to speak.
And, one of our intentions in providing mediations from our addresses in Palm Springs, Beverly Hills, Century City, and Los Angeles is to help our clients obtain and maintain practical invisibility by mediating in the venue that best assures privacy.
Importantly for you and us, because our focus is on the transformative power of mediation and its positive affects upon divorce and other family law contests (and children), we believe that the parties who are drawn to employ us will embody a discretion that is appears to be absent from those couples who are driven to become high-profile and so share their struggles with a world that is, sadly for these others, just amused and lifelessly entertained.
We help resolve your conflicts with an uncommon passion and dedication!
T.W. Arnold
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| October 16, 2010 |
| Child Psychologist JANE ELLEN SHATZ, Ph.D Joins the DFMS Team! |
| Posted By Desert Family Mediation Services |
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We are extremely pleased and proud to announce that Jane Ellen Shatz, Ph.D, has joined the Desert Family Mediation Services Team as a Mediator and Co-Mediator.
Dr. Shatz has a therapeutic and forensic psychology practice based in Beverly Hills, but is also a part time resident in the Palm Springs area.
Her achievements are too extensive to list, and she is highly sought after. She is well known among family law attorneys, jurists, and within the mental health community for her innovative writings, teachings, and for her thorough and insightful forensic work including 730 Evaluations in high-conflict custody and visitation cases. Dr. Shatz has extensive experience working with families in conflict, and in helping to resolve custody disputes and differences. She helps parents to develop a positive new co-parent relationship and to work together in productive and meaningful ways.
Actor Alec Baldwin describes Dr. Shatz in his 2008 book "A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce" as someone who profoundly helped him with his difficult divorce. He states, "My sessions with her would become the most valuable I had throughout the entire experience.
I believe that had my case been overseen by someone as intelligent, honest and reasonable as Jane Shatz, my whole nightmare might have ended a lot sooner. Shatz is one of the heroes of [my] story."
Dr. Shatz brings her deep sensitivities and unflappable demeanor to mediation as an individual mediator for child centered conflicts and as a co-mediator in the larger disputes that also encompass complex financial and legal related issues. She is at the apex of the mediating and child focused mediation pyramid on a national level, and we are privileged to be able to team with her and to help make her available within the desert cities and the greater Los Angeles area to serve your needs and your family.
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| June 24, 2010 |
| Welcome to our California Family Law Mediation Blog |
| Posted By Desert Family Mediation Services |
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We are pleased to announce the launch of our Palm Springs Family Law Mediation blog, with an RSS Feed available. Please click the RSS Feed link to receive our articles as they are posted.
Desert Family Mediation Services opened on June 1, 2010. Our offices are based in Palm Springs and serve the desert cities of Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, Thousand Palms, Blythe, and the upper desert communities of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms. However, because mediation is paced at the comfort level and convenience and participants - in stark contrast to litigation in family courtrooms - we are available to assist families within a larger radius than is possible for traditional family law. We believe the expertise and quality of our mediators and co-mediators will justify our working with couples and partners who live in Riverside, Hemet, Yucaipa, and San Bernardino.
We also mediate in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and the Santa Monica areas and four of our five mediators reside in those cities full time. Mediations in Los Angeles County occur at our Los Angeles Family Mediation Services locations.
Regardless whether you are able to mediate with us we hope that this Mediation Blog informs you about the potential benefits of mediating divorce and domestic partnership breakups so that you investigate whether process is right for you!
Desert Family Mediation Services
June, 2010
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