Frequently Asked Questions

ARBITRATION SESSION

• Each day of the arbitration hearing will typically start at 9:00 a.m. (but you and your spouse (“the parties”) and the arbitrator can agree to set an earlier or later start time) and end at 5:00 p.m. 
• A lunch break of an hour or so is taken each day during the arbitration proceedings, as well as occasional recesses during the day. 

Arbitrator’s Role. Although the arbitrator is an attorney, he is not serving as an attorney or a fiduciary of any kind for any of the parties. 

• The arbitrator is a neutral third party entrusted with the duty to render a final and binding decision for the resolution of the parties’ disputes. 
• Accordingly, the arbitrator will not provide legal or other advice. 
• You and your spouse are encouraged to consult accountants, attorneys and other experts and professionals for advice. 

The Arbitration Process. Each of the parties shall have a full and fair opportunity to present to the arbitrator during the arbitration hearing all evidence that is material to the issues to be decided by arbitration. Arbitration decision. After all evidence and arguments have been submitted, the arbitrator prepares a written document consisting of 1) findings of fact and conclusions of law and 2) a written ruling.

• After the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings, the parties attempt in good faith, with the help of the mediator, to resolve each issue under discussion by agreement.

MEDIATION SESSION

• At the commencement of the mediation session, the arbitrator sends the parties (and their attorneys, if they have attorneys) a PDF copy of the arbitration ruling attached to an encrypted email message which cannot be opened or read without the arbitrator providing the email recipient the password or key. This way, there is no question that:
•  the arbitrator made his arbitration decision and did so in advance of the mediation session; and;
• the arbitrator’s arbitration decision is attached to the email message.

The Mediation Session will typically start at 9:00 a.m. (but the parties and arbitrator can agree to set an earlier or later start time) and end no later than 4:00 p.m. If the mediation lasts beyond noon, then a lunch break of an hour or so is taken each day during the mediation session, as well as occasional recesses during the day.

• If both of the parties do not settle in mediation by 4:00 p.m., but desire to hold another session of mediation, they may do so upon payment to the mediator of additional mediator fees.

Neutrality of Mediator. The mediator serves as a neutral whose purpose is to promote communication and help the parties reach an agreement. The mediator will not act as an advocate, attorney, or as a judge and will not offer legal advice. Nor is the mediator a therapist or counselor. 

Confidentiality. The mediator will not reveal anything discussed in mediation without the permission of both parties. No private caucusing with the Mediator in mediation. The parties and/or their respective counsel may have learned that in some mediation sessions mediators may sometimes hold what is commonly known as a “caucus,” which is a meeting held privately and confidentially between the mediator and one of the opposing parties and his/her attorney(s) (if the party has an attorney or attorneys). Because the mediator serves in the role of arbitrator before serving as mediator, then in the interest of preserving the integrity of the mediation session the mediator will not engage in private caucusing with either party or a party’s attorney in mediation.

Mediated settlement. If the parties reach a settlement, the parties sign a settlement agreement before the mediation session adjourns. After the parties execute their settlement agreement, the mediator destroys the arbitration ruling without revealing it. If mediation does not result in a settlement. If either party concludes that mediation or, as the case may be, further mediation is not likely to be useful, the mediation session is terminated, both of the parties (and their respective counsel, if any) sign a statement confirming that one or both parties decided to terminate the mediation, then the mediator directs the parties (or the parties’ respective counsel, if any) to access the written arbitration by activating the email password or key that the mediator shall provide to the parties or to the parties’ respective counsel. 

To get the answer to this question please read the answers to the previously answered FAQs.  

Not to worry. For two main reasons: 

1. Because you are paying the arbitrator the arbitrator knows he needs to perform well. He is invested in the success of the arb-med process. He wants you to succeed as much as you do and will work with you to keep the case on track and ensure everyone pulls his weight in the arb-med process; 
2. and The arbitrator can—and actually will!—penalize the offending party with sanctions that either facilitate and “encourage” cooperation or punish chronic recalcitrance and lame excuses. 

We won’t lie: if you let arbitration bog down, it can drag on as long as your typical court case. But those who “help the arbitration process help you,” complete their cases in a quarter of the time it take the same cases to work their way through the court.  

This is a good question because arbitration will only save you time and money if you and your spouse work with the arbitrator to ensure that it does. If you do that, then arbitration will save you money over going to court:

· by streamlining and/or cutting out unnecessary steps and procedures you would otherwise have to take with a court case.

· by spending your time, effort, and money to address and resolve your dispute as expeditiously as possible, instead of spending those resources accommodating the inefficiencies and vagaries of the legal system.

The result is a decree of divorce:

· for half the cost 

· in a quarter of the time (and yet all that time is focused on your case and your family) tailored specifically to your case and your family members.

“Arb-Med” consists of an arbitration hearing followed by a mediation session. Arbitration + mediation = Arb-Med.

The typical “Arb-Med” process consists of an arbitration hearing that takes place over two to five days (depending upon how complex the case is and how many issues there are to resolve) followed by a mediation session (usually half a day, sometimes a whole day; after arbitration it doesn’t take long to get mediation done). There is usually a break of a day or two (or the weekend) between the end of the arbitration proceeding the commencement of the mediation session. 

 Many reasons, but the most compelling are:

· The courts are overwhelmed with too many cases of every kind. They simply cannot give each of the literally hundreds and hundreds of cases assigned to them the level of attention they need. 

· Divorce cases are among the courts’ least favorite cases. There is no sense of urgency. It takes far too long for a case to work its way through the system. Apathy, indifference, bias, and errors are inevitable. Costs mount. 

Arbitration resolves these problems because:

· Even at his busiest, your arbitrator’s caseload is a fraction of a court’s caseload (at most around 30 cases per year). 

· Your arbitrator’s focus is divorce and family law.

· Your arbitrator sets his/her schedule around your case, not the other way around. 

It is just as important to your arbitrator to get your case disposed of quickly as it is to dispose of your case fairly. Saving time and saving money, reducing unnecessary effort and hassle are all necessary parts of a just and equitable outcome.   

Some divorce and family law cases can and should be settled without having to prepare for and to go to court trial in court. If you and your spouse both want a divorce, and you trust each other to be fair and reasonable in your settlement negotiations, mediation is for you. 

But there are many cases where reasonable minds can differ. The couple wants the dispute to end. They know it needs to end, but either one spouse or both spouses is/are unwilling to compromise. These kinds of cases need a “referee” who is neutral, knows the rules, applies them correctly and fairly, and timely. Mediation doesn’t meet this need. It can’t. 

Concisely stated, it is a way of getting a legally binding divorce without conceding everything away in mediation and without wasting months (if not years) and tens of thousands of dollars going through the court system.