Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has become a widely used "tool" in Minnesota and elsewhere to help parties resolve a dispute without the expense of a trial. Often, in civil litigation matters in Minnesota, some form of ADR is required by the court before a party may present its case to a judge or jury at trial. The ADR process is now being implemented in certain cases taken to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Pennington, Lies & Cherne, P.A. has been at the forefront of this movement. Whether Kim Pennington or Tom Lies are acting as a mediator/arbitrator for clients and attorneys outside our firm, or our attorneys are representing our client in an ADR forum, our knowledge and experience with ADR.
Mediation is not a forum for debate to prove to the mediator that one person's values are right or wrong. It is not intended to have a win-lose outcome, find fault, assign blame or to be a means of punishment. Mediation is not a substitute for independent legal advice, and you are encouraged to continue to obtain advice from your counsel. You are encouraged to consult with your attorney before signing an agreement reached in mediation, and to consult with counsel before or during mediation.
Family Law Mediation
Just as every case is different, every mediation is different. We may be successful in resolving all issues in dispute. Alternatively, we may succeed on some, but not all issues. Resolution may be accomplished in one session, two sessions, or several sessions. Whatever the case, as long as both parties mediate in good faith, we are willing to continue the mediation process in whatever manner is most likely to result in as many issues being resolved as is possible. Additional ground rules of mediation will be discussed at the start of mediation.
When agreement has been reached, we will write a letter to the two of you and/or your attorneys (you will decide that detail) for the purpose of an attorney drafting the legal documents necessary to verify the agreement in the formal written manner required by the court system. As the mediator, Pennington, Lies & Cherne, P.A. cannot draft the final legal documents reflecting your agreement. If there are questions after successful mediation has been concluded, one of our attorneys will be happy to assist you (and counsel) in resolving those issues.
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