Divorce Mediator in San Francisco

Roles in Mediation Proceedings

The key to a successful mediation is whether all of the parties involved fulfill the responsibilities of their specific role. Attorney Brian McDonald, a skilled divorce mediator in San Francisco, can facilitate the mediation process, helping all parties understand their roles and responsibilities.

Your Role in Mediation

During mediation, you and your spouse both have responsibility for reaching an agreement and addressing personal issues.  You must be willing to clearly state your needs, interests, and feelings; listen to your spouse with an open mind; and discuss sometimes-difficult issues in a respectful and constructive manner. It is important that you keep focused on the issue at hand, listen to what the other side is saying, and try not to lose your temper.  While this may sound difficult, most couples discover that divorce mediation provides a setting that both encourages and facilitates cooperative and open communication. 

Role of the Divorce Mediator

The divorce mediator's role is to facilitate discussion between you and your spouse, provide a safe environment, encourage the parties to actively participate in making decisions, and keep the focus on goals for the future (instead of blame for the past). 

The parties decide which of these two models of mediation they wish to follow:

• Under facilitative mediation, the mediator endeavors to facilitate communication between the parties and help each side understand the other's perspective, position, and interest in relation to the dispute.
• Under evaluative mediation, the mediator provides a non-binding assessment or evaluation of the dispute, which the parties are then free to accept or reject as the settlement.

The mediator's role is to assist you in reaching your own settlement.  A mediator cannot take sides with either party or represent either party; mediators do not act as a judge or make decisions.  Mediators do not determine what is "fair" or acceptable.  Unlike a judge in a trial or an arbitrator in arbitration, the mediator is not a decision-maker and cannot impose a decision or resolution upon you.  The mediator also maintains all confidences during the proceedings, and mediations are confidential under the California Evidence Code.  This also means that a San Francisco divorce mediator can never be a witness later if the case cannot be resolved in mediation and proceeds to litigation. 

Seek Experienced Representation

If you need assistance with a San Francisco divorce or other dispute and believe mediation might be a viable option, it is important to consult with an experienced divorce attorney familiar with the mediation process.  Brian McDonald has successfully handled more than 1000 mediations and mediation variations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. To discuss the mediation process and learn whether it might be appropriate for your dispute, contact the San Francisco law firm of McDonald & Mannion today.