OUR MEDIATION EXPERIENCE
MEDIATION — ANDREW HAAS
I’ve been providing mediation services for the State Office of Dispute Resolution for many years in the areas of family law involving divorce, the allocation of parental responsibilities, child support and parenting time disputes. What I have found in working as a mediator is that almost every case boils down to the same problem: People simply do not communicate effectively with one another.
Once I can help them to start communicating (and listening) with one another, they seem to be able to work out some, if not all, of their disputes. A significant percentage of the cases I have mediated have settled. Sometimes it is difficult to get the parties to see past their anger, but once they start to look at things reasonably, they are able to compromise with one another. That is the challenge.
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION 40-HOUR MEDIATION TRAINING PROGRAM — ANDREW HAAS
In January 2014, I participated in the Continuing Legal Education 40-hour Mediation Training Program through the Colorado Bar Association. The course lasted five days and provided a complete overview of mediation, including specific training and exercises necessary to mediate cases effectively. I had participated in a mediation clinic in law school at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City, and this course provided a necessary refresher in the techniques for mediation that I had originally put to use in that law school clinic.
Through that clinic, I volunteered as a mediator for a neighborhood dispute resolution organization in Brooklyn, New York. I will now be specializing in domestic relations (family law) mediation, and I am available to schedule mediations.