» Mediation

(Or, finding the better path – a divorce lawyer’s perspective.) “Marriage Story” might more accurately (though less invitingly) be titled “Divorce Story”. It’s a tale about the divorce experience. While that… Read More

On December 1, 2017, Maryland Court of Special Appeals issued its opinion in Na v. Gillespie, a case involving a dispute about whether the parties had reached an agreement in mediation and whether mediation communications and documents were admissibl… Read More

I recently had the pleasure of attending a seminar about Wisconsin’s update to its rules of practice for attorneys, allowing attorney mediators to draft settlement and other court documents. The rule went into effect July 1, 2017. Wisconsin Rul… Read More

There are two camps of mediators: those who draft agreements and those who don’t. For those who don’t, they draft a list of settlement terms for the parties to take to their own (separate) attorneys to draft. For those who do, these fall… Read More

Many family law matters settle. Using many different settlement methods. Whatever settlement method is used, the parties need to get from a shared understanding of the settlement terms to a document confirming those terms. In many cases, this require… Read More

Short answer: No. More and more, I see mediation framed as a “one-stop” solution for couples who want to resolve their family matters. However, mediation is not the same as being represented by an attorney. These are two different –… Read More

Limited scope representation means hiring an attorney to provide services for certain, but not all, tasks. It is “a la carte” representation, choosing from a menu of options. Maryland Rule 19-301.2(c) states: An attorney may limit the sco… Read More

In Maryland, “agreements to agree” are generally unenforceable. For a contact to exist, the terms must be “sufficiently definite”. If the parties’ terms are too undefined, a court cannot make a contract for the parties.… Read More