Mediating Cases Involving Insurance Carriers
Shhhh, it’s a secret! By Donald B. Cripe, Lawyer Mediator and co-founder of California Arbitration & Mediation Services A few years ago I was listening to a colleague who had just finished his first mediation involving an insurance carrier in a personal injury case. My colleague was very frustrated and, quite frankly, angry with the…
Read MoreHow is Mediation Different from Arbitration?
To put the answer to this question in technical terms, the difference between mediation and arbitration is described as: “A mediator normally has no authority to render a decision. It’s up to the parties themselves — with the mediator’s help — to work informally toward their own agreement. An arbitrator, on the other hand, conducts…
Read MoreWhy Mediation is Better For the Children
Mediation is an alternative way of handling conflict resolution that doesn’t involve the high cost and extended amount of time that is typical when a case goes to trial. It helps to resolve conflicts in a more timely and cost efficient manner with the help of a professional mediator. Mediators are usually able to resolve…
Read MoreReluctance as it Applies to Mediation
There are Many Benefits to Mediation. Attorneys have grown to love the participation of mediation as it applies to promoting communication and retaining a closeness that you can’t get from anything else. However, sometimes resistance comes into play. How should it be addressed when it becomes a problem?
Read MoreGuardianships And Conservatorships
At Soheila, Azizi & Associates, we offer a complete service that families depend on when applying for guardianship over a minor or conservatorship over an adult who requires the assistance of a conservator. Obtaining legal guardianship or conservatorship is often complex and can be a frustrating process. One must keep in mind that the process…
Read MoreCOLLABORATIVE MEDIATION: The Ideal Team Approach To Conflict Resolution
Resolving disputes out of court is gaining more popularity as more people experience increased frustration over delays, expenses and uncertainties of litigating their cases in court. The process which was previously referred to as an Alternative method of Dispute Resolution (ADR), has increasingly become the ideal approach for many lawyers and party litigants. “Mediation” is often…
Read MoreIs My Spouse Entitled to Half My Business if We Divorce?
Divorce is the last thing people are typically thinking of when they get married – however, the sad fact of the matter is that 52% of all first marriages will end in divorce in this day and age. Divorces are already an unfortunate matter but then you add in the fact that a couple has…
Read MoreCan Conflict Actually Be Good For Your Relationship?
Many people make the wrong assumption that conflict will collapse a relationship and so they attempt to avoid it like the plague. Many people also tend to close their eyes to conflict or a potential clash, thinking that if they don’t acknowledge it, it doesn’t exist. However, what many forget is that engaging in conflict…
Read MoreEstate Litigation & Mediation
Why Use ADR For Handling Contested Estates? Mediation, or the alternative form of dispute resolution handled by professional neutral parties, is a good way to resolve cases involving estates and wills instead of taking the case through a costly, time consuming trial. When parties are involved in a case of a contested will, according to…
Read MoreJuly 2015: Law Talk
LAW TALK BY SOHEILA AZIZI “March Toward Equality” or “Threat to American Democracy?” The US Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, issued on Friday, June 26, 2015, is by no means an end to the heated controversy and polarization over this issue. The decision was a 5-4, and the deciding vote was cast…
Read MoreWhat is Transformative Mediation?
First, as readers, you need to understand what mediation is. Mediation is a form of conflict resolution in which parties who have a conflict choose a neutral third party called a mediator to help them resolve their dispute without the extra time and money involved in a trial. There are several different specific kinds of…
Read MoreHow to Stay Safe From Domestic Violence During Divorce
Domestic violence is a very serious thing to keep in mind when going through a divorce, male or female. According to the Department of Justice, 14% of all homicides in the United States were perpetrated by an intimate partner. In 2007, there was a total of 2,340 – 1,640 of those being women, and 700…
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