Mediation & Arbitration

Mediation and Arbitration have become a strong focus for our practice. Mediation and arbitration offer people a way to resolve issues without having to go to Court. In fact, many Colorado Courts are ordering people to engage in alternative dispute resolution before they will allow people to have a hearing. These methods can save people time, money and the significant stress of going to Court. David Littman is an experienced Mediator and Arbitrator and is often selected by other attorneys to perform this role in divorce and parental responsibilities and parenting time (formerly known as child custody) issues. Joshua Wohl is a capable Mediator who is able to provide high quality mediation services at a lower hourly rate.

Mediation is a method of alternative dispute resolution that uses a neutral third party to assist parties is resolving disputed issues. This third party is usually an attorney, but may be someone trained in another field.  Mediation can be used in the context of a divorce or parental responsibilities and parenting time (formerly known as child custody) issues. The role of a Mediator is to help people work through their issues and to reach a solution that is equitable and agreeable to both parties. The Mediator has no authority to make final decisions for the parties. If agreements are reached, the Mediator then prepares a document called a Memorandum of Understanding. This document contains the agreements made by the parties and can be filed with the Court and made a final order, eliminating the need for the parties to further litigate or take their disputes to Court.

Arbitration is another method of dispute resolution that also uses a neutral third party to assist in resolving disputed issues. The main difference between mediation and arbitration, is that an Arbitrator has the authority under Colorado Statutes to make binding decisions that act as a Court Order. Again, an Arbitrator is usually an attorney and sometimes even a retired judge. An Arbitrator must be well-versed in the law in order to make final decisions that parties must abide by. An arbitration session is similar to a court hearing, in that parties give testimony, witnesses can be called to testify and evidence is provided to the Arbitrator. Parties can participate in arbitration on their own or they can have their individual attorneys also participate in order to advise or represent them appropriately. This is a decision that is made by the parties and their attorneys based upon the particular situation and the issues in dispute. For more information regarding arbitration, please refer to Colorado Uniform Arbitration Act, C.R.S. 13-22-201 and Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act, C.R.S. 14-10-128.5

In some cases, mediation and arbitration is combined if it is appropriate to a particular case. Parties begin with the mediation process and if they cannot reach resolution, they transfer into an arbitration process with the same Mediator/Arbitrator. This method gives parties the opportunity to reach a resolution or to have the Mediator/Arbitrator make a final decision if they cannot.

If you feel any of these methods of alternative dispute resolution may assist you with your divorce or family law matter, contact our office for more information. Our years of experience in these methods can help to reduce conflict and resolve disputed issues without people having to face the stress and expense of going to Court.