MCFM Family Mediation Institute, 2015

S O L D  O U T !  Registration is closed. 

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Warning: MCFM will not issue refunds to members who do not log in and are charged the nonmember rate.

High-conflict clients tend to be blaming, highly defensive, focused on the past and demanding that others solve their problems. This presentation will describe several adaptations to the mediation structure and process to shift the parties from focusing on the past to focusing on the future, shifting from making demands to asking questions, and redirecting blaming into making proposals.

About the keynote speaker: Bill Eddy has been a mediator for over 30 years, as well as a therapist and family lawyer. He is based in San Diego, California, where he is the Senior Family Mediator for the National Conflict Resolution Center and the President of the High Conflict Institute. He has written several books, including High Conflict People in Legal Disputes, and he has trained professionals worldwide on managing high-conflict disputes. He has developed a new method for high-conflict mediation called New Ways for Mediation (A Proposal-Focused Approach). His website is www.HighConflictInstitute.com.
 

"Family Law: The Year in Review"
​Presenters: Jonathan Fields, Esq., and Fern Frolin, Esq.

A review of the recent case law and upcoming cases affecting family mediators, including “how to” tips to deal with the changing landscape.

"What's Fair Got to Do With It?"
Presenters: Oran Kaufman, Esq., and Fran Whyman, Esq.

This interactive workshop will focus on the concept of “fair” in a mediated Separation Agreement. What is the role of the mediator in influencing the parties on what is fair? Should the focus be on what the parties feel is fair or what the mediator believes the court will accept as fair? Are the standards for fairness in a mediated agreement different than in a litigated divorce and should they be? What are the mediator’s obligations around this issue to our clients, the Courts, and ourselves? With the help of these two experienced mediators, participants will discuss fact patterns related to the complicated decision the mediator has to make in determining what role he or she should play in influencing the “fairness” outcome of an Agreement.

Bill Eddy will provide a step-by-step training in the New Ways for Mediation structure and process for managing high-conflict clients.  In this method, the mediator teaches and reinforces four simple skills for clients to actively engage them in positive problem-solving. This also involves key paradigm shifts in each step of the mediation structure to help the parties to stay away from the past, to ask more questions, to more actively build their agendas, make more proposals and respond constructively rather than digging in their heels. This process involves “reverse interest-based negotiations,” which should pique the interest of mediators trained in Getting to Yes.

Maximum Institute Registration: SOLD OUT
Maximum Master Class Registration: SOLD OUT

Institute Registration by October 30, 2015:
MCFM Members $175
Nonmembers $215

Institute Registration after October 30, 2015:
MCFM Members $195
Nonmembers $235

What's Included: Institute registration fee includes materials and lunch (vegetarian options available). Master Class registration includes materials and light refreshments.

PAYMENT: MCFM accepts major credit cards only (VISA, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX). Sorry, no checks.

TUITION ASSISTANCE: Limited scholarship assistance for the Institute will be considered upon email request to Laurie Udell, Chair of the Institute Planning Committee.

MCFM CANCELLATION POLICY: Full refunds (less the $25 cancellation fee) will be issued if you cancel your registration by November 6, 2015. The cancellation will be acknowledged but refunds will not be issued until after the Institute. Cancellations between November 6 and November 20 must include documentation of a medical emergency. No refunds will be issued for cancellations after November 19. Substitutions are permitted at any time.