As a contractor having a significant dispute with a client, you may think the following are your only options: Fight it out Withdraw services Head to small claims court with a lawyer, paralegal or as...
Jan
2023
10
Apr
2020
21
I see so many posts about bettering yourself, staying healthy and connecting during self-isolation and social distancing. All great posts with great ideas but what about a post that helps us live and ...
Jan
2018
24
My name is Melissa Haddad and I am the first person you will speak to when you contact us, whether by phone, email or our contact form. Since you get me first, I’d like to share with you who I am. Ot...
Nov
2017
18
I had a call from a local family law lawyer and was told that she recommended me to her counterpart because she felt that the case needed a mediator with heart. While I was happy that’s how I’m seen, ...
Jan
2017
10
In a National Post article today I read that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have announced that they will now be handling their divorce privately, which I am so happy to hear. Read the article here: htt...
Mar
2016
10
Custody battles are difficult enough but within a broken system they are doomed to be more damaging to families. Here is a link to a post in the Toronto Sun today by Michele Mandel. Judge blasts warr...
Aug
2015
21
“I think it’s time to bring the personal family issues of the leaked Ashley Madison users back into the private world. No media, no courts, just families having these difficult conversations in ...
May
2014
26
Mediation and having difficult conversations about death are probably not things that you think belong together, but they do. Have you told your loved ones what your end of life decisions are? As a so...
Mar
2014
03
As a Mediator my role is to help people communicate through conflict, to find resolutions to problems and to actively participate in decisions.
Mediation is a fair, safe and balanced process that ensures everyone has a voice. It’s less costly than the legal process and much more efficient in most cases.
Yet I still wonder daily why mediation is not as common place as counselling or lawyers? People in conflict tend to call a counsellor (to deal with the emotional side) or a lawyer (to deal with the legal side). A mediator helps deals with the practical side of conflict which is often where the biggest problems occur.
Mar
2013
05
Here’s a letter that I wrote back in 2010 to a person that wanted support from someone in the “divorce industry’ to help them with their battle to change the Family Law Process. I had the added (dis)advantage of having also personally gone through it. I just found it and had a quick read. I still feel strongly that lawyers and mediators should work together more to benefit our clients. I have however softened a little as I have met some wonderful lawyers that ARE client focused. Have a read and let me know what you think. I’d love the feedback.
I’m writing this letter in support of your efforts to bring awareness to the changes so desperately needed in the current family law process.