News and Updates

The Illinois Chapter of the Association of Attorney-Mediators will be sponsoring Settlement Week April 7-11, 2014. During Settlement Week you have the opportunity to utilize a mediator at a reduced cost, with the proceeds benefiting a specified charity.  

Convergence Mediation's own Jennifer LaDuke will be one of the mediators volunteering her time. Check out AAM's website for more information, including the schedule.

Winter is a great time to reflect on the the previous year and contemplate moving forward.  The more experience I have gained mediating, the more I have seen the value in using those skills in my everyday life.  The top five life lessons I have learned from mediation are as follows:

1.       Take time to listen.   Most people want to feel heard.  When they don't feel like they are being heard, they often become louder and angrier.  They may even file a lawsuit as a way of forcing the other per...

I have lived in the Chicago area for over a decade.  In that time my methods for dealing with personal conflict have changed drastically.  When I was starting out as a litigator, I used a "tit-for-tat" strategy when dealing with opposing counsels.  When they were polite and reasonable, so was I.  When they tried to push me around or acted in a way I thought was rude or unreasonable, I became much less cooperative. 

As I got older I saw how futile striking back could be.  I would never advoc...