News and Updates
Court-Ordered Mediation & Voluntariness
Feb 21, 2014 by
Mediation generally works the best when all parties are willing. The voluntary nature of mediation is one of the process's hallmarks. However, sometimes parties end up in mediation, because a judge told them to go. When volunteer mediating in the Cook County Courts I have seen participants still put real effort into the process and walk away with a self-determined agreement. Those cases are the most fun to mediate. It definitely brightens a mediator's day to see two people who were previ...
Settlement Week
Feb 12, 2014 by
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.
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.
Mediation as an Alternative to Pension Litigation
Feb 6, 2014 by
Last Friday news broke that federal court mediators helped broker a settlement deal between retired workers and the city of Detroit regarding planned changes to the retiree healthcare.
Here in Illinois there have been recent lawsuits regarding retiree health insurance premiums. Just last week multiple lawsuits were filed regarding plans to cut pensions.
Instead of firing verbal shots, pouring resources into litigation and inventing cartoon characters (I'm looking at you Squeezy), perhaps t...
Here in Illinois there have been recent lawsuits regarding retiree health insurance premiums. Just last week multiple lawsuits were filed regarding plans to cut pensions.
Instead of firing verbal shots, pouring resources into litigation and inventing cartoon characters (I'm looking at you Squeezy), perhaps t...
Five Life Lessons From Mediation
Feb 3, 2014 by
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...