From the New York Law Journal Dec. 12, 2017
Ortal Mendelawe, an Israeli attorney specializing in sexual harassment cases and an LL.M.
Strategies for Handling High Conflict in Negotiations
As family mediators, we are often regaled with stories of high conflict divorce cases. “They never could have mediated” is a common refrain we hear from well-meaning friends who share details of protracted divorce litigations and custody battles, each replete with extensive collateral damage, such as a retirement account liquidated to fund a litigation.
Our article in the New York Law Journal 4/12/17
Revisiting Agreements After Unforeseen Changes Occur
The current political climate has encapsulated what we have longed recognized: that unpredictable—even outlier, low-probability events—happen.
Tools for Getting Parties Through Impasse
DECEMBER 7, 2016. New York Law Journal.
In our last column, we discussed several strategies for addressing impasse in mediation: examining the conflict dynamic; using silence to allow parties time to consider the issues; exploring the parties’ motivation to mediate; shifting to a different topic, enabling time for further reflection; considering the smaller components of each issue; obtaining and analyzing more information; and having separate conversations with the parties.
New York Law Journal: Spousal Support Guidelines Offer Framework for Mediation
By: Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim
April 13, 2016
As of Jan. 25, 2016, divorcing parties may rely on new provisions in the Domestic Relations Law pertaining to post-divorce spousal support.1 For years, attorneys and judges have grappled with creating a standard of fairness upon which parties may rely that provides sufficient flexibility so that cases may be tailored to each family’s unique budgetary needs.