Mediation

Mediation

Definitions:

Mediation is a facilitated form of conflict resolution in which an impartial third person, called a “neutral,” helps disagreeing parties reach a resolution. It often is used to resolve conflict between two or more parties as an alternative to appearing in court. In Maine, all family law litigants are required to mediate before the parties can appear in court at any contested hearing.

Mediation includes: private and court sponsored mediation, and it can be used as a format for binding reference/arbitration.

  • Private mediation allows the parties and their attorneys to select a mediator and a location for the private session.
  • With court sponsored mediation, the court clerk establishes a date and time for the mediation and coordinates with a mediator selected from a court-approved roster of experienced neutrals.

Our Approach:

Scheffee Law provides private mediation legal services to people (with or without attorneys) who wish to find solutions to conflicts relating to parental rights (contact, residence, support and decision making for minor children), financial matters such as property division and spousal support, and comprehensive divorce settlements. Mediation is often less costly and time-consuming than going to court.

Member of the Maine Association of Mediators
family law
consultation

Schedule A Consultation

to discuss your case with Liz
(hourly rate applies)

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  • As a mediator

Attorney Liz Schefffee guides individuals and/or organizations through a dispassionate discussion of the conflict at hand and works with the parties and their attorneys to find mutually agreeable solutions. Liz has meditated many cases throughout her career and is experienced in finding solutions to even the most complex disputes. As a mediator, she often helps people who want to resolve disputes in a constructive, positive environment without going to court. Liz does not specifically represent either party in mediation — her job is to move the discussion forward toward a compromise.

  • As a family lawyer participating in either court sponsored or private mediation with a client
Liz prepares the client for the mediation session, and attends the session with an agenda developed in concert with her client. Liz can recommend skilled private third-party neutrals in the event it is more efficient and convenient than court mediation. Liz is respected and well regarded by both the court rostered mediators and those available for private mediation.
  • Liz also offers reference/arbitration legal services.
A court can order or refer a case to be refereed by Liz if the parties agree. Reference/arbitration alternative dispute resolution processes often occur if scheduling, timing, or the issues involved are complex; for example, when one or more of the involved parties is in another state, when a decision needs to be made relatively quickly, and/or when a case may take several days of hearing time due to the need for expert testimony or the analytic difficulty of the presenting issues. As a referee, Liz has the powers of a court in making decisions, and her decision stands as the judgment of the court.
Liz Scheffee represented me in my divorce recently. She came to me highly recommended by another lawyer, and Liz lived up to the advertising and then some. Navigating the process is hard enough, but she made it go smoothly, prepared me well for what was to come, and was strategic, realistic, decent, honest, informative and above all, supportive. I would, in turn, recommend her as highly as she was recommended to me!
– J.S.

To contact Scheffee Law for family law assistance

Contact Us

207-222-6030

Location

ELIZABETH J. SCHEFFEE, ESQ.

7 ESTATE DRIVE GORHAM, ME 04038

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