New Frontiers in Family Mediation
Family Mediation has found and forever changed the legal marketplace while making its way permanently into our collective cultural awareness.
With terms like "co-parenting" in wide media use and with many extolling its benefits to families in the area of Separation and Divorce, mediation is now considered the first (and best) option for family law matters, for example. However, just as already established Family Mediation fields are evolving, we are on the edge of recognizing newly defined mediation methods for addressing issues and conflicts impacting families – many have been developed but not yet widely applied. As these methods will make their way into the zeitgeist in the near future, Family Mediation’s influence on culture and society could be even more profound.
The speaker samples various types of Family Mediation in common practice today, including Separation and Divorce, Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreement Negotiation and Contracting, as well as other recently emerging practice areas, such as Mediation to Stay Married (in part, an outgrowth of Divorce Mediation) and Elder and Adult Family Mediation and its closely associated conflict resolution process, Trusts and Estates Mediation. In describing the spectrum of Family Mediation practice areas, from commonly recognized to "up and coming", we also describe the various backgrounds and strengths of the mediators associated therewith. Special attention is given to the refinement and sophistication of already established Family Mediation disciplines, such as a growing awareness around what is commonly termed "Child-Centered" Divorce Mediation for better settlement outcomes. Also emphasized is the value of interdisciplinary collaboration between attorney mediators and mental health professionals, particularly in newly emerging fields like Mediation to Stay Married.
Recording
About the Speaker
Guest speaker Catherine Grace Hannibal has been mediating for over a decade, including with Mediation Works, Inc. (since 2010). She concentrates on Divorce Mediation (including "high conflict"), Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreement Mediation, Mediation to Stay Married, Divorce Mediation that is Child-Centered, and Elder Decisions Mediation. In addition to mediating, Catherine is a consulting and Collaborative attorney for non-litigated Divorce and for Prenuptial and Postnuptial matters. She mentors and teaches with the CUNY School of Law Mediation Clinic as an Adjunct Professor and the New York Peace Institute, and has presented for many law schools and organizations, including Cardozo School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation (NYSCDM), the closed Interdisciplinary Forum for Mental Health and Family Law, Lawyers for Children, the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York (FDMC), the local chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), the Association for Conflict Resolution-Greater New York Chapter (ACR-GNY) and FamilyKind, where she teaches their court-connected Parenting Education classes in Westchester County. She is an Accredited Member of the NYSCDM and is just concluding her term as President of FDMC. Catherine also serves on the Board of ACR-GNY where she focuses on improving training and professional standards for mediators. She is a graduate of Cardozo School of Law where she was trained by competitive admission in the "Top Ten" nationally ranked Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution’s Mediation and Divorce Mediation clinics. She received her MA and BA (with Honors) from Stanford University.