Mediation – The intervention into a dispute of an acceptable, impartial, neutral third party who has no authoritative decision making ability, yet is there to assist the parties to achieve a mutually acceptable solution.
The Fulcrum Institute Dispute Resolution Clinic is dedicated to assisting people in avoiding the cost of litigation and helping them solve their problems in a manner that is forthright, quick and cost effective.
The Fulcrum Institute DRC trainers are some of the most proficient mediators in the conflict resolution field in the State of Washington. Along with years of experience, they bring an energetic and engaging approach to each training. This is an interactive approach, tailored to your individual needs. Experienced mediators will observe each practice exercise and provide individualized feedback on how to improve your conflict resolution skills.
Today, after more than 20 years of service, more than 5100 mediations, hundreds of trainings, and dozens of grant funded programs, the Fulcrum Institute DRC is recognized as one of the finest mediation firms in the Pacific Northwest. The organization offers nationally recognized trainings, provides internships to students learning mediation, services mediation contracts across American and settles more than 300 mediations each year with a settlement rate in excess of 93%.
The Fulcrum Institute Dispute Resolution Clinic may assist in avoiding the courtroom in a majority of legal situations, these can include:
The cadre of mediators offers full mediation services for parenting plans developed through divorce actions, third party custody actions, adoptions and dependency hearings.
Mediation is a voluntary process that provides an opportunity and environment for mutually and efficiently resolving issues of communication, separation, child custody, visitation, and other parenting matters in a private, safe and positive environment. With the help of certified skilled mediators, parties share their views and have the opportunity to address important issues in a cooperative constructive way. Resolutions are created together and accepted by BOTH parties that reflect the individual values and needs of both.
The state of Washington requires that parents must have a “Parenting Plan” for any children from the marriage before a judge will grant a divorce. Mediators can assist parents with the issues of the parenting plan while at the same time helping parties emotionally clean up unresolved issues, plan for healthy communication in the future and create plans for dealing with potential future issues, such as transfer of the children, ongoing changing needs as the children grow and new partners in either parent’s life. It is vital to the emotional and physical health of children that divorcing parents move through the pain of the past and back to the role of fully functioning parents. When parents can’t move on their children suffer in school, in peer relationships and in self esteem. Conflict is expensive.
Mediation will help you:
Washington is a file by form state and Fulcrum personnel are prepared to assist in the completion of many documents to be filed with the court.
The average divorce in the immediate area costs approximately $10,000.00. The mediation of property distribution, maintenance agreements and the division of liabilities and personal property assets saves time, money, and emotional stress. The average for mediation of this type is less than $1,000.00.
Mediation provides an opportunity and environment for mutually and efficiently resolving issues of communication, separation, division of debt and property and other matters in a private, safe, and positive environment. With the help of certified skilled mediators, parties share their views and have the opportunity to address important issues in a cooperative constructive way. Resolutions are created together and accepted by BOTH parties that reflect the individual values and needs of both.
Mediation will help you:
Mediation is a voluntary process that provides an opportunity and environment for mutually and efficiently resolving issues of communication, separation, child custody, visitation, and other parenting matters in a private, safe, and positive environment. With the help of certified skilled mediators, parties share their views and have the opportunity to address important issues in a cooperative constructive way. Resolutions are created together and accepted by BOTH parties that reflect the individual values and needs of both.
The state of Washington requires that parents must have a “Parenting Plan” for any children from the marriage before a judge will grant a divorce. Mediators can assist parents with the issues of the parenting plan while at the same time helping parties emotionally clean up unresolved issues, plan for healthy communication in the future, and create plans for dealing with potential future issues such as transfer of the children, ongoing changing needs as the children grow, and new partners in either parent’s life. It is vital to the emotional and physical health of children that divorcing parents move through the pain of the past and back to the role of fully functioning parents. When parents can’t move on their children suffer in school, in peer relationships and in self esteem. Conflict is expensive.
Mediation will help you:
Conflict in the workplace occurs on a constant basis and such conflict costs businesses money. It does not matter if the conflict is employee to employee, employee to management, or employee to client, each time a conflict develops the loser is the bottom line of the business in that there is a loss of productivity, time and financial resources.
The Fulcrum mediator cadre has developed a process to assist business in reducing conflict, developing a workplace philosophy that strives for productivity and improving stressful environments.
There are times when people who work together don’t get along. When the conflict inhibits people’s ability to do their jobs, assistance may be needed to resolve the problems by mediating the conflict and their continuing relationship.
Mediation is an effective and efficient process to help resolve employment disputes. A neutral mediator can assist parties in reaching a voluntary, negotiated agreement. Choosing to resolve employment disputes through mediation promotes a better work environment, reduces costs, and brings satisfaction for employees and employers. According to Halvorson Human Resources, the cost of employee turnover ranges from approximately 3 months’ pay for an hourly worker to $145,000 for a hi–tech employee. Conflict is expensive.
Since mediation is both voluntary and confidential, the employer’s expectations regarding the involved employees’ participation and desire for a copy of the mediated agreement must be worked out between the employer, employees and the DRC in advance of the mediation.
Many times as circumstances change for elderly parents and relatives, conversations are difficult for all family members. The Fulcrum Institute Dispute Resolution Clinic offers Family/Relative sessions with trained facilitators to help with those much needed conversations. Sometimes it helps to just be in the same room to begin the dialogue. There are many items that must be considered; living arrangements, finances, health care, disposition of property, avoiding probate and dignity with respect in all circumstances. If your family could use assistance in holding uncomfortable conversations at this stage in life, Fulcrum can help. Your family may need a trained professional to help everyone navigate a difficult time.
FORECLOSURE DEPT OF FULCRUM DRC
With passage of the Foreclosure Assistance Act of 2010, and the current impetus on helping individuals who face foreclosure in uncertain economic times, the Fulcrum Institute Dispute Resolution Clinic offers a number of specially trained mediators in foreclosure mediation.
Fulcrum DRC works closely with the Washington State Department of Commerce for non-judicial foreclosure processes. We help the borrower avoid foreclosure with the mortgage beneficiary through mediation. We approach each session with a neutral view and we strive to make it as positive and efficient as possible. Our goal is to have both parties agree on affordable terms for the borrower to make reasonable payments to the mortgage beneficiary.
Landlord tenant conflicts surface at all levels of the landlord tenant continuum and may be mediated through the DRC office. Fulcrum has a number of mobile home parks, apartment complexes, and individual landlords who have identified a first step of conflict resolution utilizing mediation. The eviction process is costly, the small claims avenue may be time prohibitive, and all legal processes build animosity. Mediation serves to be a quick, efficient, cost productive alternative for tenants, both business and residential, and landlords, large and small.
In 1994 the State of Washington Office of Public Instruction undertook a project of developing a cadre of statewide mediators to perform special education mediations between concerned parents of special needs children and school district officials. Members of the Fulcrum Institute DRC have been members of that cadre since the project began. Requests for special education mediation are handled through Sound Options on Bainbridge Island. The contract also includes I-E-P facilitation.
The Fulcrum Institute Dispute Resolution Clinic offers qualified arbitrators to provide services for those individuals in conflict when a third party is allowed to make a decision concerning the conflict through a contractual arrangement, agreement or by court order.
The Clinic utilizes attorneys from Washington and Idaho to fulfill this valuable function. The arbitrator’s decisions are provided in writing. Parties may appeal an arbitrator’s decision through the court system of the state involved. Arbitrators follow the legal guidelines of the applicable state.