I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by my colleagues, Isaiah Vallejo-Juste, Esq. and Meredith Shirey, LCSW for their podcast, Love Me or Leave Me.Isaiah is a divorce litigator, and Meredith is a couples therapist. I have a lot of respect for them both–we all work with NewYork City families, but approach our work in different ways. I thought they did a great job distilling my comments and getting to the heart of what mediation is and how I work.
In just 22 minutes, we talk about:
- Why I went to law school
- How I got to be a mediator
- Why the legal system doesn’t work well for families
- Why my career is based on CUNY Law School’s motto, “Law in the Service of HumanNeeds”
- A quick explanation of Understanding-Based Mediation
- My role as a guide, not as a decision-maker
- The importance of treating each other with dignity
- The mediation process and what really happens in the mediation room (or Zoom!)
- Ways to support the mediation process
- Helping LGBT families establish parentage
- Second parent adoptions
Click below to hear the episode!