Mediation is a great way to resolve disputes without having to go to court. In Columbia, Maryland, the mediation center offers classes for children between 6 and 15 years old twice a month. These classes provide an opportunity for kids to learn coping mechanisms, identify feelings, and develop conflict resolution skills. For adults, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods such as mediation and arbitration can be used to settle legal issues in a more beneficial way.
The attorneys at Barrett & Farahany can help you with this process. In order to attend a mediation session at the mediation center in Columbia, Maryland, there are certain requirements that must be met. According to Maryland Rules of Procedure 17-104 and 17-106, participants must receive 20 hours of mediation training. If the person is not licensed to practice law, they must have mediated more than 25 disputes or participated in more than 500 hours of dispute resolution. In states that have these requirements, mediators must receive approval or certification from the court to consider referring the case. In Texas, mediators who wish to be appointed by the courts must have at least 40 hours of in-person training on alternative dispute resolution and an additional 24 hours of family mediation training to be appointed in cases related to domestic matters.
To be included in such a list, a mediator must meet certain minimum requirements related to the types of cases in which they want to mediate. Mediators can also obtain “certification” from the Maryland Dispute Resolution Council (MCDR) and Maryland Community Mediation (CMM) through an evaluation process based on their performance. In order to be part of the judicial list, applicants must have successfully completed at least 40 hours of formal training in mediation, at least 10 hours of experience watching a mediator qualified for a court conduct mediation, and at least 10 hours conducting mediation alone or as a joint mediator with a qualified mediator for the court. The South Carolina Bar Association houses the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission and the Supreme Court's Board of Arbitrators and Certification of Mediators, and helps the Court maintain and distribute the official list of active certified mediators and arbitrators. Have a license as a lawyer in any state with four years of legal or judicial experience (the experience requirement can be satisfied by completing a mediation course approved by a law school), or have mediated more than 25 disputes or participated in more than 500 hours of dispute resolution. Mediators in family cases also often work with parties who are not familiar with the law, so it is important that family court mediators are fully aware of the nuances related to these cases. Mediators must also have at least 100 hours of experience in family mediation (50 must be individual or principal mediators in divorce, post-divorce, or parentage cases).
Depending on the situation, the parties may meet with the mediator or have separate meetings with him. Contact your local court for information on lists of mediators and the requirements to receive court-sent mediations. Alternatively, those who have received at least 60 hours of training on mediation in divorce and custody and have completed 10 mediations as sole mediators or 20 mediations as mediators 12 months before submitting their request can also be chosen.
