WHY CHOOSE DOUG SCHOENBERG AS YOUR DIVORCE MEDIATOR?

A highly experience and respected mediator

Aside from being a highly experienced and respected mediator and trainer, I take pride in each mediation in making it possible for my two clients (and their children) to leave the divorce behind and each go on with his or her life.

During the mediation process, I will empower you both, to work out the more flexible and pragmatic settlement agreements people can fashion in mediation. You and your spouse will learn the skills to settle future issues, because you have had the experience of working things out yourselves at the time of the divorce. In cases with children, your ability to solve problems, settle future disputes and adapt to changing circumstances, is the best chance to limit the long-term impact of the divorce on the children.

I am pragmatic, a good mediator should be. But all issues cannot be settled unless the parties are committed and flexible. Studies show that as many as 90% of divorce cases can be resolved, especially with the right mediator. If there's a problem in a case that might prove to be an insuperable obstacle in the mediation, such as one or both parties being too psychologically dysfunctional to adequately participate in the process, I don't hesitate to tell you what the obstacle is, give you the opportunity to decide how long to grapple with it and whether to terminate the mediation.

My client knows I respect them as adults capable of making decisions about their own lives. It's my responsibility as the mediator to maintain the integrity of the mediation process. That sometimes requires "leveling the playing field," helping one of the parties to do a better job of formulating a strategy or advocating for him or herself.

Most people going through a divorce should have the advice of counsel. But the role of the attorney in a well-mediated divorce is a much more limited one: providing the client with legal advice, one of man pieces of information he or she will take into account in making decisions. As an experienced divorce litigator, I encourage, I encourage you to consider all of your alternatives, including, when appropriate, utilizing other professionals (e.g. forensic accountants, career counselors, mental health professions, appraisers, etc.) in ways most appropriate to your needs.

Sometimes, I get cases in which the parties have litigated for years and spent tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but in working with me, they find solutions that work for everybody. That makes them satisfied clients and gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction that I've truly made a difference in their lives. That's why I love doing this work.

You can count on me to help you settle the financial and parenting issues in your own divorce, rather than having them dictated by your lawyers or a judge. You'll save time, money and emotional trauma, which is good for you and for your children.