A mediator is someone who stands in the middle to help resolve a dispute. Most people are called upon to mediate a small dispute at various points in their lives. However, mediation as a profession is quite different from what most people are familiar with. Professional mediation is a demanding, difficult job that requires special mediation training and lots of practice to do well. It also requires a person who can set aside their own beliefs about a conflict and concentrate on what the people involved are willing and able to do.

Professional mediators do not decide who is right and who is wrong. Nor do they decide what people should do about their problem. Instead, mediators work to create a safe environment where people can work together to gain a better mutual understanding of the situation.

Mediators also provide assistance in helping people discuss possible options that might solve the problem. The goal is to ultimately create a solution together that is acceptable to all who are directly involved.

Jill Goldstein is just that person. Jill Goldstein is passionate about the mediation process. Having had personal experience with a lengthy, emotional and costly litigated divorce, she is dedicated to keeping families out of the courtroom.

Jill Goldstein was trained and did her internship at the Erickson Mediation Institute, a prestigious institute that has been performing mediations and training mediators for over 30 years and continues her affiliation with them to this day. She is a qualified neutral under Rule 114.

She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of St. Thomas. She also has several years of counseling experience which was the catalyst for her career in mediation. After referring countless couples to the mediation process, Jill observed that couples came to a quick and peaceful resolution because the process was based on self-determination and was managed with the clients and their children as the main focus.

Jill is passionate about assisting individuals in making their own separation or divorce decisions and helping families plan their future. Couples who are focused and committed to the mediation process will find Jill to be their advocate in developing their own standard of fairness and crafting a creative resolution that feels fair to both.

"I am their guide through the mediation process assisting them in making that future a reality. Working together we can avoid the expense and emotional toll of the often adversarial judicial system."

Due to her personal experience as well as professional experience, she is able to assist families through the painful process of divorce as well as holds dear to the belief that any situation can find resolution through mediation.

The goal of mediation is to empower all parties while seeking fair solutions and resolving disputes respectfully. With a better process, you can have better outcomes!

Our Mediation Process

How Does The Mediation Process Work?

There are 6 stages of mediation.

1. Introductory remarks
2. Statement of the problems and issues by the  parties
3. Information gathering
4. Identification of the problems
5. Bargaining and generating options
6. Reaching agreement

Introductory Remarks

The mediator will wait until both parties are present and then make introductions.  The physical setting will be controlled so that no party feels threatened

The opening statement during the introductory remarks will  lay out the ground rules for the mediation. These ground rules are what helps  the mediation go smoothly. The mediator will usually ask that if attorneys are  present, they can concur, but the clients should speak for themselves. Parties  should not interrupt each other. The mediator will give each party the  opportunity to fully share their side of the story.

Statement of the  Problems and Issues by the Parties

Each person is given the opportunity to tell their story uninterrupted. If there are  lawyers present who make the initial statement, the clients will then be asked  to make their own statements.

Information Gathering

The mediator will ask the parties open-ended questions. The mediator will repeat back key ideas to the  parties, and will summarize often.

Problem  Identification

This might also be part of other segments. The mediator tries to find common goals between the parties. The mediator will figure out which issues are  going to be able to settle or those that will settle first.

Bargaining and  Generating Options / Reaching an Agreement

Methods for developing options may include group process, discussion groups  or sub groups, developing hypothetical plausible scenarios. It may include a  mediator's proposal where a proposal is put on the table and the parties take  turns modifying it.

Once the participants are committed to achieving a  negotiated settlement, the mediator will propose a brainstorming session to  explore potential solutions. This can lead to a final agreement, which diffuses  the conflict and provides a new basis for future relations.

The mediator may also decide to hold private sessions with  both parties in order to move negotiations along. This caucus session will be  confidential. It provides a safe environment in which to brainstorm and surface  any underlying fears or concerns. The goal of this session is to find some  common ground by exploring many options, and to bring about possible solutions  for the parties to think about. Parties can also entertain alternative  solutions to their problems without committing themselves to offering the  solutions as concessions.

Reaching Agreement

When an agreement has been reached, the mediator  puts  its main provisions in writing.

Once an agreement has been made, the parties have a starting point for which to  begin different relationships.  If all  the participants view the process as fair, they are more likely to take the  results seriously.

 Address

 13700 - 83rd Way      

 Suite 208      

 Maple Grove, MN 55369

 Phone:

 763-383-8986