1 INTRODUCTION

SECOND EDITION

Mediating

from a

Distance

Suggested Practice Guidelines for Family Mediators

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M e di atin g f rom a D i s ta nc e

Mediating from a DISTANCE

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1 INTRODUCTION

Mediating

from a

Distance

Suggested Practice Guidelines for Family Mediators SECOND EDITION

Mediate BC Society, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Email: [email protected] Website: www.mediatebc.com October 2012

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M e di atin g f rom a D i s ta nc e

These guidelines were prepared by Susanna Jani, Project Coordinator for the Distance Family Mediation Project, with the assistance of Colleen Getz of C.A. Walker & Associates. They are based, in part, on what many experts in the field of online dispute resolution have generously shared in numerous excellent publications. They also represent many of the observations, ruminations and experiences of the following team members of Phases 2 and 3 of the Distance Family Mediation Project (in alphabetical order): Christina Bahr* Peter Baines* Nancy Baker* John Campbell Jane Henderson, Q.C.* Laura Luz Carole McKnight* Ayne Meiklem* Wendy Morash Bobbi Noble Andrea Perreaux* Eugene Raponi, Q.C.* Colleen Shaw* Ronald Smith, Q.C.* Ben Ziegler The Phase 3 team members, whose names are marked with an asterisk, are particularly thanked for the contributions they have made to our understanding of web conferencing in distance mediation. A special thank you is extended to the Law Foundation of British Columbia, without whose generous support neither the Distance Family Mediation Project nor these guidelines would have been possible.

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1 INTRODUCTION

Contents 1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 2 Before Using Technology for Family Mediation.......................................................................5 3 Assessing the Suitability of Cases for Distance Mediation...................................................11 4 Matching the Technologies to the Case...................................................................................13 5 Managing Confidentiality and Security of Information........................................................16 6 The Agreement to Mediate.........................................................................................................21 7 Preparing for the Distance Mediation......................................................................................23 8 Screening for Safety and Assessing Capacity and Readiness to Mediate..........................28 9 Conducting the Pre-Mediation Session...................................................................................35 10 Managing the Mediation Session............................................................................................39 11 Dealing with Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding ........................................49 12 A Few Final Thoughts.................................................................................................................51 Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................52 Appendix A: Agreement to Mediate for the Distance Family Mediation Project.................54 Appendix B: Selected Posts from the Distance Family Mediation Project’s Blog.................60 How Good Emailing Can Improve a Bad Relationship Jane Henderson, Q. C............................................................................................................60 “I listen better when I can talk” (and other disadvantages of videoconferencing in distance mediation) Susanna Jani......................................................................................................................