|
Eugene Seltzer
Mediator and Practitioner of Collaborative Process
Gene has practiced family law for over 35 years. Although there was a lot of satisfaction in representing spouses in contested family law litigation, Gene always felt that family issues could be resolved in a more constructive and non-adversarial way. Gene has been engaged as a mediator, or consultant to parties in mediation, throughout his entire career.
Starting in 1994, Gene became a member of the San Francisco Collaborative Law Group, which was pioneering new techniques and processes to help spouses settle out of court with a commitment to finding and implementing the highest and best intentions and goals of both parties.
Gene is now a
member of several different collaborative groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. Below is a description of
Gene's role as an attorney in the collaborative process.
Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary, private, and confidential process conducted in a series of meetings between the parties and mediator, usually without any other attorneys present. As mediator, Gene is not the lawyer for either party, but helps guide the resolution by explaining the issues that need to be decided, and the law and procedures that need to be addressed.
In mediation, each party is free and encouraged to obtain their own independent legal advice, to the extent needed by them to negotiate toward settlement comfortably and knowledgeably. Typically, mediation proceeds through the stages of information gathering, review of the parties’ needs and interest, review of settlement options, negotiation, and drafting settlement documents. These stages can vary in length depending on the individual case, but there are usually anywhere from two to eight two-hour meetings that may be involved.
Collaborative Process
Each spouse in a collaborative matter has an independent attorney, who is trained in non-adversarial process techniques designed to minimize antagonism and maximize constructive discussion. The collaborative attorney meets separately and confidentially with the client, and counsels about the rights and obligations of the parties in the family law process. Although the attorney is committed to protecting the client’s rights, the collaborative attorney also educates the client about all the options available to address the needs of both parties, which is necessary to a mutually acceptable resolution of the issues.
All of the attorneys in the collaborative groups in which Gene is a member have met the substantial requirements of family law experience and collaborative training in order to be admitted to full membership, and are members of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (collaborativeprocess.com). They have also met, and/or worked, with each of the other collaborative professionals in these groups, and all are prepared to work together to make the process as easy as possible for you.
|
