Description:

It is not just the intensity of emotions that challenges the mediator in inheritance disputes, although that will surface and needs to be anticipated and planned for.  Challenges arise also from the range of interests that need to be considered, including some that might not be represented at the mediation, from trying to clarify what the real issues and sources of dispute are, from meeting (or ignoring) Probate Code and tax code strictures, from ethical dilemmas posed by attorney-client and multi-party tensions.  By describing these and other challenges, I will also be eliciting ideas for overcoming them, before, during, and after the mediation session.

Please note, presentation materials will not be distributed on site.  An email will be sent out 1-2 days before the event, with digital documents (if any) so please check your email prior to attending the Society Session.

Discussion Leader:

Richard Collier has a litigation and ADR practice with Cooper, White & Cooper LLP.  He trained as a mediator in 1993 and has mediated over 400 disputes covering a wide range of subjects, number of parties, and dollar amounts.  He is a Past President of the Mediation Society (2009) and, with Dana Curtis, chaired the BASF Mediation Committee for many years.  He serves as an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association and as a mediator and neutral evaluator for the Northern District of California United States District Court’s ADR Program.  Before practicing law, Mr. Collier taught in the English Department at UC Berkeley, where he received the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award.