Online Mediation Service?

[ibish]

Hi All,

I am a recently divorced police officer who has left the service to start up an online mediation company. To get funding for my business plan, I need to show I have done some market research. Can I ask on this forum if anyone has used mediation and their views on it?

More specifically, would you consider using an online mediation service via phone calls and email, where you did not have to meet your partner in person and arrange child care etc?

I feel really passionate about the advantages of mediation over using a solicitor and would really find your views helpful on whether you would use the service that I am proposing. Thank you so much for your time, Amber

[nocake]

My ex refused to go to mediation and dragged us into courts, resulting in a messy and expensive divorce, so I think anything that encourages mediation would be a good thing. If an on-line service had been available then I would have tried to persuade her to use it.

I hope your company is a success.

[ibish]

Thanks nocake (great name)

I hate the thought of people wasting all that money - hitting each other with their solicitor letters.... Best of luck for your future.

[PooleFamilyLaw]

Hi Ibish (Amber?)

I'm a specialist family law solicitor, and I couldn't agree more when you talk about "...people wasting all that money - hitting each other with their solicitor letters...". My first advice is always to consider the alternatives to the "traditional" approach (which I and many other family lawyers feel is an outdated approach). I regularly refer clients to mediation, as well as meeting roundtable with the couple for sensible constructive discussions on how to use their (often limited) financial resources for their own benefit rather than to pay expenseive lawyers fees to battle in court. This includes the Collaborative Family Law model.

I am intrigued by the idea of Online Family Mediation, as I've not come across that before. There might just be a gap in the market for you to fill, and mediators still work closely with lawyers, especially if the agreement brokered via mediation is to become legally binding within a financial consent order or an alternative agreement document.

I'm not on this discussion site to advertise, so I won't publish my contact details here, but if you'd like to chat about family mediation then I'm sure that you'll have no problem finding me (try my "nickname" via Twitter).

Regards

Colin