Conflict Resolution

This may be through Mediation or Facilitation services. The two approaches are similar but are distinct. If you have questions about Conflict Resolution services and which type may fit your needs, contact us.

Mediation is a process that brings parties together to resolve their differences through discussion and problem-solving. The mediator is a neutral third party who helps facilitate the dialogue but is not the final decision-maker or judge. Mediation can resolve disputes quickly and satisfactorily without the expense, delay, and anxiety of litigation.

Because mediation sessions are confidential, they offer a safe environment for parties to express their needs and interests, discuss options and reach mutually agreeable resolutions, and can preserve important relationships. Mediators assure the fairness of the process, facilitate communication, and maintain the balance of power between the parties.

Mediators may not give legal advice or interpret the law. During mediation, however, parties may choose to be represented by an attorney. A mediator may also refer parties to impartial outside experts in legal, financial, or other fields to address specific questions or issues that might arise.

The mediation process typically involves one or more meetings between the disputing parties and the mediator. Mediation may be used in a dispute that has already been filed with a court, or it may be used to resolve a dispute and thereby avoid the need to seek satisfaction in court. If parties arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution, mediators may assist in drafting Memorandums of Understanding, setting out the terms to which the parties have agreed. If mediation is unsuccessful and an agreement cannot be reached, parties may still pursue all legal remedies, including private lawsuits.

Facilitation is a process used when the parties feel that they agree on most issues, typically in a divorce situation, but they would like the assistance of a professional who understands the dissolution process and the standards that will be applied by the court. A facilitator is a neutral third party who guides the parties through the entire process and helps them arrive at a fair resolution on parenting matters and division of assets and debts.

The facilitator will prepare documents to be filed with the court and help the parties ensure that they have provided the court with all the documents it needs to enter final orders. Because the facilitator does not represent either party separately, the parties have the duty to file the documents prepared with them and for them.

If the parties find that they have disagreements on issues, the facilitator may mediate those issues with the parties. If those disagreements cannot be resolved, the parties may choose to retain separate attorneys to continue with their dissolution. The facilitator would not take on that representation for either party.

Gayle is a mediator and facilitator in addition to being an attorney. Her experience has included work in mental health fields in Colorado, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Ms. Fidler was also the Program Director for the Colorado Mental Health boards and programs and counsel to those programs and other Colorado health professional boards. As an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, her duties included working with state programs to ensure appropriate care for institutionalized adults and children.Gayle is a member of the Mediation Association of Colorado (the MAC). Prior to her mediation practice at Fidler and Fidler, P.C., Gayle was a mediator with a professional mediation center, and also provided her services as a mediator in Denver District Courts through the Denver Bar Association in a variety of cases.Gayle's training and experience include a 40-hour mediation training, negotiation skills, and ethics, working with numerous boards and individuals. She has developed and presented training programs on ethics for boards as well as for individual professionals. In her 30+ years of experience, she has been involved in mediations of all sizes and complexity, in federal and state courts, with state and federal agencies, and with individuals and families seeking to avoid stressful and costly litigation.Gayle approaches each mediation as an opportunity to prepare parties to move forward and to assist them in reaching fair resolutions to their disputes.