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Both mediators and lawyers are professionals who work with alternative conflict resolution, mediation and law are distinct professions. Training and experience as a lawyer is considered a good background for becoming a mediator, mainly because lawyers already know how to interpret laws and analyze complicated matters.
An experienced family law attorney has the right combination of knowledge and experience to become a good family law mediator, just as a lawyer who has broad experience representing businesses generally has the right background to mediate contract or employment disputes. It is not necessary, however, for a mediator to be a lawyer, provided that the mediator has gained accredited training of the applicable law through some other kind of experience.
A mediator who is also an attorney is generally highly skilled at providing legal information, but the attorney-mediator cannot give legal advice. The attorney acting as such is unbiased and cannot takes sides and give one party legal advice or assistance to the detriment of the other party. However, having a legal background could be very beneficial as both parties will be guided to reach their own solution which is 100% within the boundaries of the law as the attorney-mediator still has a legal obligation to uphold the law.
A divorce mediator is a professional mediator who helps divorcing couples resolve all of the legal issues that are part of their divorce. Common issues include things like how to divide marital property equitably, whether or not maintenance (whether child maintenance or spousal maintenance) is appropriate, and what kind of parenting plan will work once two separate households are established. Because divorce generally requires resolution of multiple issues and is often accompanied by particularly challenging emotions, divorce mediators require additional training to ensure that they will be competent to handle all potential situations that may arise in divorce mediation.
Training and experience as a lawyer is considered a good background for becoming a mediator, mainly because lawyers already know how to interpret laws and analyze complicated matters.
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