Outside of the Box and Unorthodox Mediation

Introduction: My mediation practice is near and dear to my heart. I am by nature a creative problem solver and enjoy working in a collaborative manner. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the precepts behind mediation. I treat each mediation with the utmost respect and will never leave the table before I have given my full effort to encourage settlement. I was first certified as mediator while in law school, where I competed on our Alternative Dispute Resolution team. My style is a bit unorthodox. I focus on the actual conflict and seek outside of the box solutions. I do well with high conflict situations and often bring parties to agreement when their attorneys thought that it would be impossible. This isn't a guarantee concerning my services but an example of how I work. I am currently the only plaintiff Special Education attorney in the state of Utah. My primary focus is on IEP development and due process complaints. I approach my practice with a strong preference toward problem solving and collaboration. I hold workshops regularly for parent's who have children with disabilities. I run the blog iep.guide and have been working on my first book, A Collaborative Guide to Special Education: Parent's Guide, which should be released shortly. It focuses upon relationship building and includes the types of conflict management techniques I use in all of my work. I enjoy learning something new each day. Mediation and negotiation are my strong suits. I am a