Mediation is a voluntary process that
involves all parties to a case sitting down
with a neutral individual (the mediator) to
see if they can discuss their issues and
settle their case with the mediator’s help.
Mediation is not counseling. The mediator
does not give legal advice, and the mediator
does not decide the case. The goal of
mediation is to reach a binding, enforceable
written agreement that settles the dispute
without going to Court.
Frank West Morrison is a Virginia Supreme
Court Certified Mediator and offers that
service in conjunction with his family law
practice. Mr. Morrison’s certification is as
an Advanced Family Mediator. Mr. Morrison
has been mediating disputes for over twenty
years and teaches negotiation and mediation
at Washington & Lee Law School. He received
a Founder of Alternative Dispute Resolution
in Virginia Award in June, 2004. Mr.
Morrison has been mediating for ten years
and has served as a trainer and lecturer on
the subject locally and regionally.
Mr. Morrison provides mediation services to
clients who are and who are not represented
by attorneys. For those mediation clients
who are represented by attorneys, mediation
may occur with or without the attorneys
present, depending on the preferences of the
parties or the complexity of the case. In
any case, the parties are encouraged to have
counsel advise them during the course of
mediation since the mediator cannot provide
any legal advice, and to have any agreement
that is reached reviewed by counsel before
signing.
Mr. Morrison’s style of mediation is
primarily facilitative in that he helps the
parties speak for themselves and rely on
their own experience in an effort to resolve
their legal issues, however he is trained to
use more evaluative techniques should the
parties agree that such techniques would be
helpful to them. The evaluative techniques
are more commonly used when both parties to
the mediation have attorneys present during
the mediation sessions.
Back to top
