NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
1
NJAPM Annual Conference Page 1
Editor’s Column …………... Page 2
President’s Message……... Page 3
Seven Habits of Highly
Effective Mediations…….... Page 4
Child Support for the
Special Needs Child…….... Page 5
30 Mediation Websites…… Page 6
Cognitive Depletion………. Page 7
Conflict @ End of Life……. Page 8
NJAPM Peer Groups……… Page 9
Family Case Law Update… Page 10
Education Committee…….. Page 12
Membership Report……….. Page 13
Committee List ……………. Page 14
Photo Gallery…………….… Page 15
General Meetings & 40-Hr
Divorce Training Photos…. Page 16
New Jersey Association of
Professional Mediators
26 Park Street, Suite 2041
Montclair, NJ 07042
Volume 18, Issue 1
Fall, 2013
Inside This Issue
Upcoming NJAPM Events
NJAPM GENERAL MEETINGS (6-8:30 PM) New Jersey Law Center, New Brunswick
12/18, 1/15/14, 3/19, 4/23, 5/21, 6/18 40-HR DIVORCE MEDIATION TRAINING Forsgate County Club, Monroe Township
All Day, 10/19, 10/20, 10/26, 10/27, & 11/03 BASIC CIVIL MEDIATION TRAINING Rutgers Labor Center, New Brunswick All Day, 10/20, 10/21, 11/03, & 11/04 8-HOUR BASIC SKILLS MEDIATION
Crowne Plaza, Monroe Township, 11/07 PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP/ RUNDE
New Jersey Law Center, New Brunswick 11/15, 9 AM — 3 PM
NJAPM ANNUAL CONFERENCE The Imperia, Somerset, 11/16, All Day
CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT TRAINING Rutgers Labor Center, New Brunswick
12/12, 12:30 PM — 5 PM Please Visit Our Website For Updates
& 2013 –2014 Schedule www.njapm.org 800-981-4800
W ant to take your media-tion skills to the next
level? NJAPM confer-
ence co-chairs, Felicia Farber and
Bruce Waltuck, are featuring three of the most talented leaders in the
dispute resolution field at the
NJAPM annual conference to be held on Saturday, November 16th at
The Imperia in Somerset.
The conference is entitled “Mediation Mastery.” NJAPM
President, Marvin Schuldiner, says
that this year’s presentations will be
“highly interactive, extremely infor-mative and most enjoyable.”
Dr. Jennifer Beer, a Wharton
School (PA) professor and co-author of the popular The Media-
tor’s Handbook, has led mediation
trainings, conflict resolutions and negotiations worldwide. She will
teach practitioners the craft and
skills to reach mastery in mediation.
Craig Runde, Director of the Center for Conflict Dynamics at
Eckerd College (FL) and co-author
of Developing Your Conflict Com-petence will address key skills that
can help mediators and their clients
manage and resolve conflict more
effectively from a cognitive, emo-tional and behavioral perspective.
Michelle James (DC area), an expert on teaching applied improvi-
sational skills, will share her knowl-
edge on improv techniques that can
be used in conflict resolution. Additionally, Felicia Farber, and
NJAPM colleague, Robert Lenrow,
will present on ethics issues in con-flict resolution.
As a bonus, attendees will receive
free copies of Jennifer Beer’s and Craig Runde’s previously mentioned
books. The authors will also be
available for book signings.
NJAPM is also offering a pre-conference workshop on Friday, No-
vember 15th from 9AM to 3PM fea-
turing Craig Runde, at the New Jer-sey Law Center in New Brunswick.
He will show attendees how to use
the Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP) instrument. Upon completing the
workshop, attendees will receive
their Certification in the CDP
The confer ence and pre-conference workshop qualify for
New Jersey continuing legal educa-
tion and ethics credits, and are open to all interested participants. There
is a discount for attendees who sign
up for both events. For more infor-
mation or to register, please visit our website at www.njapm.org.
“Mediation Mastery” at the NJAPM Annual Conference, November 16
2
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
Newsletter Editor
Anju D. Jessani, MBA, APM
Newsletter Photographer Carl J. Cangelosi, JD, APM
NJAPM Officers
President Marvin Schuldiner, MBA, APM
Immediate Past President Carl J. Cangelosi, JD, APM
Executive Vice President
Anna-Maria Pittella, Esq., APM
Vice President Andrew Smith, Esq., APM
Treasurer
James Marlow, CFP, MSc, MDR, MBA, JD
Secretary Jennifer Brandt, Esq., APM
NJAPM Directors
2011-2014 Jerald Harvey, APM
Donald Vanarelli, Esq., APM
2012-2015 Patricia Bell, MBA, CFP, APM
Nicholas DeMetro, Esq., APM
2013-2016 David Leta
Carl Peters, PE., LS
NJAPM 26 Park Street, Suite 2041
Montclair, NJ 07042 800-981-4800
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.njapm.org
Editor’s Column by Anju D. Jessani, MBA, APM
Membership in NJAPM is open to all interested individuals with annual new member dues of $100 prorated. The views expressed in this newsletter reflect the opinions of individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NJAPM. Please contact the Editor at ajessani@dwdmediat ion.org for permission to reprint articles, and for submission of manuscripts for publication. We reserve the right to edit copy submitted. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2013 NJAPM.
I ’m writing this column on the eve of my return from the
Academy of Professional Fam-
ily Mediators conference in Denver
held on October 3rd — October 5th. Carl Cangelosi and I presented a
workshop on divorce mediation
training. In my sixteen years of mediation practice, this was my
first conference beyond the New
York area. There were attendees from all over North America as
well as Europe; that made the con-
ference even more fascinating.
I came back from the APFM conference with renewed enthusi-
asm for the mediation profession,
and for our shared values of coop-eration, conciliation and collegial-
ity. If you have not attended an
international mediation forum, I urge you to make this one of your
resolutions for 2014.
Turning to NJAPM news, our
fiscal year started on October 1, and with that, we saw changes to the
NJAPM boa r d t ha t Mar v
Schuldiner outlines in his column. This issue of the newsletter features
the announcement of our annual
conference. Conference co-chairs,
Felicia Farber and Bruce Waltuck have planned an exciting day fea-
turing three expert presenters, and
have also included a pre-conference workshop.
NJAPM members have provided
some timely and interesting articles: - Leanne Pike Treese outlines The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective
Mediations.
- Linda Spiegel discusses Child Support for the Special Needs
Child: What a Divorce Mediator
Needs to Know. - I have provided links to 30 me-
diation related websites that I hope
you find helpful.
- Alan Ehrlich outlines the theory of cognitive depletion and its implica-
tions for mediations and mediators.
- Terri Reicher includes Part I of her
article entitled Conflict at the End of Life.
- There are great photographs from
events that illustrate the vitality of NJAPM.
Our regular NJAPM columnists
have provided important information: - Katherine Newcomer updates the
NJAPM peer group contact list and
location information.
- Carl Cangelosi provides summaries of recent family law cases.
- Risa Kleiner and Anna-Maria Pit-
tella talk about the expanded NJAPM education committee and how you
can get involved.
- Melissa Fecak and James Hamilton share their ideas on the role of the
membership committee to retain cur-
rent members and attract new mem-
bers. On page 14, you will find a list of
NJAPM committees chairs. Every
member should serve on a commit-tee. Make contact today!
Thanks to all our contributors.
Without content, we would not have
anything to publish. Members — we really welcome your contributions,
and are very open to different views.
So, if you have an idea for an origi-nal article between 600 and 1200
words, please email me a one
paragraph proposal. Please also email me photographs from NJAPM
events. My email address is
Mediation
News A Publication of the
New Jersey
Association of
Professional
Mediators
Anju D. Jessani, MBA, APM, served as NJAPM president from 2005-2007. Her practice, Divorce with Dig-nity Mediation Services, has offices in Clinton and Hoboken. She can be reached at www.dwdmediation.org.
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
3
Message from the President by Marvin Schuldiner, MBA, APM
N JAPM is an active and dy-namic organization; change
and growth is part of our
existence. So what is happening in
your organization? Earlier this year, NJAPM submit-
ted a bid in partnership with Media-
tion Case Managers, a Florida com-pany to administer the Storm Sandy
Mediation program ordered by the NJ
Department of Banking and Insur-ance utilizing our qualified member
mediators. While we did not win the
bid, we were able to work with the
bid winner, the American Arbitration Association (AAA), to place our in-
terested and qualified members on
AAA’s Sandy mediation roster. The program administrators at AAA have
complimented me on the quality of
the mediators from NJAPM. Thanks to Bob McDonnell, Peter Scarpato,
Larry Tobias and Dave Leta for their
work on the bid and thanks to Rick
Steen who helped initiate the rela-tionship between AAA and NJAPM.
The NJAPM Board of Directors
approved an updated set of qualifica-tions to attain Accredited Profes-
sional Mediator status including al-
lowing for a waiver of an advanced
degree in the application process and reducing the number of experience
hours needed for civil accreditation.
The modifications to the accredi-tation qualifications resulted from
lengthy discussions and debates. Me-
diators are generally not subject to any regulation or qualification in
New Jersey. Anyone can hang a
shingle and call himself or herself a
mediator. Accreditation is a way to show clients that you have a certain
level of accomplishment, which is a
proxy for quality and effectiveness. The updates to the standards should
more meaningfully reflect that proxy.
Thanks to Nick DeMetro and Jerry Harvey for spearheading this effort.
Our website and listserver are
undergoing a major update for an
fall re launch. Our website was ini-tially developed around 2001 and
was updated in 2008. The 2008 up-
date added functionality such as online registrations for events and
memberships. After five years,
though, the site looks dated. We also tried to serve too many target
markets with one website. The up-
dated website will feature a custom
template and use subdomains to focus content towards members, for
people looking for mediation train-
ing (or to become a mediator), for divorce and family mediation cli-
ents, and for business and com-
mercial mediation clients. In addition, we are upgrading
our listserver management software
from ezmlm (stable but last updated
in 1997) to LISTSERV®, the origi-nal and still industry leader. The
added functionality will include an
unsubscribe link in each email, abil-ity to receive daily digests, subtop-
ics and more. Our website and
listserver are among NJAPM’s
most valuable assets and we are moving to make them even more
useful.
A bill criminalizing certain as-pects of mental health practice re-
cently passed the NJ Legislature.
The bill as originally drafted pre-sented concerns that mediators
might fall into the net cast by the
bill. NJAPM got involved and
while we did not get the exact lan-guage we sought inserted in the bill,
the amended language appears to
cover our concerns. The bill is cur-rently on the governor’s desk.
October 1st of each year starts
NJAPM’s year. This means we bid
farewell to some board members and officers and welcome new ones. De-
parting the board is secretary Risa
Kleiner and directors Katherine New-
comer and Elaine Goldsmith. Anna Delio had previously left the board to
take a position with the court. For the
2013-2014 year, Anna-Maria Pittella steps up to executive vice president,
Andrew Smith moves up from direc-
tor to vice president, and Jennifer Brandt joins the board as secretary.
In addition, we welcome Patricia
Bell, David Leta, and Carl Peters as
new directors. I thank Risa, Kathe-rine and Elaine for the time and effort
they put towards NJAPM. They have
all made a difference and thankfully, they will all stay involved in the or-
ganization’s leadership via various
committees. As I have mentioned before,
NJAPM is only as strong as its mem-
bers. We do not pay our members for
their service to the board or commit-tees, we have no employees or office,
yet we accomplish a lot. All this is
realized via volunteers. I ask you to volunteer your time. Find a commit-
tee on our website that interests you
and contact the committee chair. You
will gain as much as you give.
Marvin Schuldiner, MBA, APM is NJAPM president. He practices civil, divorce and elder mediation state-wide from his office in Franklin Park, NJ. He also serves as NJAPM’s di-rector of civil mediation training.
4
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Mediations by Leanne Pike Treese, Esq.
I am an advocate of books pro-moting personal excellence and
often think about how the infor-
mation in them might assist my cli-
ents. Steven Covey’s bestselling book, The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People, provides a life-
changing framework for living neatly packaged into seven habits. I am
convinced that clients and mediators
who apply these habits to the media-tion process will make better agree-
ments with less emotional upheaval.
In the introductory chapter, Covey
includes an exercise involving a pic-ture of what appears to be a beautiful
young woman looking away, wearing
a pearl necklace. However, if viewed from a different perspective, it could
also be a picture of an old woman
with a large nose, wearing a shawl.
This exercise is intended to dem-
onstrate how two people can have opposing views and yet both be right.
The idea that two people can see the
same issue differently without the connotation that one is “wrong” is a
core mediation concept.
As far as the habits, here they are
in turn: Habit One — Be proactive: In this
chapter, Covey emphasizes personal
integrity and accountability. He en-
courages readers to focus on their circle of influence — things they can
control, instead of their circle of con-
cern — things outside of their con-trol. This can be accomplished by
choosing thoughtful responses in-
stead of reactive statements, keep-
ing all promises and commitments, and not dwelling on past mistakes. Habit Two — Begin with the End
in Mind: In this chapter, Covey
invites readers to visualize their funeral three years from now. Who
would you want to be there? What
would you want to be said about
you? This exercise is intended to help readers focus on their goals
and values. From the perspective of
divorcing clients, creating a clear blueprint for the future provides
structure and purpose to the nego-
tiations. Habit Three — Put First Things First: Covey advocates that read-
ers proactively schedule their time
around priorities. Often, clients
spend valuable time and energy arguing about issues which are not
priorities for either of them. Identi-
fying priorities at the outset may help refocus matters when raw
emotions prevail. Habit Four — Think Win-Win:
Covey explains that the win-win
paradigm is focused on mutually beneficial and satisfying resolu-
tions. Covey references the well-
known negotiation book “Getting to Yes” as a component of this chap-
ter. In sum, win-win solutions are
generated from a focus on interests
(increased parenting time) instead of positions (equal time or court!). Habit Five — Seek First to Un-
derstand and Then to Be Under-
stood: As part of this habit, Covey discusses the need to understand the
viewpoint and position of another
before seeking to be understood
yourself. He makes clear that under-standing is not the same as agreement
but such open communication will
often give rise to better and more mu-
tually satisfying agreements. Habit Six — Synergize: Covey ex-plains that synergistic communica-
tion involves keeping your mind
open to new alternatives. Willing-ness to consider creative solutions
can move parties toward a coopera-
tive agreement. Habit Seven — Sharpen the Saw:
Covey stresses the importance of re-newal. From the perspective of a
divorce, renewal may come in the
form of giving additional time for clients to digest the positions of the
other party and clarify their own
goals.
* * * * *
In sum, the ideal would be that divorcing clients might adopt these
principles, making way for better and
longer-lasting agreements. In reality, emotions often run too high for this
to be possible. By adopting the
“Seven Habits” as mediators, we can
steer the process toward respectful and creative resolutions with are con-
sistent with the parties priorities and
goals.
Leanne Pike Treese, Esq., is an experienced attorney licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Her Pen-nington, New Jersey practice is de-voted to the amicable resolution of matrimonial disputes. Her website is www.leannetreeselaw.com.
Image from www.moillusions.com
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
5
Child Support for the Special Needs Child: What a Divorce Mediator Needs to Know by Linda F. Spiegel, Esq.
A mong the first questions a mediator asks a couple is if
they have children and if
they do, whether or not any of the
children have special needs. If the answer is yes, more ques-
tions are used to determine the spe-
cific special need and what is cur-rently being done by the parties, or
others, to assist the special needs
child (and the related costs). However, if the answer is no, the
mediator needs to probe more deeply
and not take “no” at face value:
1. Ask if any of the children are
taking medications on a regular
basis. If yes, ask the name of the medication and the reason for the
prescription. Ask if any of the
children are in therapy. If yes, ask the type of therapy and the
reason the therapy was recom-
mended and initiated.
2. Ask if any of the children have
an Individual Education Plan
(IEP) at school. If yes, ask if both parents are familiar with the
plan (sometimes that is not the
case). Ask if there is a benefit to reviewing the plan in mediation.
Even if the answer is no to the
IEP, ask if any of the children
have any issues at school such as poor grades, behavior problems
or social problems.
3. Ask if any of the children have
limitations on their daily activi-
ties. If yes, what are the limita-
tions and how have the limita-
tions been addressed?
Answers to these questions will allow the mediator to determine
whether or not there is a child with
special needs, even if the parents do
not describe their child in that man-ner, or deny they have a child with
special needs.
Identifying Pre- and Post-Divorce
Extra Costs for Children’s Spe-
cial Needs Once the mediator has deter-
mined that there is a child with spe-
cial needs, the mediator needs to
ask questions so the parents can gather information regarding the
general medical and psychological
information about the particular special need and how the child’s
special need impacts the family fi-
nancially. Ask specific questions regarding
the cost of caregivers, health insur-
ance, out-of-pocket prescription
costs, non-covered medical costs, modifications of the family home
and vehicle. All this information is
necessary in reaching a financial outcome for the parties which will
take into account the best interest of
the child. Consultation with a fi-nancial planner who is a specialist
in special needs is helpful.2
After meeting with the parties
and possibly the financial planner,
the mediator should now have a list of costs pre-existing the divorce as
well as a projection of costs subse-
quent to the divorce to meet the
child/children’s special needs.
Types of Costs for Children with
Special Needs A typical list may include
“therapy, equipment, medications,
supplements, dietary costs, sensory items, respite care, professionals,
modifications to the home environ-
ment, transportation to out-of-town hospitals or sources of treatment or
care, extra laundry, babysitting of
siblings while the needs of the spe-
cial needs child are being addressed” and adult assistance to complete ac-
tivities of daily living such as
“toileting, eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, communicating, mobility
and behavior management.”3
Special Needs’ Costs, Income and
Child Support
This current and projected extra
costs to address a child’s special
needs, together with the household income and any governmental assis-
tance available to the parties for their
special needs child, will allow the mediator to discuss child support in a
value added and meaningful manner
with the clients.
End Notes:
1. Jeff Howe, Paying for Finn: A
Special Needs Child, http:/
money.cnn.com/2013/05/01/pf/
aut i sm- co s t s .moneymag /
index.html 2. For example,
www.specialneedsplanning.com 3. Margaret Price, Special Needs
and Disability in Custody Cases: The Perfect Storm, 46 Family
Law Quarterly 177 at 18
(Summer 2012)
“A quarter of U.S. households have
a member with special needs. More
than 8% of kids under 15 have a
disability, and half of those are
deemed severe.”1
Linda F. Spiegel, Esq. is an experi-enced attorney, mediator and arbitra-tor licensed in New Jersey and New York. Her office is located in Hack-e n s a c k . H e r w e b s i t e i s www.SpiegelLawFirm.com. She also maintains a blog at
http://divorcemediationnj.wordpress.com/.
6
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
30 Mediation Websites / Web Resources Compiled by Anju Jessani, MBA, APM
1. www.acrnet.org: Association for
Conflict Resolution. Dedicated to ad-
vancing the practice and understanding
of conflict prevention and resolution.
2. www.adr.org/: American Arbitration
Association. The association manages
ADR cases thru mediation and/or arbi-
tration. The site has rules for many dif-
ferent ADR rules.
3. www.afccnet.org: Association of
Family and Conciliation Courts. An in-
ternational association concerned about
and working with family courts.
4. www.apfmnet.org: Academy of Pro-
fessional Family Mediators. Interna-
tional association for family and divorce
mediators.
5. www.asianmediationassociation.org:
AMA members provide the infrastruc-
ture for conflict management and dispute resolution for disputes in Asia, or with
businesses in Asia.
6. www.divorcesource.com. Has infor-
mation on state divorce laws, mediation
information and practitioners in family
law and mediation..
7. www.bbb.org: Better Business Bu-
reau. BBBs provide dispute resolution help to resolve complaints between cus-
tomers and local businesses.
8. www.cicr-icrc.ca: Canadian Institute
for Conflict Resolution. Provides train-
ing and intervention programs.
9. www.courts.state.md.us/macro/:
MACRO: Maryland Mediation and Con-
flict Resolution Organization, the agency
that is the ADR resource of Maryland.
10. www.cpradr.org: International In-
stitute for Conflict Prevention & Resolu-
tion. Helping global business and their
lawyers resolve complex commercial
disputes
11. www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/mediation/index.cfm: US Equal Opportunity Em-
ployment Commission. Info on EEO
program to adjudicate complaints of
employment discrimination through me-
diation.
12. www.mediationeurope.net: The
European Mediation Network Initiative.
It has members from more than 30 dif-
ferent European countries and serves as
an international exchange of mediation
information.
13. www.finra.org: Providing arbitra-
tion and mediation for securities related
disputes.
14. www.fmc.ca: Family Mediation
Canada. National membership and
training organization for family and
divorce issues..
15. www.fmcs.gov: Federal Mediation
and Conciliation Service. Agency of
United States Government that handles
mediation and arbitration of labor dis-
putes and contract negotiations.
16. www.iama.org.au: Institute of
Arbitrators & Mediators Australia. This nation's largest, independent and
most experienced arbitration and me-
diation service.
17. www.iamed.org: International
Academy of Mediators. Defines stan-
dards and qualifications for the profes-
sional mediator of commercial disputes.
18. http://www.jamsadr.com: Was Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Ser-
vices, Inc, now called JAMS, The
Resolution Experts. Roster of retired
judges and attorneys providing ADR
services.
19. www.judiciary.state.nj.us/civil/
medipol.htm: New Jersey Judiciary
website, civil mediation resources.
20. www.hamline.edu Hamline Uni-
versity School of Law, Dispute Resolu-
tion Institute. Offers cross-disciplinary
examination conflict theory for law
students, lawyers, and other profession-
als.
21.http://law.pepperdine.edu/straus/
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution
at Pepperdine University School of Law. Leading educational institution in
the field of dispute resolution offering
Certificate, Master's (M.D.R.) and
LL.M. in Dispute Resolution.
22. http://law.missouri.edu/csdr/
Center for Dispute Resolution, University
of Missouri Law School. Offering an
LLM in Dispute Resolution.
23. www.leadr.com.au: LEADR is a
not-for-profit organization with more
than 2700 members in Australia, New
Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.
24. www.mediate.com. Offers the
world's leading directory of mediators
plus over 11,000 articles, news items and
videos.
25. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/
adr/about.php: Ohio State University,
Moritz School of Law, Program on Dis-
pute Resolution. Trains future lawyers in
ADR processes.
26. www.nafcm.org: National Associa-
tion for Community Mediation. A mem-
bership organization comprised of com-munity mediation centers, their staff and
volunteer mediators.
27. www.nlrb.gov: National Labor Re-
lations Board. Independent federal
agency vested with the power to safe-
guard employees' rights to organize.
28. www.njapm.org: New Jersey Asso-
ciation of Professional Mediators: New
Jersey mediation organization
29. www.pon.harvard.edu: Program on
Negotiation, Harvard Law School. Inter-
disciplinary research center dedicated to
theory and practice of negotiation and
dispute resolution.
30. www.voma.org: Victim/Offenders
Mediation Association. National organi-zation working in the area of restorative
justice.
Anju D. Jessani, MBA, APM served as NJAPM president from 2005-2007. Her practice, Divorce with Dig-nity Mediation Services, has offices in Clinton and Hoboken. She can be reached at www.dwdmediation.org.
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
7
W e’ve all experienced it - the tiredness, the inability
to focus, the feeling that
your brain has had too much and all
you want to do is get a little sleep. It happens after listening to a lecture on
a complex new topic, especially when
an unfamiliar vocabulary is being used. It can happen to you or your
clients after a lengthy and complex
day of negotiation. Defining Cognitive Depletion
It is mental or decision fatigue, and is part of an overall cognitive
issue called cognitive or ego deple-
tion that is attributed to social psy-chologist, Roy Baumeister. His the-
ory – now well documented — says
that we all have a limited amount of emotional or cognitive energy that we
use with each activity that requires
self-control. Once you’ve depleted
that reservoir of willpower, you have less to use on other activities that re-
quire self-control.
Cognition depletion can affect one’s judgment, decision making,
spending and attitude. Sometimes we
are aware of cognition depletion, but most of the time we are not. When
we look back on some of the poor
decisions we made, it may be diffi-
cult to identify a specific reason or cause for the poor decision.
Cognitive depletion is one of the
reasons why after a tiring day, you may not feel like going to the gym, or
why after sticking to your diet per-
fectly for a couple days, you ulti-
mately end up eating a pail of wings and down them with a few beers.
We don’t often associate the act of
listening with the depletion of self-control, but especially in mediation or
negotiations, self-control is a critical
factor, and its depletion can lead to ineffective listening and poor deci-
sion making.
Study of Eight Parole Judges Daniel Kahneman, a psycholo-
gist and Nobel Laureate, writes in
his book Thinking, Fast & Slow,
“A disturbing demonstration of de-pletion effects in judgment was re-
cently reported in the proceedings
of the National Academy of Sci-ences.” The unwitting participants
in the study were eight parole
judges in Israel. They spend entire days reviewing applications for pa-
role. The cases were presented in
random order, and the judges spend
little time on each one, an average of six minutes.
The default decision is denial of
parole; only 35% of requests are approved. The exact time of each
decision is recorded, and the times
of the judges’ three food breaks - morning break, lunch and afternoon
break - during the day are recorded
as well.
The authors of the study plotted the proportion of approved requests
against the time since the last food
break. The proportion spikes after each meal, when about 65% of re-
quests are granted. During the two
hours or so until the judges’ next
feeding, the approval rate drops steadily, to about zero just before
the meal. As you might expect, this
is an unwelcome result and the au-thors carefully checked many alter-
native explanations. The best possi-
ble account of the data provides bad news: “Tired and hungry judges
tend to fall back on the easier de-
fault position of denying requests
for parole. Both fatigue and hunger probably play a role.” Effects of Cognitive Depletion
Cognitive depletion has been
linked to a low level of glucose in the brain.
Whether it’s reading case studies or listening in a stressful situation,
cognitive depletion has real perform-
ance effects including:
• Reduction of logic, reasoning, cognitive extrapolation and
complex thinking capabilities
• Reluctance to make trade-offs • Reduced ability to negotiate —
even with yourself
• Increased risk of false memories and suggestibility,
• Inclination to take the easy way
out
• Trust issues
Recommendations for Mediators
To help you and your clients from
entering the state of cognition deple-tion, consider scheduling your ses-
sions earlier in the day. Also, keep
your sessions to a reasonable time and avoid the temptation to ‘keep
going’ because you’re really close to
a settlement. That settlement might
not look as good after a little rest, or you might not end up reaching a set-
tlement after all.
Keep a pitcher of lemonade on the table along with some candy;
they just might provide the mental
energy needed to maintain a level of
critical thinking and avoid making bad decisions.
Finally, stay aware of your own
and the clients state of cognition de-pletion, and keep your calendar
handy so you can schedule another
session, if necessary.
The Dangers of Cognitive Depletion in Mediation by Alan R. Ehrlich, CLP
Alan R. Ehrlich, CLP (Certified Lis-tening Professional), is the founder of The Center for Listening Disorders Research, Inc., and also serves as the immediate past president of the International Listening Association. For more information, visit Alan at http://listeningdisorders.org, or email him at [email protected].
8
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
Conflict at the End of Life, Part I: The “Legal” Community’s Response by Terri Roth Reicher, JD, LLM
A mericans are living longer than ever before. Medical
technology has often out-
paced the legal system’s ability to
respond to these advances. However the legal system has made strides to
meet the demands of medical sci-
ence. In this article, I discuss a com-monly used document, namely ad-
vance directives, to allow patients’
wishes to be voiced.
Evolution of Advanced Directives
As our loved ones age, an elder
often executes a durable power of attorney for assistance with financial
matters. The banks, insurance com-
panies and other institutions have long dealt with a trusted family
member or friend who possesses a
“power” to assist in handling money. Unfortunately, there are numer-
ous tales of those who have been
given such a power and exploited it.
Though the angst created by mone-tary disagreements can be signifi-
cant, it can seem trivial compared to
the struggles associated with the dif-ficult medical decisions that can be
faced at the end of life.
Advance directives evolved from
a seminal US Supreme Court deci-sion. Thirty years ago, Nancy Cruzan
was in a coma resulting from a hor-
rific car accident. She was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative
state. The State of Missouri chal-
lenged her family’s ability to request withdrawal of life support. In 1990,
the US Supreme Court held that a
state may require “clear and convinc-
ing evidence” of an incompetent’s wishes as to the withdrawal of life
sustaining treatment.
The advent of advanced direc-tives, commonly referred to as living
wills, was an attempt by the states to
produce a legal document that would
constitute “clear and convincing evidence” in their jurisdiction. The
various advance directive statutes
throughout the country are similar.
Though they may vary as to for-malities, substantively they usually
provide two distinct parts: a n i n -
struction directive announces ones basic philosophy as to the medical
treatment they desire; and a proxy
directive designates a spokesperson to act on ones behalf in dealing with
the medical team, in the event that
one can no longer speak for himself.
Potential Sources of Conflict
In completing an advance direc-
tive there are a number of places that conflict may predictably arise.
For instance, NJ does not allow for
a “committee” of spokespersons and only provides for one health care
representative to be the direct link to
the medical team. Several alternate
representatives may be named in the event that the primary designee can-
not serve.
If the advance directive is being prepared within the context of an
entire estate plan, an attorney may
suggest that tasks be divided. A
financial representative can be named as an executor of a will, a
trustee of a trust, or a holder of a
power, whereas another individual can be named as a medical represen-
tative.
While no two family circum-stances are the same, conflict may
be lessened if a health care repre-
sentative has familiarity with a
medical setting and medical jargon. Geography comes into play as well.
Ideally your health care proxy is
local such that they can be present at the bedside. However, it is impor-
tant to note that often advance direc-
tive forms are secured from the
clergy or a local hospital. One need not hire an attorney to
complete this legal document, but
serious consideration must be given
to who is chosen as the health care representative.
The implementation of one’s
wishes announced in an advance di-rective is often a source of conflict,
too. If a patient is incapacitated such
that the medical team is looking to this legal document for direction, it is
understandably a highly emotional
time.
Frequently, the patient has com-pleted the document without discuss-
ing his wishes with his representative.
Occasionally, the beliefs of the pa-tient do not coincide with the wishes
of the representative. Moreover, the
proxy might be challenged by loved-ones.
A bioethics consult may be re-
quested to help resolve the dispute.
This is performed by a multi-disciplinary committee, which is con-
vened by the hospital in order to gain
consensus regarding the treatment for the patient.
Fifteen Years After Nancy Cruzan,
Terri Shiavo Despite their acceptance in the
medical and legal community, studies
have shown that advance directives are not widely used. Fifteen years
after Cruzan was announced, the
courts in 2005 in the Terri Schiavo case still struggled with a prolonged
legal battle, this time between a pa-
tient’s parents and husband. Schiavo,
like Cruzan, was a young woman without an advance directive who lay
in a persistent vegetative state for
seven years.
(Continued on page 9)
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
9
NJAPM Peer Groups by Katherine Newcomer, Esq. (Retired)
E xperienced mediators share their insights on difficult cases. You do not need to be a member of NJAPM to attend these meetings. There
are no fees to attend. Each attendee pays for his/her meal.
Contact the group leader to confirm meeting time and location. If there is
no group close to you and you would like to form a peer consultation group, please contact me, in my role of chairperson of NJAPM peer mediation groups
at 908-439-9140 or [email protected].
Bergen: Divorce lunch, 1st Wednesday of the month,12:30 PM to 2 PM,
Maggiano's Little Italy, 390 Hackensack Avenue, The Shops at Riverside, 70 Riverside Square, Hackensack. Civil lunch, 3rd Tuesday of the month from
12:30 PM to 2 PM at Houlihan’s, 65 Route 4 West, Paramus. Contact Robert
J. Lenrow, Esq., APM, 201-986-1821, [email protected].
Camden/Burlington/Gloucester/South Jersey Group: Lunch at Noon on
the first Wednesday of the month at Ponzio’s Diner on Rte. 38 in Cherry Hill.
Contact William H. Donahue, Jr., Esq., APM, 609-238-9245, whdona-
Mercer: Lunch meetings normally alternate between the Olive Garden on
Route 1 South, near Mercer Mall and members’ offices. Contact Gabrielle L.
Strich, Esq., APM, 609-924-2900, [email protected].
Middlesex/Union: Lunch at Empire Asian Fusion, 35 Main Street, Metu-chen from 12:30 PM to 2 PM. Each month on a Thursday. Contact Marvin
Schuldiner, MBA, APM, 732-963-2299, [email protected].
Monmouth/Ocean: Lunch at TGI. Friday's, 3492 U.S. 9 Freehold Town-
ship, 1st Monday of the month at 11:30 AM. Contact David Leta 732-458-6674, [email protected].
Morris County: Lunch at 12 Noon at Hunan’s Restaurant, the second
Wednesday of the month. 255 Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains. Contact
B e v e r l y & G e o r g e H a y s , APM s , 9 7 3 - 5 3 9 - 5 2 4 2 ; [email protected].
Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren: Breakfast at 8:30 AM, the second Tues-
day of the month at the Readington Diner, 452 Route 22 West, Readington. A
lunch meeting is held at 11:45 AM on the last Tuesday of every other month starting in September, at Panera in Basking Ridge, 25 Mountain View Boule-
vard, Basking Ridge. Contact Katherine G. Newcomer, Esq. (NJ Retired),
908-439-9140; [email protected].
Katherine Newcomer, Esq. (Ret.) operates Equality Mediation. She provides divorce mediation in Morris and Somerset counties. She served on the NJAPM board and is NJAPM’s peer gr oup chai r . www.equalitydivorcemediation.org.
Practitioner Orders for Life-
Sustaining Treatment
The medical community, ac-
knowledging some of the advance directives shortcomings, has created a
complement to the legal document. It
is entitled Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST).
The NJ POLST form was unveiled in
2013. Unlike the advance directive,
POLST is a medical order. It be-
comes a permanent part of the medi-
cal record and is valid in all health care settings. POLST has very spe-
cific conflict resolution provisions
integrated into its language. More About POLST In the next newsletter of Media-
tion News, I will address POLST
more fully in the second part of this
series on response to end of life in my article: “Conflict at the End of Life,
Part II: The Medical Community’s
Response.”
(Continued from page 8)
Terri Roth Reicher holds a BS from the Wharton School, a JD from Van-derbilt University, and was a member of the first LLM class in Health and Hospital Law at Seton Hall University School of Law. She serves as Bio-ethics Attorney for Chilton Hospital and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at William Paterson University. Ms. Rei-cher is a trainer for NJAPM, an officer in the NJSBA DRS, and President of the Marie Garibaldi ADR Inn of Court. S h e c a n b e r e a c h e d a t [email protected].
10
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
Family Law Case Update Compiled by Carl Cangelosi, JD, APM
Gall v. Gall, App. Div.—The appellate
court reversed the child support order as
to the parties’ son, Brian. The trial court's
conclusion that Brian was not emanci-
pated because he was attending college full-time was based on a future eventual-
ity, and was thus not a proper basis for a
finding that at the time of trial he was
unemancipated. Brian worked full-time,
and was only a part-time student. Should
Brian enroll in college full-time and the
parties are unable to reach an agreement,
the issue can be revisited by way of a
post-judgment motion. March 13, 2013;
Not approved for publication. 20-2-9293 In the Matter of the Letter Decision of
the Committee on Attorney Advertis-
ing, Sup. Ct.—RPC 7.5 is amended to
permit a law firm trade name so long as it
describes the nature of the legal practice
in terms that are accurate, descriptive and
informative, but not misleading, com-
parative or suggestive of the ability to
obtain results. The name must be accom-
panied by the name of the attorney re-
sponsible for the management of the or-
ganization. The term “Alpha” in the cen-
ter’s name is impermissible under revised RPC 7.5 and current RPC 7.1. The re-
mainder of the name, coupled with the
name of a managing New Jersey attor-
ney, satisfies revised RPC 7.5. March 14,
2013. 04-1-9307 Perri v. Salandra, App. Div.—
Defendant argued that, although at the
time of his divorce he agreed to waive
the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines
and disregard the true shared parenting
arrangement between the parties, when a downward modification was demon-
strated, the judge should have applied the
Guidelines. However, in the Property
Settlement Agreement (PSA), the parties
did not agree that their two waivers, of
shared parenting considerations and use
of the Guidelines, would no longer be
applicable upon changed circumstances.
Plaintiff conceded that husband had suf-
fered a significant diminution of his in-
come and a modification of child support was appropriate. The primary issue be-
fore the court was the legal issue of
whether good cause existed not to apply
the Guidelines' shared parenting calcu-
lations. The appellate panel finds no
abuse of discretion in the judge’s deter-
mination not to use the Guidelines.
March 18, 2003; Not approved for pub-lication. 20-2-9322 Ortiz v. Ortiz, App. Div.—Defendant
appealed from an order denying his
motion to emancipate his two children
as of their 18th birthdays, to modify the
child support obligation that remained
before the second emancipation, and to
terminate his alimony. The appellate
court reversed finding that regarding
child support plaintiff's proofs that the
parties' daughters remained dependent on their parents after reaching their
18th birthdays were insufficient to
overcome the presumption of emanci-
pation. The court also said that defen-
dant established a prima facie case for
emancipation based on the children's
ages which should have entitled him to
reasonable discovery, and that once the
elder child was emancipated, defendant
was entitled to a recalculation of child
support for the remaining child and that
if the remaining child were older than 18 and remained unemancipated, child
support would need to be calculated by
applying the factors in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-
23a, not the child support guidelines,
unless she lived at home and commuted
to college. As to defendant's request to
terminate alimony, the court found that
defendant made a prima facie showing
of a significant and permanent change
in circumstances (a VA determination
that he suffered from a 40% permanent disability) sufficient to trigger a re-
quirement that plaintiff file a CIS and
the parties engage in appropriate dis-
covery. March 25, 2013; Not approved
for publication. 20-2-9363 Wadhwa v. Sethi, App. Div.—This
appeal involved dissipation and distri-
bution of marital assets. The trial judge
recognized that some of the transac-
tions plaintiff challenged predated their
separation by more than four years. She found, however, that the expenditures
"all appear to be proximal to major
arguments between the parties, which
could lead to the inference of divorce
planning." The appellate panel under-
stands that statement to mean that the
judge concluded that defendant was act-
ing with the intent to deprive plaintiff of her share of the marital estate at times
during the marriage that followed major
arguments. The judge's reasoning, as it
stands, does not support the conclusion
that defendant dissipated marital funds
prior to their first major argument. The
panel remands for further consideration
and supplementation of the judge's find-
ings and reasons. April 24, 2013; Not
approved for publication. 20-2-9712 Reese v. Weis, App. Div.—The issue in this matter was whether defendant re-
ceived a substantial economic benefit as
a result of her cohabitation such that ali-
mony should be terminated. The appel-
late court concluded the inquiry regard-
ing whether an economic benefit arises in
the context of cohabitation must consider
not only the actual financial assistance
resulting from the new relationship, but
also may weigh other enhancements to
the dependent spouse’s standard of living
that directly result from cohabitation. A trial judge’s exercise of discretion when
determining whether to modify or termi-
nate alimony may properly evaluate the
duration of the new relationship and as-
sess its similarities to the fidelity associ-
ated with marriage. May 7, 2013. 20-2-
9867 Koeppel v. Pierson, App. Div.—
Defendant appealed from an order deny-
ing his motion to reduce plaintiff’s visita-
tion time with Jane, his daughter and plaintiff’s granddaughter. Defendant and
Nicole Connelly are the parents of Jane.
Since a few months after Jane’s birth,
defendant, and at times Connelly, resided
with plaintiff, defendant's mother. Defen-
dant’s principal argument concerns the
Grandparent Visitation Statute. There is a
presumption favoring deference to a fit
parent’s choice about visitation which
must be overcome before the court may
enter an order requiring visitation with grandparents as being in the child’s best
(Continued on page 11)
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
11
interest. Here, implicit in the judge’s
preservation of plaintiff’s long-standing
joint custody status and the visitation
award is a finding that plaintiff, by virtue of living with Jane for over six years and
being the court-designated parent of pri-
mary residence for five years, was a psy-
chological parent to the child. A biologi-
cal parent and a grandparent with psy-
chological parent status stand in parity to
one another. The panel rejects defen-
dant’s claim that, although he previously
consented to visitation, the matter should
be treated as a new request by the grand-
parent to have visitation, warranting her
showing that harm to the child would result from not providing visitation. The
undisputed facts show that plaintiff is
Jane's psychological parent. May 14,
2013; Not approved for publication. 20-
2-9950 Phillips v. Emerson, App. Div.—
Defendant Emerson appeals from an or-
der denying his application to bar his
daughter's attendance at a private paro-
chial high school. During the parties’
marriage, neither the parties nor their children actively practiced their respec-
tive religious faiths. Emerson was raised
Jewish. Plaintiff Phillips, the child’s
mother, was raised in a Christian faith.
Until 2012, all of the children attended
public schools. In August 2012, Emerson
learned that Phillips had enrolled their
daughter in a private high school aligned
with the Catholic faith. In the parties'
divorce judgment, they were granted
joint legal custody of their daughter with mutual obligations to consult and confer
regarding major decisions. The appellate
panel finds the factual matrix available to
the Family Part judge was wholly insuffi-
cient and incomplete to warrant a conclu-
sion that the child's best interests would
be fostered by Phillips's unilateral deci-
sion respecting the child's high school
education. The Family Part's findings and
conclusions were not adequately sup-
ported by credible evidence. Emerson was entitled to a plenary hearing as to
disputed material facts regarding the
child's best interests, and whether those
best interests are served by her enroll-
ment in a private parochial high
school. June 5, 2013; Not approved for
publication. 20-2-0186
Jones v. Jones, App. Div.—Defendant
(Continued from page 10) appealed from orders denying her mo-
tion to extend the term of her limited
duration alimony and convert it to per-
manent alimony, arguing primarily
that the decision was not supported by substantial credible evidence and she is
entitled to extended alimony, as a mat-
ter of equity, because she was married
for 18 years. Although defendant was
potentially entitled to permanent ali-
mony given the marriage's duration,
she chose to accept a PSA that pro-
vided for limited duration alimony and
she has not shown that the agreement
was unconscionable or so inequitable
that judicial interference is war-
ranted. June 17, 2013; Not approved for publication. 20-2-0299 Ward v. Ward, App. Div.—Defendant
husband appealed from the decision
awarding plaintiff wife primary cus-
tody of the parties' children and allow-
ing her to relocate to Massachusetts.
Husband argued that the trial judge
should have applied the best interests
s t a n d a r d , r a t h e r t h a n
the Baures standard, as the removal
application was made in the context of the initial custody determination. Wife
asserted that since she was the primary
custodial parent and responsible for the
bulk of the caretaking during the mar-
riage, the Baures standard governs. The
parties voluntarily agreed on a parent-
ing schedule in which husband would
have parenting time with his children
every other weekend and additional
overnight parenting time on Wednes-
days. Husband only requested a shared parenting schedule after wife wanted to
move the children out of state. The trial
judge found that the earlier voluntarily-
agreed-upon parenting schedule should
be maintained as it was in the children's
best interests. As that schedule did not
involve a fifty-fifty parenting arrange-
ment, the judge properly went on to
consider the Baures factors July 17,
2013; Not approved for publication.
20-2-0679 Smith v. Smith, App. Div.—
Defendant appealed from the denial of
his post-judgment motion to terminate
his alimony obligation. The panel af-
firms, concluding that the judge did not
abuse her discretion in determining to
substantially reduce but not eliminate
defendant's alimony obligation after
considering the parties' ages (early 70s),
their health, defendant's good faith in
retiring, his ability to pay support and
plaintiff's needs and ability to support
herself. August 2, 2013; Not approved for publication. 20-2-0871 Gilford v. Gray-Gilford, App. Div.—
Although real estate previously owned
by plaintiff alone was the source of the
down payment on the home, defendant's
efforts at both properties were signifi-
cant, and the homes were the result of the
parties' joint enterprise. It was not a mis-
taken exercise of the judge's discretion to
award defendant fifty percent of the pro-
ceeds from the sale of the home. August 9, 2013; Not approved for publication.
20-2-0960 Willingboro Mall v. 240/242 Franklin
Avenue, Sup. Ct.—The court upheld the
oral settlement agreement in this case
because plaintiff expressly waived the
mediation-communications privilege and
disclosed privileged communications.
However, in the future mediation agree-
ments will not be enforced unless the
terms are put in writing and signed by the parties before the mediation comes to
a close, the state Supreme Court said.
Where the terms are too complex to be
drafted that same day, the mediation
should be continued for "a brief but rea-
sonable period of time to allow for the
signing of the settlement." Mediation
should help resolve disputes expedi-
tiously, "not spawn more litigation," the
court held. August 15, 2013; 03-1-1016 J.B. v. W.B., Sup. Ct.—A parent seeking to modify a negotiated agreement for the
support of a disabled child through the
establishment of a special needs trust
must present a specific plan and demon-
strate how the proposed trust will benefit
the disabled child. When a disabled child
is the subject of a proposed special needs
trust, it is within the trial court’s discre-
tion to appoint a guardian ad litem. Au-
gust 20, 2013; 20-1-1056
Carl Cangelosi, JD, APM is NJAPM’s immediate past president. He practices divorce and civil media-tion in Princeton and Plainsboro, and also serves as NJAPM’s director of divorce mediation training. His web-site is www.njmediation.org.
12
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
Education Committee Report by Risa Kleiner, Esq., APM, and Anna-Maria Pittella, Esq,, APM
R isa Kleiner Anna-Maria Pit-tella, co-chairs of the
NJAPM education commit-
tee, welcome new members: Gianni
Novelli, Carl Cangelosi, Harvey Fruchter, Bonnie Blume Goldsamt,
Teresa Luetjen Keeler. Rosemarie
Moeller, Katherine Newcomer, Gladys Salazar, Karen Sampson, and
Peter Scarpato. We also welcome
returning members: Lucille Alfano, Elaine Goldsmith, and Donald Van-
nerelli, and thank you for all of their
efforts over the last year.
The education committee met on August 26, 2013. Risa provided the
background for the initiation of the
committee with its first meeting held in January 2011. The goal of the
committee is to expand mediation
training, improve quality of the train-ings, arrange for more trainings over-
all for the benefit of the membership
and encourage and assist members
who want to do trainings for other members. The committee reviewed
the standing programs that are re-
peated: 40-hour basic divorce train-ing, basic civil training, advanced
civil training, annual divorce media-
tion seminar, annual conference, 8-
hour basic skills, and the civil ap-
prenticeship. The Education Committee make
the following recommendations:
Member Led Training: The
committee will encourage training for our members reflective of
NJAPM standards. We will assist
members who wish to present pro-grams whether or not CLE credit is
offered. However, the committee
will provide a form to be completed by the presenter. Look on the web-
site or through the listservers for
invitations to propose programs on
training and particularly to encour-age mental health members to offer
programs
Divorce Mediation Apprentice Program: This program offers a
newly trained mediator an opportu-
nity to work with a divorcing couple under the supervision of an Accred-
ited Professional Mediator. By
evaluation of the apprentices and
mediators and couples, the program is successful. The problem lies in
obtaining couples. We will be work-
ing on this part of the website and marketing to attract more couples.
Webinars: Katherine Newcomer
suggested that NJAPM explore the
possibility providing webinars.
There are apparently many methods to utilize this type of education tool.
The committee will be examining
different options to offer webinars at
the next meeting. CLE Credits: We have a new
CLE director, Megan Oltman, who
reviews the course materials and ap-plies for credits on the NJ Court’s
CLE website. So far all of our train-
ings have been approved. We are considered an approved provider.
Reaccreditation is done every two
years.
Another goal of the committee is to determine whether or not the ex-
pansion of CLE credits for attorneys
from PA and/or NY would be help-ful.
Right now we do not offer con-
tinuing education credits to other dis-ciplines. The committee will also be
investigating the possibility of offer-
ing credits psychologists and social
workers in New Jersey. For more information, please con-
tact Risa at [email protected] or
A n n a -M a r i a a t p i t t e l l a [email protected].
DON’T GO NAKED!
Now Available: Liability Insurance for NJAPM Members
NJAPM has negotiated favorable group rates for arbitrator and mediator liability insurance with Complete Equity Markets.
Professional liability insurance is now available for
both Accredited and General Members at surprisingly affordable prices starting at less than $400 for $100,000 in annual coverage.
Proof of NJAPM membership is required.
For further information or to obtain forms, visit our website at www.njapm.org.
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
13
NJAPM Membership Report by Melissa Fecak, Esq., and James Hamilton, Esq.
A s vibrant and vital as the
NJAPM has become under a succession of motivational
leaders, there remains plenty of head-
room for increasing its standing in the ADR community and expanding its
roster of members. The Membership
Committee views its charge as finding
ways to retain current members and attract new members by searching for
new ways to inspire mediators to join
the organization because of what it will mean for their careers and for me-
diation as an ever-evolving, and grow-
ing, alternative to traditional methods for dispute resolution.
As members may have noticed, the
renewal process was delayed to enable
a new management company to be in-stalled and for website changes to be
made that should streamline the ad-
ministration of NJAPM business. We appreciate the feedback being received
and the understanding invariably re-
quired as new personnel and methods are put in place.
If you are reading this and have yet
to renew – please be sure to take the
steps required to enjoy the privileges of membership. You may renew on the
www.njapm.org website in less than
two minutes. What we hope you al-ready have found, and what we plan on
demonstrating during the coming year,
is that the benefits of membership far
outweigh the cost. While perhaps the most visible
benefit of membership is our annual
conference discussed in other articles in this newsletter), there are so many
other perquisites of being a card-
carrying member of NJAPM. Regional peer groups allow for informational
and networking opportunities. Con-
tinuing legal education programs en-
able members to achieve mandatory credits at discounted prices. Gathering
with like-minded practitioners of the
art of mediation, many of whom are recognized leaders who offer per-
spectives developed in a variety dis-
ciplines, can serve to expand and
enrich your skills. We are planning to promote the
collegiality NJAPM members enjoy
through new social programs. Per-haps you would enjoy attending a
wine tasting, a concert, a picnic or a
cultural outing arranged for by NJAPM. Time and travel considera-
tions may make regional social
events more accessible for you.
NJAPM is your organization, so any input you are able to offer will be
much appreciated. Letting us know
you care about the best state organi-zation run by and for mediators may
very well be our ultimate goal! Welcome New Members
Here is a list of the new members
who have joined since the last news-letter. If there is a mistake with our
list or your name is missing, please
let us know. If you joined after 9/16/13, watch for your name in our
next newsletter. Welcome! Hannah Akerman
Joseph Anania, Jr.
David Anthony
Mitchell Arons
Craig Artel
Arshad Awan
Howard Bailey
Patricia Barasch
Jennifer Barringer
Joyce Bartlett
Robert Berg
Diane Burton
Adela Carrazana
Domenick Di Cicco Jr.
William Dwyer
Robert Field
Jeffrey Goldblatt
Sharon Green
David Greenfield
Barbara Hayes
Daniel Himelman
Chip Hoever
Lee Karosen
Steven Kasarda
Dana Katz
Benjamin Kelsen
Karen Kirchoff Saminski
Phyllis Klein
Robert Koob
James Kozachek
Alexis Lazzara
Erika Levin
Micah Lewis
Robert Loefflad
Lisa Lograno
Robert Long
Denise Luckenbach
Heather Martin
Mary Merla-Ramos
Jennifer Mittelman
Jerry O'Connell
C. Megan Oltman
Jeffrey Orleans
Elliot Ostrove
Stephanie Palmer
Larry Parsons
Robin Perry
Deborah Pico
Lisa Pols
Sally Ponzio
stephen raab
Michelle Ringel
Gladys Salazar
Katherine Sarrico
Cassandra Savoy
Richard Schall
Susan Schmerler
Debra Schneider
Natalie Slezak
Norma Stancil
Kris Tjornhom
Leanne Treese
Michele Vallone
Kevin Walsh
Bennett Wasserman
Lisa Wolman
Earl Wright
Thanks
Thanks to Bob McDonnell for serving as interim chair following
Anna Delio’s move to Union County,
and to all the members of the NJAPM
membership committee.
Contact Us
For more information about
NJAPM membership, please contact Melissa at [email protected],
or Jim at [email protected].
14
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
NJAPM Committee Name Chair or Co-Chair Phone Email Address
Advanced Annual Civil Mediation Sem. Nick Stevens 973-403-9200 [email protected]
Annual Conference Felicia Farber 201-343-8822 [email protected]
Annual Conference Bruce Waltuck 609-577-1584 [email protected]
Annual Divorce Mediation Seminar Roz Metzger 908-238-0099 [email protected]
Annual Divorce Mediation Seminar Rosemarie Moeller 908-727-3594 [email protected]
Civil, Basic Mediation Training Marv Schuldiner 732-963-2299 [email protected]
Communications Bennett Feigenbaum 973-682-9500 [email protected]
Divorce, Basic Mediation Training Carl Cangelosi 609-275-1352 [email protected]
Education Committee Anna-Maria Pittella 732-842-6939 [email protected]
Education Committee Risa Kleiner 609-951-2222 [email protected]
Executive Committee Marv Schuldiner 732-963-2299 [email protected]
Judiciary Relations Hon. (ret.) John Harper 973-813-7667 [email protected]
Long Range Planning Marv Schuldiner 732-963-2299 [email protected]
Marketing Vacant NA Contact Marv Schuldiner if Interested
Mediator Ethics Review Board Hanan Isaacs 609-683-7400 [email protected]
Membership Melissa Fecak 856-733-0229 [email protected]
Membership James Hamilton 856-365-7665 [email protected]
Newsletter Anju Jessani 201-217-1090 [email protected]
Nominating Committee Carl Cangelosi 609-275-1352 [email protected]
Peer Consultation / Mentoring Katherine Newcomer 908-439-9140 [email protected]
Programs Including General Programs Mitsu Rajda 877-744-3944 [email protected]
Website Carl Peters 609-751-4104 [email protected]
Special Interest: Construction Carl Peters 609-751-4104 [email protected]
Special Interest: Elder Mediation Donald Vanarelli 908-232-7400 [email protected]
Special Interest: Employment Marla Moss 973-785-2282 [email protected]
Special Interest: Ombuds Bennett Feigenbaum 973-682-9500 [email protected]
Accreditation Nick DeMetro 973-747-6428 [email protected]
Mediator Quality Marv Schuldiner 732-963-2299 [email protected]
Legislative Relations Roger Jacobs 973-226-6663 [email protected]
NJAPM Committees & Special Interest Groups
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
15
NJAPM Photo Gallery
7-24-13, Annual Outing & Networking, Somerset Patriots Baseball Game
5-11-13, NJAPM Annual Advanced Civil Mediation Seminar Featuring Michael Lang
4-27-13, NJAPM Annual Divorce Mediation Conference Featuring Hon. Glenn Berman
16
NJAPM Mediation News, Vol. 18, Issue 1, Fall 2013
New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators 26 Park Street, Suite 2041
Montclair, NJ 07042
Presorted
Standard Mail
US Postage
PAID
Belvidere, NJ
Permit No. 34
General Meetings & 40-Hour Divorce Mediation Class Photos
3-20-13, Cathy Bao Bean Presents Cultural Intelligence;
Cathy with Mitsu Rajda, Program Chair
4-17-13, Hon. Norman Peer (Ret.) Presents Drafting Error-Free Settlement Agreements
6-19-13, David Deutsch Presents Social Media and Your Online Presence
5-15-13, Brad Heckman, NY Peace Institute, Practice of Community Mediation
9-19-13, NYU Prof. Steven Brams Presents “Adjusted Outcomes,” Steve with Marv Schuldiner, President
5-15-13, Day 5 of NJAPM’s Spring 40-Hour Divorce Mediation Class Carl Cangelosi, NJAPM Lead Instructor, Hanan Isaacs and Anju Jessani Instructors