How to Use Technology to Your Advantage During Divorce Mediation

As a lawyer, you may have years of experience in divorce mediation. However, in the quickly evolving world of technology, it’s important to think about new ways to involve technology in your clients’ cases in order to keep up with the changing times. Whether you’re still working with hard copies of documents or completely tech-savvy, here are a few ways you can use technology to help organize your divorce mediation sessions and have them run smoothly for both parties in a divorce.

Collect Documents Virtually

During a divorce mediation, there are many documents that need to be taken into consideration. Things like paychecks and bank statements showing income, childrens’ schedules, and more are very helpful to have on hand anytime you need them. Instead of trying to dig through hard copies to find the exact documents you need, you can keep the important documents stored in a cloud file that is easily accessible by all parties. This will also allow you to cut down on the amount of paper waste that is created due to lost documents or documents that end up being unnecessary and were printed without real purpose.

Have the Most Updated List of Your Clients’ Goals

When you’re entering a divorce mediation session, your clients should have very specific goals of what they want to accomplish. A great way to accomplish these goals is to make sure that your clients have written down and shared their goals with you prior to the session. This way you will be able to tell exactly what they want to accomplish during the session and be better prepared to properly assist them in reaching a fair and equitable agreement between parties.

Share New Information With Your Clients in Real-Time

If there is new information that you discover that is important to the different parties during a divorce mediation, you won’t have to wait until the next session to share them. You can upload these documents to your shared drive and alert your clients that the documents are present. This will allow your clients to view all relevant information and documents in one place instead of having to dig through their email for the documents or information they’re looking for.

Keep Track of Agreements and Decisions in One Place

At the end of every mediation session, you can include the most recent information about what has been agreed upon and what still needs to be decided in an easily accessible spot. This will allow your clients to always be aware of what exactly has been agreed upon and what still needs to be worked through. This will also make it easier to not get mixed up with older agreements or documents that have been updated and changed, which can make the divorce mediation process go more smoothly.

Share Ground Rules Before the First Session

As an experienced divorce mediation lawyer, you may have certain etiquette or ground rules that you establish at the beginning of your first mediation session. You can establish the use of a shared drive and let your clients view these rules all at once by sharing your rules or helpful tips via this shared drive before the first session. Then when you go back over these rules at your first session, your clients will have some prior understanding of the rules and will be able to ask thought out and informed questions. This can make your first mediation session more productive and help along the divorce mediation process as a whole.

Have an Open Line of Communication

With the Legodesk platform, you’ll have an open line of communication with your clients via the chat feature. Emails can get lost in the shuffle, especially if they’re sent outside of your office hours. With a chat function, you’ll be able to answer any pressing questions your clients may have quickly. Small issues can be resolved much faster, which means they have less of a chance of developing into large problems or misunderstandings. Communication is key to the divorce mediation process, both between parties and between the clients and lawyers, and having an easy to access line of communication will make the mediation process easier for all involved.

Share Resources and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

There are many common questions that clients will ask during the divorce mediation process. If you find yourself sharing the same information or resources over and over, it’s a good idea to create a list of these answers and resources to share with clients at the start of the divorce mediation process. For example, if there’s a certain article about preparing for divorce mediation that you always share, it’s a good idea to provide your clients with that link to give them that information before they think to ask for it. Providing your clients with this information will not only make the divorce mediation process go more smoothly, it will help them feel more prepared and steady with an already difficult process.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

Technology has come a long way in recent years, and it’s important to make sure that you’re fully taking advantage of all of the tools that are available to you and your clients during a divorce mediation. By using cloud software to help the flow of information between you and your client, you can make sure that you’re having the most productive and well-informed sessions possible. This can help make the entire divorce mediation process simpler and easier for all involved.

About the Author:

Attorney Greg Enos has handled divorce and child custody cases big and small, including high-profile cases such as a battle over custody over frozen embryos left over from fertility treatments. Enos has appeared on national news shows such as Today and Good Morning America.