Co-mediation

My wife, Karen Klickstein-Forman, LISW-CP, and I co-mediated our first cases today, mediating three abuse and neglect cases in the Charleston County Family Court, completely settling two and settling the treatment plan, but not the merits finding, in the third case.

Social worker-attorney teams are considered quite effective in co-mediating family law issues, as are husband-wife teams.  Karen and I might be the first husband-wife, attorney-social worker team to become certified family court mediators in South Carolina.

Of course, until one does it, one cannot tell if one will be able to work with one’s spouse in a professional setting.  Even though both of us have worked in the family court system for over a decade, our work has always been on different cases.  Degenerating into marital bickering, though not expected, is always a possibility until one actually tries to co-mediate with one’s spouse.

Yet it worked out fine.  It’s probably lacks propriety to call abuse and neglect mediation “fun” so let’s just call it satisfying, and it is always nice to see one’s spouse shine in a professional setting.  A tip of my hat to Karen, who proves yet again that she can make almost anyone comfortable and can tolerate almost any personality type, even mine.