Ellie Wertheim

July 29, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, discuss voluntary versus ordered mediation. Do parties participate willingly in court-ordered mediation or do they participate in order to merely appear to be cooperative? Do the means by which the parties arrive to mediation affect the outcome or the process itself?

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

September 07, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, discuss the circumstances under which a neutral mediator may shift roles to serve as an advocate for one of the parties to the mediation or an attorney may change to a neutral mediator role and how information ascertained through mediation can advantage or burden each of the parties when their advocate shifts to serve as their mediator, or vice versa.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

August 13, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, write that in order to participate in mediation effectively, a party must have a sense of his best alternative to a negotiated agreement as well as what the likely results are from various economic investments and efforts. However, today the future may seem particularly unknowable, and valuations may seem particularly hard to pinpoint with confidence and accuracy. If, for example, one is buying out a business partner, to what extent does it make sense to anticipate ongoing contraction of revenues? How can partners in good faith negotiation reliably determine the value of an ongoing entity when past performance may not be an accurate predictor of future profitability?

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

December 17, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, explore a unique program, offered in Manhattan Civil Court, geared toward consumers with mounting debt and creditors seeking to recoup monies they have loaned. In March 2007, Judge Fern A. Fisher, then-administrative judge, issued a directive establishing "Mandatory Consumer Credit Mediation." In its practical application, the consumer credit mediation program addresses cases in which debts are in the range of $5000.01 to $25,000. In order to participate, at least one party must be pro se (nearly always the debtor) and all the parties must agree that some amount of money is due and owing to the creditor.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

8 minute read

August 29, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In their Mediation column, Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, write that an interesting legal question is now raised: If a child is born of a valid legal marriage, with an unknown donor, will courts ultimately rule that, as with heterosexual marriages, there is a presumption of legitimacy and therefore no need for a second-parent adoption?

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

May 01, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, write that neutrality is somewhat easier to define by what it is not, rather than what it is: It is not lack of caring; it is not lack of opinion; it is not slice-it-down-the-middle justice; and, perhaps surprisingly, it is not objectivity.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

10 minute read

August 01, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, review three discernible methodologies of mediation and analyze how each model incorporates the use of attorneys: facilitative, which most resembles a business negotiation; transformative, which is more concerned with addressing the emotional experience; and understanding-based, where the mediator seeks to correct power imbalances between the parties without bringing lawyers into the room.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

May 08, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, write that New York's Foreclosure Prevention and Responsible Lending Act, while clearly intended to help homeowners remain in their homes, is, nevertheless, limited in scope. Most glaringly, it does not take into account the effect of increased unemployment or underemployment on a family's ability to meet once affordable mortgage payments. Indeed, while the Legislature set a noble goal (to wit, protecting those who signed a predatory loan on the dotted line), the legislation is more notable with today's hindsight for what is not addressed.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

February 20, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim, partners at Family Mediation, write that in recent weeks, the alternative dispute resolution community in New York has been abuzz with lively discussions about the effect of mental illness on parties' ability to participate in mediation. Some take the position that the mediator is conferred with the authority to determine who may mediate; while others believe such a position is not only paternalistic, but at odds with mediation's core value of self-determination.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

9 minute read

July 30, 2010 | New York Law Journal

In their Mediation column, Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim of Family Mediation discuss pending amendments to matrimonial state law, its effects on practitioners and litigants, and how mediators and their clients may experience these changes.

By Abby Tolchinsky and Ellie Wertheim

8 minute read