The team members of Los Angeles Family Mediation Services met in L.A. the weekend of December 10 and 11 for our annual holiday celebration and year-end review.

LAFMS was launched on May 27, 2011 but all the team members except Terry Hargrave together embarked upon this medidation and co-mediation path in June, 2010, when we formed Desert Family Mediation Services (DFMS) in Riverside County; this year we were joined by accounting neutral Terry Hargrave, CPA, of Hargrave & Hargrave. Our reason for being is to serve divorcing and separating couples, including same-sex partners, in achieving a dignified and fair transition from their relationships to living separate and apart, and in helping these folks to co-parent cooperatively and constructively.

Our team members have enjoyed an amazing year as our 'understanding-based' mediation and co-mediation paradigms become better known throughout southern California. Indeed, we have noticed that mediators from other locales (and our own) have taken note of our presence and success and have imitated our style, which is always a sincere form of flattery. However, our gratitude is reserved for those opposite and same sex couples whom our DFMS and LAFMS served this past year - together we had 90% successful settlement rate!

Among our other plans for getting the word out about our mediation and co-mediation services and solutions in 2012, we intend to be exhibitors at the annual California chapter conference of the AFCC (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts) in Santa Monica the weekend of February 10 to 12. To all you attorneys, neutral forensics, judges, and mental health professionals who plan to attend we invite you to join us at our LAFMS table to discuss our mediation model and particularly the benefits of co-mediation for helping people to positively move beyond relationship strife.

See you there!