We are pleased to report that Jill Bollwerk completed mediation training at St. Louis University School of Law earlier in January, 2012.  She has received the number of hours of training necessary to be added to the Missouri Bar's list of mediators who are available to mediate disputes assigned to mediation by the courts.  Jill has applied to be added to the Missouri Bar's list, and we will report when that has been accomplished.  Meanwhile, she is available for anyone who wishes to voluntarily mediate disputes in the St. Louis area.  Mediations can be handled in our office, or she can travel to you. 

What is mediation, you ask?  In the words of Jill's teacher, Professor Rebecca Magruder, "Mediation is a problem-solving conversation facilitated by a balanced and impartial third person, known as the mediator."  The mediator's roles is to help the parties to a dispute communicate with one another about the dispute and to help them to discuss options to resolve their differences and, hopefully, to bring the parties to an agreement, or settlement, of the dispute.   Jill has been involved in dozens of mediations on behalf of her own clients in personal injury cases.  She has seen cases where there appeared to be no chance of the parties settling actually get resolved with the help of a skilled mediator.  Jill admired the skills of the successful mediators with whom she has worked, and she thinks that she has the same temperament and ideals as these successful mediators.