Mediation In San Luis Obispo

What Is Mediation?

In mediation, a neutral third party, known as a mediator, helps you and the other party reach an agreement about your divorce or other family issue. The mediator will not make the decision for you. You will retain control over the decisions that will affect your future.

I am Robbi Rizzo, Attorney at Law, and I can work with you as an attorney mediator to negotiate agreements that are best for your family under challenging circumstances. I applaud your willingness to consider mediation and, if we work together, I will do my best to use our time efficiently to reach agreements wherever possible and to guide you through the process. I have consulted with many clients in mediation and my practice has been primarily focused on negotiated settlements, although I have also litigated. Even when a “good” result is achieved in court, it is a costly and damaging process that impacts everyone long-term. Reaching an agreement allows you more control and flexibility over the outcome and minimizes the stress and cost of navigating a difficult situation. I have now completely eliminated litigation from my practice and have added mediation services, in addition to the consulting I already offered. I have also transitioned to virtual only, so meetings would be via Zoom.

1. I am a family law attorney, but as a mediator, I would be acting in a neutral capacity and would not be representing or advocating for either party. Mediating with a family law attorney, though, provides you with assistance in drafting the paperwork, filing documents with the Court, and having general explanations of the law to facilitate reaching agreements and documenting them. As a part of the process, I would recommend that you each connect with a family law attorney with whom you can consult as needed to get legal advice from your own perspective and to review any proposed agreements before you sign them. It is important to select a consulting attorney who is supportive of the mediation process.
2. In mediation, all meetings and communications with me, as the mediator, must include both parties, unless we specifically agree to any separate sessions or anything being provided confidentially to me. In general, you should assume that anything provided to me or communicated to me will be shared with the other party. Nothing we discuss in mediation may be used outside of mediation, such as in court.
3. It is important to establish some ground rules in mediation and for each party to have a therapist available as needed to manage the emotions that are a normal part of this process. In mediation, we will speak to each other respectfully, not interrupt, ask questions more than telling, speak from our own perspective and not for the other party, remain open to hearing each other’s thoughts and objectives, entertain more creative solutions rather than being locked into a specific outcome, focus on the path forward rather than blaming for the past, and use our time to make constructive progress toward agreements.
4. To inquire about mediation services, provide both parties’ email addresses and I will respond to you jointly with some general information. We would start with scheduling an initial consultation, generally spending about an hour going over the specifics of your situation, the process going forward, and getting to know each other a little bit. If you decide to retain me, we will sign a Mediation Agreement and a deposit for fees would be paid, against which I would bill at my normal hourly rate for actual time used and any unused balance remains refundable.