All photography provided by Nicholas DeSciose
Making important life decisions, when dissolving a marriage and creating a plan for the future of your family, or resolving a civil dispute, takes time and concentration.
attorneys & mediation
While attorneys are not required for mediation, mediators cannot offer legal advice, therefore we strongly recommend that parties count on their legal counsel when making major decisions. Our experience is that good, solution-focused attorneys, are a great asset to the mediation process and help parties fully understand their options and feel comfortable with their choices.
private mediation services
Currently, we are conducting all of our mediations via Zoom. However, we will consider in-person mediations for full day sessions. Please ask about our rates and availability for mediations at alternate locations.
MEDIATION & ARBITRATION fees
We aim to provide quality services to parties regardless of their financial situation and offer several options to fit the needs of all of our clients. Please click here for the link to our availability.
We are no longer scheduling any small claims cases.
Payment from both parties is required in order to fully confirm an appointment. Please click here for the link to our availability.
Regular Session with Sara Johnson: $260 per party for the first 2 hours (4 hour limit).
Full Day Session with Sara Johnson: $780 per party for the first 6 hours (8 hour limit).
Regular Session with Stephanie Suzanne: $240 per party for the first 2 hours (4 hour limit).
Full Day Session with Stephanie Suzanne: $720 per party for the first 6 hours (8 hour limit).
Regular Session with MariaJose Delgado: $150 per party for the first 2 hours (3 hour limit).
Private half day session with MariaJose Delgado: $200 per party for the first 2 hours (4 hour limit).
Full Day Session with MariaJose Delgado: $600 per party for the first 6 hours. (8 hour limit).
Fee Waivers/State Assistance: MariaJose Delgado is currently contracting with the Office of Dispute Resolution and accepting State Assistance for clients certified as indigent either through ODR or the Court. Parties who are represented by counsel at no cost through Colorado Legal Service, JAMLAC, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, or a similar organization, qualify if they are certified as indigent. Parties with attorneys that are not representing them free of cost, do not qualify for state assistance. The copay for indigent parties is $30 for the first two hours and $15 per hour for each additional hour.
Mediation/Arbitration: Stephanie Suzanne bills Arbitration at $150 per party per hour. For a full day, the deposit is $1,200 per party for the first 8 hours.
JOHNSON MEDIATION GROUP - GENERAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
1. Scheduling / Billing Policies
a. If you have not agreed with the opposing party/counsel to schedule the requested time and date or do not provide a phone number AND email for the opposing party/counsel, we cannot guarantee that your case will be scheduled.
b. Please take the time to make sure that all parties and attorneys are available and agree to a timeslot BEFORE requesting a timeslot be reserved for your case.
c. Requests without full contact information (phone number and EMAIL) for all parties will be scheduled last.
d. If there is a protection order in your case that prohibits you from contacting the opposing party, please clearly indicate that when scheduling so we are aware and send us at least three options of available timeslots that work, and we will contact the opposing party to schedule.
e. Time allotted: Unless requesting a full-day session, all our deposits cover the first two hours. Any additional time will be charged at the end of the session in increments of half-hour blocks. For regular half-day sessions we reserve up to four hours. For full-day sessions the deposit is for 6 hours and we have a total of 8 hours available.
f. Multiple parties: When there are three parties in a case such as a Petitioner, Respondent, and Intervenor, each party is responsible for paying a separate two-hour deposit, (Couples such as grandparent intervenors are considered one party), however, up to three hours is covered with the parties’ deposit. The same is the case with four parties, four deposits and up to four hours is covered. Any overtime is divided equally between the parties at our hourly rate.
2. Cancellation / Refund Policy:
a. Please keep in mind the following considerations when scheduling your session. We do not deviate from this cancellation policy for any non-emergency reasons, including but not limited to; mutual resolution, incarceration, reconciliation of the parties, having not received financial disclosures, discovery, a CFI report, home appraisal, business evaluation, or other relevant documentation. The obligation to exchange sufficient information is the responsibility of the parties, not the mediator/neutral, so please allow yourself enough time to collect all the information you need and come prepared with your documents.
b. The designated deposit must be received from both parties to confirm the appointment. If only one party pays their deposit and the other does not, and the session is not confirmed, the paying party will be fully refunded.
c. If the session is confirmed and later canceled with 10 (business) days advance notice, both parties will be refunded except for a non-refundable $25 administrative/processing fee* per party. * The scheduling process requires administrative time and credit card processing fees that we do not get back if the session does not end up taking place.
d. For any cancellations or rescheduling requests from parties/attorneys that are received by the mediator after the deadline (10 business days before the date of the session), the parties will not be refunded their deposits and our office may file a certificate of mediation non-compliance with the appropriate courthouse if the session is court ordered.
e. For late cancellations, or if a party fails to appear, the canceling party or the party that fails to appear will be charged the full deposit of both parties to schedule a new appointment.
Parties may seek relief from the Court if the party late canceling or failing to appear does not comply with our terms of rescheduling, however, the minimum deposit will not be refunded to either party.
f. In situations where parties have mutually agreed to the late cancellation, their deposits will not be refundable.
g. If our office cancels the mediation for any reason, both parties will be fully refunded.
h. If either party needs to late cancel a mediation session for unforeseen emergency reasons such as major illness, accident, or act of God, parties shall be allowed to reschedule the session at no penalty to either, however documentation of the incident may be required by the opposing party/counsel and the mediator and deposits will go towards the new session and will not be refunded.
3. Mediation Overtime:
a. We will not participate in an ongoing dialogue or negotiations outside of a mediation session.
b. Overtime is charged at the end of the mediation session in half-hour increments.
c. No Mediation Status Report, Arbitration Award or other paperwork will be issued until all overtime payments have been made.
4. Scope of Service:
a. While we offer additional services such as Med/Arb, our mediation sessions are contained within the session itself.
b. The mediators will not engage in any preparatory conversations regarding specific issues to be mediated with parties or attorneys outside of receiving documents to review (see items e. and f.)
c. The mediators will not engage in any further negotiations or conversations following mediation outside of another mediation session.
d. The mediator is not responsible for filling out or filing any required paperwork with the court, however, we will issue your Mediation Status Report for you to file at the end of any mediation session.
e. Review of documents prior to mediation: The cost for review of documents is not included in the deposit. Please feel free to provide the neutral with any existing prior agreements, Court Orders, CFI Reports, or additional information you feel would be helpful to the process, however, unless an additional charge is agreed upon before the session, the neutral will not spend time reviewing documents prior to mediation.
f. Review of up to 15 pages of documentation will be charged at $100, and review of up to 30 pages of documentation will be charged at $200. The mediator or neutral will review a Confidential Mediation Statement of up to two pages at no additional cost.
Common Courtesy / Mutual Respect:
a. The team at Johnson Mediation Group understands that parties participating in mediation may be experiencing a high level of stress and emotional turmoil. However, the parties agree that during the scheduling process as well as the mediation session, the parties and attorneys shall treat the scheduler and mediator with the same level of respect and professional courtesy with which they would want to be treated.
b. The parties and attorneys understand the schedulers or mediators will not tolerate any personal attacks, intimidation, or lack of courtesy while they attempt to assist the parties in resolving their conflicts.
c. Johnson Mediation Group reserves the right to deny scheduling any session with parties or attorneys disrespecting any member of our team, and that a session may be terminated immediately if an attitude of incivility or disrespect persists during a session and any deposit made will not be refunded.
d. Any decision to terminate a scheduling process or a mediation session due to a lack of courtesy or respect will prohibit Johnson Mediation Group from scheduling any future mediation sessions with the party or attorney in question and we will simply respond to any future inquiry, that there is a conflict of interest, and we are unable to take this case.