Mediator Resume

Former trial attorney with substantial litigation experience in all State, Federal and Appellate Courts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retired Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court with over 19 years of judicial service and extensive experience in litigation, dispute resolution, legal education and mediation. Guided parties to resolution in emotionally charged and complex family matters. Chaired the Probate & Family Court Education Committee (providing continuing and mandatory legal education for all Massachusetts Probate & Family Court justices). Frequent presenter at legal continuing education programs for the judiciary and legal community. Has served as private mediator since 1998.

Geoffrion Dispute Resolutions - Mediator

Judge, Attorney, Educator, Mediator

Mediator, Geoffrion Dispute Resolutions, 2017-Present; Associate Justice, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Probate & Family Court, 1998-2017; Partner, Coyle, Dunbar, Geoffrion & Rideout, 1990-1998; Associate, Principal, Santaniello, Posnik, Basile & Rideout, 1979-1990.

Trial attorney and judge with extensive experience in civil litigation with an emphasis on family law/domestic relations. Involved in numerous cases dealing with divorce, paternity, custody, parenting time, spousal and child support and equitable division of marital property. Also handled post-judgment matters such as complaints for modification and contempts. In dividing marital property, a significant number of divorce cases dealt with complex issues such as business valuations, spousal support, gifted and inherited property, pre-nuptial agreements and pre-marital assets. As a judge, many cases were tried and judgments and rationales entered thereafter. The vast majority of cases over the years were resolved with guidance from the bench. As Chair of the Probate and Family Court Education Committee provided mandatory continuing education for all Massachusetts Probate & Family Court Judges. Frequent speaker and presenter at continuing legal education programs for judges and lawyers alike. Involved with a number of cases dealing with domestic violence and its impact on the victims and/or children. In addition, many cases involved parents who suffered from substance use disorder.

Provided mediation services since 1998. Primarily served clients represented by counsel. Clients are typically middle to upper middle income. Mediation sessions could be over several hours or days. The vast majority of cases involved divorce or post-divorce matters. Issues presented included custody, child support, allocation of college education expenses, spousal support, parenting time, division of martial property, gifted and inherited property, and treatment of pre-marital assets. A recent recurring issue has been the interplay of alimony and child support in both short-term and long-term marriages. A recent case decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has impacted the way lawyers and judges approach this complex subject, particularly in light of the Massachusetts Alimony Reform Act.

Primary issues have been all of those involved in a divorce agreement: Custody Child support College expenses Parenting time Division of property Alimony A Massachusetts Court cannot trade off property division with alimony. Parties, lawyers and mediators can explore the possibility of a lump sum alimony payment by way of an additional property settlement instead of a weekly alimony award.

Having been on both sides of the bench, as both a litigator and a judge, I have found mediation to be extremely helpful in settling a family dispute civilly. It not only saves the parties money by reducing the cost of ongoing litigation, but also reduces the emotional turmoil that is a byproduct of contested litigation. I conduct all my mediation sessions via Zoom. Prior to the session, I engage in a phone conference with counsel to determine the issues, the estimated amount of time needed and select a date and time for mediation. I provide a Mediation Agreement wherein I indicate the issues, estimate the time and my hourly rate. I also prepare a Submissions Protocol wherein documents will be exchanged between the parties and supplied to me vial email. The documents vary depending on the issues. In all cases, I usually request copies of all the pleadings and any agreements currently in effect. For example, in a division of assets case, I would request financial statements and any expert opinions re valuations. In a child support or spousal support case, I would also request a guidelines worksheet. I also request each party to provide a Confidential Submission, for my eyes only, to reflect on what he or she might consider as concerns impacting a successful mediation. I begin mediation in a joint session with parties and counsel. I explain my role and encourage parties to keep an open mind. I emphasize that I am not there to give legal advice or to suggest a global settlement. Rather, as a neutral, I am there to listen and guide them through possible solutions and options leading to a satisfactory resolution. I further explain that a courtroom is not the ideal place to resolve family disputes and that it should be their last resort due to the stress, tension and oftentimes frustration with the rules of evidence. I encourage them to take advantage of the less formal setting that occurs in mediation and to exchange thoughts and concerns throughout the mediation process with their counsel. Each party is the assigned to a break-out room and I discuss the issues with each party separately. There are times that I might have all participants return to the general session, but for the most part, I discuss the issues with the parties separately. I have found this method to be effective in that it avoids a party or counsel from accidentally saying something that might negatively impact the mediation. At least 90% of all my mediations has resulted in a full settlement agreement. For those not completely settled, a partial settlement results in significantly reducing the issues and ultimately the trial time. Many of those cases that have not settled completely, do settle prior to trial.

Very familiar with Zoom. Since the pandemic, all mediations have been conducted via Zoom. Mid-level proficiency in utilizing word and various computer programs.

Western New England School of Law (JD - 1979); Le Moyne College (BA - 1976). Mediation Training Certificate (1998).

Admitted to the Bar: Massachusetts (1979); U.S. District Court: District of Massachusetts (1980); U.S. Supreme Court (1997).

Massachusetts Bar Association (section member - Family Law, section member - Dispute Resolution); Hampden County Bar Association; Massachusetts Bar Foundation; Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation.

Hourly Rate: $450.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $450.00/hr Cancellation: $450.00/hr Cancellation Period: 3 Days Comment: In the event of cancellation less than three days in advance of a scheduled mediation, charge the accrued study time plus one day (seven hours) of hearing compensation.

English

United States of America

Springfield, Massachusetts