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Arlaine Rockey ~ Mediator
a neutral mediator for your legal dispute
Arlaine Rockey is an attorney with over 16 years legal experience in family law and civil litigation. She has seen the inside of a courtroom. She has seen how court cases can drain people. She has seen the benefits of settlement for people involved in court cases.
Arlaine Rockey completed the 40 hour Mediation, Inc. Family & Divorce Mediation Training in the Spring of 1999. She abides by the NC Rules for Mediators as well as the Academy of Family Mediators' Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation. Arlaine Rockey is available to help you mediate some or all of the issues in dispute.
Mediation is the process of meeting with the opposing party in your case (with your attorneys present if you have them) and with a neutral mediator, in an attempt to settle your case.
The mediator is trained to help people reach an agreement by discussing the factors and issues that are important to them. The mediator is neutral. She has no stake in your case. She is merely working to try to help the parties find an outcome they can all live with.
You can think of the mediator as your guide, not your judge.
In mediation, you are the only judge.
Mediation helps settle your legal problems early. It saves you time, stress, and usually money that would otherwise be spent on taking your case to trial.
Mediation gives you more control. If your case goes to trial, the judge decides the outcome. In mediation, the mediator works to help you and the opposing party reach an agreement that both sides want. No one is forced to settle in mediation. Settlement is a win/win proposition. Trials may breed even more anger and frustration. Even if you "win" at trial, you might not win what you wanted.
The best people to decide what the appropriate outcome is for your case are the parties involved -- not a judge who is left with a snapshot of the whole situation at trial due to rules of evidence that prevents the use of some evidence. In mediation there are no rules of evidence to block out important factors. You are free to discuss and evaluate your entire case.
The mediator is not a judge. If you cannot reach an agreement in mediation, you can still go to trial. Some cases might still settle after mediation, before trial, based in part on the ground covered in mediation. Mediation and all your discussions or offers of settlement are confidential and cannot be used against you (or against the other party) in trial. This rule of confidentiality was created to encourage people to try to settle their case before it goes to trial.
Where children are involved, in family law cases, mediation helps the parties learn how to communicate with each other on a more professional level. Hopefully, by reaching a settlement, the parents (or grandparents) can put their children's best interests first and avoid the bad feelings created by a custody trial.
Free half hour phone consultation regarding mediation process.
Arlaine Rockey
Tel: 828-649-9992 Fax: 828-649-9993
Email: ARockey@aol.com
AVAILABLE ON SHORT NOTICE - FLEXIBLE - DAY & EVENING HOURS
CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
If chosen as your mediator, there is a one-time non-refundable administrative fee of $250. My hourly rate is $250 per hour. Fees are due and to be paid at the end of each session. Some mediations may only take one session; others more. There is no guarantee that any settlement will be reached. If an agreement cannot be reached, your case will proceed to trial. If you do reach a settlement, Arlaine Rockey will draft a written summary of your mediated agreement. It is then up to the parties to either have one of their attorneys write it up in proper legal form or, if unrepresented, to seek legal advice in formalizing your agreement to file in court. If you do not have attorneys, there is a self-help center with fill-in-the-blank legal forms so you can file your own case online ("Self-Serve Center") and on the 2nd floor of the Mecklenburg County Civil Court House with forms that may help you. For more information, contact the Mecklenburg County Trial Court Administrator's office at 704-347-7802.
As a neutral mediator, Arlaine Rockey cannot and will not give out legal advice at any time to any people involved in mediation. The phone consultation will not involve any legal advice. I am available to discuss the mechanics of mediation. If you need legal advice, please make an appointment with me as a lawyer (not a mediator) or check the yellow pages or call the Mecklenburg County Bar's Lawyer Referral Program at 704-375-0120. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may try contacting Legal Aid at 704-376-1600 for Charlotte and surrounding counties or the Legal Aid of North Carolina website www.lanc.org.
All about Mediation in NC: Mediation Summary from NC DRC
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