The State Bar Association of North Dakota Spring 2014 Gavel Magazine | Page 10

FAMILY LAW MEDIATION

BECOMES PERMANENT STATEWIDE PROGRAM
An independent evaluation of the
program was conducted by Greacen
Associates, a national firm headed by the
former state court administrator for New
Mexico. In its final report issued July 30,
2013, it concluded that the pilot program
had been successful.
Cathy Ferderer has been the
administrator of the program for the
North Dakota Court System since it
first began, and has been involved in
overseeing its implementation, as well
as training attorneys and mediators. The
state program now has 28 mediators,
she says, and most are licensed lawyers,
although that is not a requirement.
“After a mediation session, the
participants are asked to fill out a survey,
and their responses show between 80 and
90 percent satisfaction,” Ferderer says.
“Some of their comments are that they
are able to be heard, and they learned new
negotiation techniques.”
Of the cases mediated, parties fully
resolved 51 \