A Year of Zoom Mediation

I am commemorating one-year of an entirely virtual mediation practice.  In March 2018, when I launched Petlak Mediation, I could not have foreseen a worldwide pandemic which would prevent me from conducting in-person mediations for an entire year.

The surprise of the pandemic came with the requirement of transitioning my entire practice to on-line mediation.  I quickly became a Zoom-certified mediator providing secure, video mediations on-line.  The cases that I had scheduled in March of 2020 in-person were continued and rescheduled to be conducted via Zoom.  To my amazement, those cases all settled in the new on-line mediation format without missing a beat.  I was able to build connections with the attorneys and clients as I had during in-person mediations.  An added bonus was that I was able to resolve several disputes between parties located in different states and countries without inconvenient and costly travel.

My practice continues to grow in the on-line format, and I have just completed my 150^th on-line mediation this year.  Now that we see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, I look forward to providing in-person mediations again.  One day soon parties will be able to select between on-line and in-person mediation formats.  No matter the format selected, I look forward to continuing to pursue my passion of working with parties and counsel to resolve disputes.