MEDIATION – I am a certified mediator in Family and Divorce Mediations. I also have extensive training in Domestic Violence Training and still accept occasional referrals from the Domestic Violence Intervention Service in Tulsa. I have been in mediation for ten years, and it has become the primary focus of my profession. I still maintain 20 or so domestic cases so that I can stay in contact with our local Judges and be a better mediator for you.
As a quick background, I have been in practice as a family law lawyer since 1994. I have two young adult children who I successfully co-parented with my ex-wife. I enjoyed being a single dad, and I personally learned a great deal about the challenges and emotions of going through a separation and divorce. I believe there are solutions to every problem, and that is why I love mediation. So far we have had an 93% plus success rate with some very difficult cases included.
As anyone who has ever worked with me already knows, I believe in talking out the issues and applying pragmatic cooperation when possible and appropriate. I have handled some very hard cases, and in many of those cases the parties thought there was no way to settlement. While a precious few cases need to be tried to a Court, most can be settled if the parties wish to put aside their emotions and follow the “better angels” of their nature. I explore solutions and options rather than focus on the differences. I have found that this philosophy has served all parties involved better than any other approach, and I welcome the opportunity to help you achieve the same fair and effective results in mediation.
IMPORTANT – MEDIATION AGREEMENT – CLICK HERE
“A good lawyer knows the Law, a great lawyer knows the Judge.” After practicing law as long as I have, you see many of your attorney friends take the bench as judges. Having a good relationship with the Judges in charge of your case and learning their philosophies and tendencies on family law issues enables me to make a very good estimate of what the Judge is likely to do. This information enables you to make a better informed decision on settlement. Drawing on my familiarity with the local Judges combined with many many hours spent in mediation in my career, I am confident that I can help you amicably resolve your case or at least many of the issues so that your trial time is narrowed down, and you can save money.
COSTS – Our mediation rates are $240.00 per hour per person with a minimum of two hours. Thus, the total cost for a two-hour mediation will be $480.00 and each party should bring at least $240.00 cash, money order, credit or debit card or Venmo or Cash App. The costs will be divided equally between the parties, unless otherwise agreed to. Additional time spent on the mediation is billed at $120.00 per party per hour. A copy of the mediation confirmation will be emailed to the attorneys mediating the case and/or the parties or pro se litigants. Your attendance at mediation is confirmation that you reviewed and agreed to the terms prior to mediation. If you have any questions, of course, do not hesitate to ask.
Mediations are in person or by videoconferencing, if your choice. Here are the directions for using Zoom, scroll halfway down the page to “ZOOM”: https://www.matthewpgomez.com/zoom
PARTIES WITHOUT ATTORNEYS – In Oklahoma, parties who already have a custody order, such as a Joint Custody Plan, are REQUIRED to attend mediation in good faith to resolve their conflicts prior to going back to Court. We can help with that. The procedures are mostly the same as above. Simply contact your ex-spouse/ex-partner and, after discussing it, provide us with contact information for both of you, and we will set up and confirm a mediation for you. Many times mediation is less than two hours, depending on the issue. Should one party confirm and then fail to appear without cause, we can write a letter to the Court stating you attempted mediation in good faith and the other party did not.
AVAILABILITY – We have many available mediation dates, and I encourage you to contact us if you have special needs or need special unlisted times or other circumstances that need to be addressed. Generally we have mediation in the morning or the afternoon. We can work on the start times with you, the default time is 10:00 in the morning or 2:00 in the afternoon. Our telephone number is 918-794-5587, or you can fax us at 918-794-5827 or email me or my assistant at 1444lawoffice@gmail.com (Mandy) for further information about scheduling your next mediation.
WHAT TO BRING – Always check with your lawyer, however, most parties bring their own personal file of divorce/litigation documents. Other than a paycheck with your current pay information, I really do not need you to bring anything. Many times, the attorneys have already provided us with this information. Dress casual and comfortable, and we have free snacks and drinks.
BOOKING INSTRUCTIONS – To use the calendar below, just click on an available date that is BLUE or partially BLUE. Unavailable dates appear pink. Once you select the date, either morning or afternoon time slots appear below the date selected, depending upon availability. Select your time choice and hit continue. If you need a custom start time other than 10 or 2, just email us for a time that works for all and include the request in the “additional notes section”.
After you hit “Continue”, the next page, will require you to enter your first and last name, your email address, telephone number and finally the county and case number (Wagoner FD-21-4315). There is a space for optional “additional notes”. Let us know of any protective orders, handicap accessibility issues, GAL’s, PD’s, Attorneys for children or anything else you want to bring to our attention.
Also, the calendar is updated daily, so if you are at the Courthouse and need a date right away, look up our available dates and book mediation with us on your cell phone without having to call our office.
Once you follow these steps outlined above, you will receive an email approving the reservation of the date and time for mediation you selected. We will also follow that initial email with another email containing our mediation confirmation letter detailing prices, directions and all other information and instructions your client(s) will need.
And don’t worry, if you are busy like me or just don’t want my legal assistant to be replaced by computer software, have someone call us for mediation dates before you go to Court and/or to make the booking confirmation for you, and we will gladly expedite your mediation confirmation.
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