“A Positive Attitude in Facilitative Atmosphere to Generate a Solution.”

Mediation is often the best, fastest, and most cost effective way to resolve your issue and move forward. Whether your mediation is court-mandated or voluntary, Parkes Law Group offers neutral, unbiased and results driven expertise at our location or yours. We have three offices in Denver, Colorado. Our central Denver mediation office is in Downtown and we have two Denver mediation offices in South Denver.

Mediation is “an intervention in dispute negotiations by a trained neutral third party with the purpose of assisting the parties to reach their own solution.” See Colorado Dispute Resolution Act, Colorado Revised Statute, § 13-22-303 (2.4). The main idea behind mediation is that the parties in a dispute will be the best at resolving the dispute, not a court. The official term for this idea is “Self-Determination.”

Mediation saves time and money. Sometimes, mediation does not fully resolve the dispute, but going through the process often pinpoints the true root causes of the dispute and uncovers areas of common ground and minimizes actual disagreement. Even if a mediation does not resolve the full spectrum of the issues, it will reveal and narrow the true basis of dispute and make court or arbitration less time consuming and less expensive. Recently, some Denver courts have made mediation mandatory before they will adjudicate.

The Mediator’s Role

As mediators, we are unable and unwilling to “adjudicate” or make any decisions regarding your dispute. Our role is to identify the actual issues and assist the parties in reaching a resolution. Anybody in a dispute is eligible for mediation at any time, including before or after any court proceedings. Our offices are based in Denver but our mediators will go beyond Denver to solve your problems. If you are living outside the Denver area, we can go to you, or we will help you find a capable Colorado mediator in your community.

Confidentiality and Evidence

Importantly, statements made during mediation are confidential and they are NOT allowed as evidence in court. However, the protection for such confidentiality is legally limited to “communications made in the presence or at the behest of a mediator.” See Yaekle v. Andrews, 195 P.3d 1101 (Colo. 2008). Therefore, any communications made before or after mediation, in the absence of your mediator, may be admitted as evidence at trial. To this end, anything that is said or communicated in our presence will be absolutely confidential, unless:

• All parties in mediation agree otherwise;
• The mediation reveals the intent to commit a felony, inflict bodily harm, or threaten the safety of a child under 18 years old; or
• If the law or the court requires disclosure.

If an agreement is reached, our mediation attorneys will itemize the agreement in writing. Whether the parties choose to sign that writing is at their own discretion. The agreement in writing may be presented to the court if the parties so choose, where the court can turn the agreement into an order. However, the court will not honor the agreement if it is not signed.

Before We Sit Down to Talk

• Please bring a list of issues that you want to bring up. This means 2 lists, one for each party.
• Please gather all documents or information that is relevant to the issues on your sheet and bring those along with you to our office.

Lastly, and most importantly, please bring a good, positive attitude. We know you are in a dispute, but a positive attitude in a team atmosphere will help to move progress forward and generate a solution.

Areas of Mediation Focus

Parkes Law Group, LLC offers mediation services in a wide variety of disputes. Our Mediation Department is equipped to handle most disputes and we offer one, two, or even three mediators depending on the complexity of the problem.

Property Dispute Mediation

Property disputes are a common occurrence in the Denver area and throughout Colorado. Likewise, property dispute mediation is a great resource to keep peace in the neighborhood. Generally, property disputes can be placed in three different categories. Property dispute mediation is effective for all three categories.

First, we provide property dispute mediation for community-related disputes (eg., homeowner association disputes or “HOA disputes”). Community related disputes are often neighbor versus neighbor, where both neighbors live under the same covenant controlled community and one neighbor thinks the other neighbor is in violation of those rules, deliberate or otherwise. Community or homeowner association disputes also often involve a homeowner or “unit owner” and the association or community board. These disputes ordinarily involve the board limiting the homeowner’s ability to do something on their property and the homeowner is upset. Or, the homeowner has done something that the association’s board feels is beyond the scope of the rules, and the association’s board is upset. Our property dispute mediation team is well versed in contract and property law. While mediation is not the practice of law, our mediators are able to draw on experience and help you create a workable solution.

Second, we provide property dispute mediation for property disputes without covenants. Property disputes are widespread throughout Denver and across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. These can be disputes with a property owner and the governing authority, like zoning disputes, utility easement disputes, water regulation disputes, and numerous others. Property disputes can also be neighbor to neighbor – we often see disputes with property lines, decoration, blight, fence problems, pets, water run-off, children, noise, vehicle use, and property damage. Our Mediation Department helps with all types of property dispute mediation cases. Our property dispute mediation team can help you save time and money by staying away from the judge.

Third, we provide mediation for landlord-tenant disputes. Many property dispute resolution opportunities arise form landlords and tenants in disagreement over the contract. Our mediation team handles these disputes on all levels, from residential to commercial, or from industrial to agricultural.

Construction Mediation

Our experienced Denver mediation attorneys work in construction mediation cases with our senior business attorney, who specializes in construction law. We can mediate disagreements between builders and owners. The fact is, mediation is faster and cheaper and more practical than spending a day in court. Court resolutions are time consuming by definition. Let our mediators resolve your property dispute quickly, efficiently, and effectively. You have the self-determination to solve your puzzle.

River Recreation Disputes & Water Use Disputes

Recreational use on the river has long been a Colorado tradition. River rafting, fishing, wildlife enjoyment and general river access illustrate the recreation that makes Colorado unique. At the same time, many of these rivers go through private properties. Many property owners, who have worked hard and taken pride in pristine property ownership, do not mind the river recreation through their property, but issues can and do arise. A quick example is with trespass. Property owners do not want thousands of rafters walking through their property every rafting season. The issue quickly grew out of hand, so much so that the Governor of Colorado intervened with the River Access Dispute Resolution Task Force. In December of 2010, that task force published its final report. See the Report here.

If you are a property owner and are having trouble with a river recreational guide, person, or company, please contact us for further assistance. Likewise, if you are a recreational enthusiast who has been bothered by a certain property owner regarding your use of the river, contact us for a free consultation.

We are happy to mediate your issues. Our attorneys have been in and lived in many areas of Colorado, Missouri, and the Province of Alberta, Canada. We know how valuable the river is to all sides. We don’t care about who is right, but we care about solving the issue for you.

Family Dispute Mediation

Parkes Law Group, LLC recognizes that family relationships can be challenging at times. We are also fully cognizant of personal privacy and confidentiality regarding family disputes. Many people seek mediation as an alternative to Colorado Court to find an agreeable divorce solution. Parkes Law Group can help with divorce mediation in Colorado by referring you to the right mediator for your particular issues. What this means is that we generally do not mediate Colorado divorce cases, but we know a great variety of mediators that provide Colorado divorce mediation services regularly. Please call Parkes Law Group at (303) 781-1533 if you are looking into Colorado Divorce mediation. Tell us briefly what the main point of contention is and we will direct you to the right Colorado divorce mediator that best suits your need. Parkes Law Group, LLC welcomes and handles all other types of family disputes in Colorado that are not divorce-related.

Call us now at (303) 781-1533! We have three Denver mediation locations: one office in Downtown Denver and two offices in South Denver. We are also willing to mediate at your location or a location agreed upon by the parties.

 

Thank you for visiting Parkes Law Group!

Denver, Colorado

Mediation service provided by Parkes law Group, LLC may feature an attorney as your mediator. Please be fully informed that mediation is not the practice of law and our  mediators follow the Colorado Dispute Resolution Statute regarding this matter. Parkes law Group mediation department is not a legal department and provides no legal services. Mediation is wholly separate from any legal practice at Parkes law group. Mediators are also not therapists. Mediators are facilitative negotiators and neutral, unbiased third parties. Mediators seek to help the parties find their own solution. Mediation is not the practice of law. Mediation is not therapy.