Our Team

Experience in whole Family Law Eco-System

I was then privy to the inner workings of many separating couples “lawyering up” regarding their family law matter, and “negotiating” via volumes and volumes of legal letters.  Learning:  My clients spent thousands and thousands of dollars on these letters costing between $400-$900 a pop, oh and did I mention the costs for reading emails, sending emails, “cataloguing” financial disclosure (yet no analysis done).

My take away so far?  Sending volumes of legal letters back and forth is NOT negotiation, it is 100% conflict escalation!

And then after a very lengthy time….some 9, 12, 18 months later, low and behold, both lawyers declare “we still don’t have agreement, we need to go to court….but we can’t go to court unless we have tried mediation first”.  Wait….why were the parties not recommended to start there in the first place?  Umm…..let’s add up all the fees to the lawyers so far….oh, now I understand why…(the rose coloured glasses have fallen off at this stage)…

Current Archaic Mediation Model

I then had the unique experience of accompanying my clients (as their forensic accountant) into day long Family Law mediations, complete with a Barrister Mediator, a Barrister for each client, a lawyer for each client, both clients…….and me.

These day long mediations, the client does not get to speak directly with the other party, nor privy to what the barristers and lawyers are saying…..all very secretive and leaves the client feeling completely left out of their own decision making.

Disheartened by what I was observing, I decided to get qualified as a mediator who specialises in these family disputes.  My title is now “Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner” or FDRP for short.

Legally informed

Don’t get me wrong – all parties need competent and robust legal advice during our process….but they don’t need their lawyer to administer the whole case – that is where a skilled mediator can make all the difference, both to lower the stress levels between the clients (because direct communication is kept up between the parties (safely and fairly!)...but makes a huge impact on cost and emotional well-being – especially on the children!

Being a mediator is an absolute privilege, as I have access to both parties directly.  My team here at Assent each facilitate hundreds of respectful discussions with empathy and no judgement, to swiftly sort through all the queries, concerns, fears, and misunderstandings, to arrive at a speedy and cost effective Family Law financial settlement (ie who gets what assets, liabilities and superannuation) and/or work through Parenting Arrangements, every year.

Why design our model? 

Did you know that lawyers cannot facilitate direct conversations between parties ONLY qualified mediators can?  That is why lawyers use letters and emails….lots of letters and emails!  Our way is different.  For example, during one 3hr session with an Assent mediator, clients can make say 15 critical decisions to advance their case – that would take some 10-12 letters and emails from lawyer to client, then client to lawyer, then lawyer to other party and so on….!  This can take weeks and weeks to resolve as each letter will have a “please reply within 14 days”….this way of negotiating has serious money and time implications!  And all the while, the clients hard earned net asset pool, is being transferred to pay legal fees (AKA paying for their lawyer’s holiday house….)

My Journey

Over many, many years, I have worked for large Australia wide not-for profit organisations, worked in a small mediation practice, mentored sole practitioners, and worked in a larger private mediation company.  In all my roles I have managed large teams of mediators, which I have loved and still love here at Assent.

All these roles have given me rich learnings of what to do and most importantly what not to do.

Assent Birth

Since founding Assent in 2021, we have steadily grown, where we have strong word of mouth.  The greatest compliment we get is when we have been recommended by both parties to their friends and colleagues.  Our team has successfully taken parties through to full agreement/completion for hundreds and hundreds of cases in financial/property settlements, binding child support agreements, pre-nuptial agreements, divorce applications and parenting agreements.  If you want it done right the first time, start with us.

I have learnt over the years that it is hard to recruit good mediators and even harder to recruit skilled property/financial mediators with experience.  We do not hire just anyone!  All our team go through a rigorous recruitment process….and then continue to attend regular, specialised financial training – this is unique in the Family Law Mediation industry! 

The Scary Stuff

I have picked up completed legal agreements and picked up errors, it is frightening that those clients will never know they could have received a fairer outcome.

If you don’t have a properly trained practitioner, the right process and the right case mentoring throughout the service….you won’t know what you don’t know and therefore you can’t make an informed decision. 

At Assent, we have developed a sophisticated financial training program for all our practitioners, therefore we have competent and highly trained practitioners that you can count on to execute a fair process!

My passion is for separating couples to start with us as mediators…instead of starting with the traditional model with lawyers.