Northern Virginia Mediation Service Review

The mediators refused to listen to both my ex-wife and myself. Neither of us were happy with the services provided. They were biased against anything in MD (including me) and even joked about it. They would "listen" to what each of us had to say, write up half of what she said in the agreement, make up the rest, and ignore my concerns. They also took over a month to finalize the draft, which we ended up doing ourselves and sending back them AFTER it was executed because we got tired of waiting. Not only that, but the MSA was full of ambiguities and errors. In addition, they included some clauses which are specifically recommended against in cases like ours by much of the mediation community, which I've only learned about well after the fact.

I even brought up most of these concerns during the mediation process, was told that we would be getting different mediators, and then later told that it was too late to change mediators and that we had to continue with the biased, slow mediators who wouldn't listen to what was said.

A great method of reducing costs and relieving stress from an already unpleasant situation.

I received my training as a family mediator from NVMS in 2008. It was excellent. Since then I have often been back to NVMS for one meeting or another, as NVMS regularly invites mediators to gather and learn from each other. Over the past ten years, there has of course been some staff turnover, but the new people always seem to get up to speed quickly. The training programs continue to be top quality.

I reserve reviews for either exceptionally good or exceptionally bad companies. In this case, this organization is exceptionally bad. They are grossly negligent, have a shocking lack of ethics, and demonstrate very clear bias. They are either ignorant of the law or purposefully misrepresent it. If you are in need of mediation services, you would better served by paying extra to use the services of a trusted attorney, one who will both honor your legal rights and follow the law. This organization does neither.

We had a wonderful experience with NVMS who was used to help a family conflict. Our mediator was great, and the entire process was well organized and well explained. Hopefully won t have to find a mediator again, but in the event we do, we d absolutely use NVMS again.