Are your courses approved by The Tennessee Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission?
Yes, Tennessee Mediation School, LLC’s mediation trainings are approved by The Tennessee Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission for the following courses:
• 46 Hour Family Law Mediator Training
• 30 Hour Civil to Family Law Crossover Mediator Training
• 16 Hour Family to Civil Crossover Mediation Training
• 12 Hour Domestic Violence Mediator Training
What are the qualifications to become a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed Mediator?
The requirements to become a Rule 31 listed family mediator are found in Rule 31,§17(b) as follows:
Section 17. Rule 31 Mediators
No person shall act as a Rule 31 Mediator without first being listed by the ADRC.
To be listed, Rule 31 Mediators must pay application fees set by the ADRC and must comply with the qualification and training requirements set forth in this section.
All training must have been approved by the ADRC as set for in section (f) below and must have been completed within the fifteen years immediately preceding the application seeking Rule 31 Mediator listing.
[Amended April 24, 2009] b) Rule 31 Mediators in Family Cases.
(1) To be listed as a Rule 31 Mediator in family cases, one must:
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(A) Comply with the requirements set forth in Section 17(a)(1)(A) and 17(a)(2)(A) and 17(a)(2)(B) above; and
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(B) Be a Certified Public Accountant, have a graduate degree, or have a baccalaureate degree with ten years practical experience in family mediation;
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(C) have four years of practical work experience in psychiatry, psychology, counseling, social work, education, law, or accounting;
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(D) Complete 40 hours of training in family mediation which includes the curriculum components specified by the ADRC for Rule 31 Mediators in family cases and which also includes four hours of training in screening for and dealing with domestic violence in the mediation context; and
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(E) Complete six additional hours of training in Tennessee family law and court procedure. It is provided, however, that the ADRC may waive this requirement for lawyers who have completed at least six hours of ADRC-approved training devoted to Tennessee family law and/or procedure within the three-year period immediately prior to the completion of the requirements of Section 17(c)(3)(A) through (I).To read about training waiver requirements, go to Rule 31,
§17(d)at:
http://www.tncourts.gov/rules/supreme-court/31.
What is the schedule for upcoming courses?
We update this website as soon as new courses are scheduled. Click here to see our list of upcoming courses. Click on the course description for sign up information.
Where do you conduct the training?
Throughout the year we bring our courses to Knoxville, Nashville, and Tri-Cities Tennessee. Click here to see our list of upcoming courses. If you would like to have one of our instructors come to your office to train you staff, please call Sarah Easter at 865-566-0125 or Laura Metcalf at 865-637-3900.
Who are your instructors?
Our instructors are Sarah C. Easter and Laura E. Metcalf. Both are seasoned professionals with extensive experience in all aspects of law. Ms. Easter and Ms. Metcalf are both Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed Family and Civil Law Mediators and are both specially trained in domestic violence issues. For more detailed information, click here.
What kind of work do your instructors do in the mediation field?
Our instructors conduct a minimum of 3-4 mediations per week as well as attending mediations for our own clients.
What types of cases do you mediate?
Divorce, child custody, paternity, child support, alimony, post-divorce modifications, parenting plan disputes, prenuptial agreement disputes, business litigation, and personal injury cases.
What kind of advanced training have you had?
Both instructors are listed as family mediators, civil mediators, and specially trained in domestic violence mediation.
How long has your organization been offering training been providing mediation and training services?
Since 2013.
How many individuals have you trained?
We have trained hundreds of students since we started training mediators in 2013.
What sort of advanced mediation CME do you take to stay abreast of best practices?
Our instructors attend conferences, go to other continuing legal education seminars, stay up to date on marketplace trends and take mediation trainings such as collaborative divorce.
Do you have any sort of mentoring program for new mediators?
Yes! We encourage all of our students to shadow our real-life mediations so that they can really understand the process and get a feel for how it works in a real-life setting.