Mediator and Attorney Mark Baer to Co-Present at ABA Family Law Section at Fall 2015 CLE Conference

PASADENA, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 4, 2015) - Pasadena Mediator and Attorney Mark Baer today announced that he will co-present "The Ethical Do's and Don'ts of Knowing When 3's a Crowd" at the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association Fall CLE Conference taking place in Portland, Oregon, October 14 - 17, 2015. The program, on October 17^th at 10:45 a.m., will address the ethical issues related to third party involvement in Family Law cases, from the payment of fees to the determination of who is, and who is not, the client, as well as many other scenarios that can arise when outsiders are involved in the decision-making process. This is Baer's second presentation for the national ABA Conference. He previously co-presented at the Spring 2013 CLE Conference in Anchorage, Alaska on the topic of collaborative divorce.

"I am really looking forward to presenting on this topic at the upcoming ABA Family Law Section meeting," states Baer. "Issues stemming from the 'Greek Choir' or 'Shadow Parties' create huge problems in family matters and to date, this subject has never been addressed by the Family Law Section. The 'Greek Choir' or 'Shadow Parties' refer to parents of the divorcing couple and other well-meaning family members, friends, professionals, and bystanders, who cause an already difficult situation to get worse. In our presentation, we will discuss how mediation can be used to prevent, or at least reduce, such harmful interference in divorces, pre-nups, parenting issues, and the break-up of non-marital relationships involving children, to name a few."

Mark Baer is a Mediator, Attorney, and Collaborative Law Practitioner who has received numerous acclaim as a "Thought Leader" and a leading influencer in the practice of Mediation and Family Law. This year, he received the honor of being named "Most Compassionate Family Mediator - California" from Corporate America Magazine's 2015 Legal Elite Awards for his dedication, compassion and commitment in the area of Family Mediation. Attorney Baer was named among the "Nation's Top One Percent" by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel, which includes less than 1% of the nation's top attorneys in the USA. Additionally, Mr. Baer was named to The National Advocates' "Top 100 Lawyers" (California) for 2014 and 2015, which recognizes America's premier attorneys, and was invited to join this elite organization's executive committee for demonstrating leadership in his field. Attorney Baer is also a Southern California "Super Lawyer," having been named to this list every year since 2012. Super Lawyer measures the top 5% of attorneys practicing in Southern California. 

As a Huffington Post blogger since May 2013, Mr. Baer uses his high-profile role to write about issues pertaining to Mediation and Family Law. Overall, he is known for his ability to help his clients deescalate conflicts by utilizing "emotional intelligence" to assist clients in resolving the emotional issues at the heart of every conflict.

According to Mr. Baer, "Social and emotional skills such as empathy are essential to conflict resolution. Therefore, those best suited to work in conflict resolution should have high EQs (Emotional Intelligence levels). It has long been known that while lawyers tend to be analytical because the field requires it, they generally score poorly in terms of their EQ levels. This isn't a problem when their job is merely to assist in resolving disputes. However, problems ensue in situations in which interpersonal relationships are involved, including but not limited to disputes between family members, employer/employee, neighbors, and business partners. Unfortunately, resolving disputes through the application of legal precedent and statutes doesn't take into consideration the impact it will have on interpersonal relationships such as the family structure after divorce."

Mediator Baer also mentioned, "It doesn't help that people frequently confuse 'conflict resolution or management' with 'dispute resolution.' Conflicts are emotional and disputes are fact-based. Legal disputes, divorce included, are typically resolved through litigation or litigated negotiation, which are adversarial processes, and thereby, exacerbate the conflict in order to resolve the dispute."

Attorney Mark B. Baer is a Mediator, Attorney and Collaborative Law Practitioner practicing in the Greater Los Angeles area. Trained in all three mediation approaches, Mr. Baer spends more than 50% of his time as a mediator, working with people seeking premarital agreements, post marital agreements, resolving issues that are interfering with their marriage, and all types of issues that arise when marriages dissolve, as well as issues pertaining to children as a result of the break-up of non-marital relationships. The rest of his time is spent representing or otherwise consulting with people, in such situations, who are seeking a constructive, solution-oriented approach.

For more information about Attorney Mark Baer, please visit: www.markbaeresq.com or www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-baer.