Decision Tree Mediation

I am an attorney whose practice if focused in the Estate and Business Planning. Unfortunately, clients occasionally consider and enter into divorce. One of the best resources I have for those clients, in both simple and complex cases, is Michelle Baxter at Decision Tree Mediation. She has helped several clients and other referrals sort out the often confusing and emotional paths that separation and divorce take.
With her extensive business training and experience she is able to deal with even the most complex of business situations. It is really critical that a mediator understand the numbers and economics of a business when the owners are going their separate ways (or perhaps especially with they will continue to jointly participate in the business). I have been impressed with her skill and her results. Even when clients are not happy with the process of divorce; and who ever is, Michelle manages to make the process and outcome better. I will continue to refer clients to her.

Michele Baxter is a fair and thoughtful mediator. Fully trained, she is highly regarded by the Southern California legal community and I have personally seen her defuse highly emotional situations with her calm demeanor and problem-​solving attitude. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a mediator.

Divorce is an extremely fragile and anguish filled process, being deceived by a person in a position of trust is an additional cruelty no one should have to experience. Michelle Baxter is dishonest and unethical. She undermined the entire process.
Mediation is supposed to be a neutral party helping two other parties settle a dispute. Michelle was not neutral. Her manner was often antagonistic, prompting me to ask her if she had something at stake. It was as if she was taking things personally and when the other party accidentally attached a few of the long email exchanges between the two of them, her bias was clearly exposed.
–Our divorce mediation started with the agreement not to seek personal support from one another, in one email Michelle recommends that the other party go to the courthouse and file for personal support because; «why not?» Her advice continued with, «after filing, the papers will have to be served on him, someone owes me a favor, consider it covered.» Michelle offered to pay the document server’s fee to have me served with papers for something we both agreed not to seek from the other. Neutral?
–I one email about an upcoming session she began with, «We have to plant the seed with him that …» We? How is we, neutral?
–In another email Michelle includes a response from a paralegal friend she enlisted for help in building a legal strategy to get the settlement the other party wanted because Michelle does not have a legal background.
–A different email chain showed a series of edits Michelle was making in the other party’s emails to me. If the editing of each parties responses is part of mediation, this same service was never offered to me.
Mediators are bound to confidentiality, yet the emails I received from the other party led me to believe that she violated that duty as well.
Once it was clear she was advocating for the other party, I ceased all contact with her. Michelle called me repeatedly, insisting that I return to mediation because, «…if you don’t (the other party) is getting legal counsel, and you don’t want that!» A threat that never materialized. Our divorce was settled in one sitting, at a restaurant, where we drew up our own agreement on a yellow pad.