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100 Recreation Park Drive
Hingham,
Massachusetts
02043
Phone: 781-804-1315
Fax: 781-804-1322
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The mission of Mediation Solutions Incorporated is to help clients resolve their legal problems without going to court. We guide our clients in negotiating settlement agreements which are fair, complete, and long lasting. Our goal is not only the resolution of immediate issues, but also, in appropriate cases, the development of a more positive relationship between the parties.
Why Mediation?
Mediation is private and confidential. – Mediation protects clients from having to “air their dirty laundry” in court. Third parties, other than the disputants’ attorneys, are not allowed to observe mediation sessions. The confidentiality of what is said and done in mediation is protected by law and safeguarded in the mediation contract.
Mediation is cost-effective. – Mediation time is charged on an hourly basis; however, the hourly rate of the mediator is split by the parties. Therefore, the cost of mediation is much less than litigation, where each party is separately paying an attorney. Of course, mediation is generally much less expensive than litigation because the dispute is resolved in a fraction of the time it normally takes to resolve a court case.
Mediation produces longer lasting, more positive results. – In mediation, the parties resolve their dispute themselves with the assistance of the mediator. When people resolve their own problems and draft their own settlement document the settlement tends to hold up over time. This is because the parties come to understand the point of view of the other, they understand all of the terms of the agreement they enter, and they learn to communicate with each other to resolve their conflicts. This result is especially important in divorce cases involving children, because the parents must continue to work with each other, like it or not, for the best interest of their children. In contractual disputes where the parties intend to continue to work together in the future, or in land disputes between neighbors, the relationship between the disputants will not end with the settlement. Because they will have to deal with each other in the future, it is much better to resolve conflict through a process that promotes a better relationship.
Mediation is flexible. - The mediation process does not follow a set formula or rigid rules of procedure, and is not dictated by judicial fiat. The parties, guided by the mediator, set the pace and the tone of the process. The parties decide what to talk about and in what order. There are generally no limits on what may be presented or discussed. Of course, personal attacks and physical or psychological intimidation are not tolerated.
Mediation works. – Although some cases are not appropriate for mediation - such as cases which turn on a novel issue of law or cases in which the hostility between the parties is so severe that face-to-face communication is not productive or safe – nearly all disputes can be successfully resolved. The mediation process will address power imbalances, communication difficulties, and knowledge gaps.
About Us
Mediation Solutions Incorporated (MSI) was established by Massachusetts attorney David Kellem after he practiced law for more than 25 years. His experiences as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City and with civil litigation in Massachusetts left him extremely frustrated with the traditional legal system. Although more than 90% of all court cases ultimately settle without completing a trial, the long road to settlement exacts a heavy financial and emotional toll on the litigants. If most disputants eventually “cut their losses” and agree to a settlement, often under great pressure, what sense does it make to suffer through the difficult and often unsatisfactory litigation process? Mediation is a better solution to the problem of resolving legal matters. MSI offers clients the opportunity to settle their legal disputes in a respectful, fair, cost-effective, and timely way.
David A. Kellem, Founder
The founder and principal mediator of MSI is David A. Kellem. David was an Honors English major at Georgetown University, and a cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where he served as lead articles editor of the Suffolk University Law Review. During law school he worked as a hearings officer for the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare. After graduation he served as law clerk to Chief Justice (ret.) Joseph R. Weisberger of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. From 1983-1987, David worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County (Manhattan), and then joined his father’s law practice in Hull, Massachusetts. He remains in practice with his father, Lawrence Kellem, and brother, Steven Kellem, at Kellem & Kellem, LLP, now located in Hingham. The firm focuses on divorce and family law practice, real estate transactions and litigation, municipal and land use law, small business representation, and wills and estates.
David Kellem received his formal mediation training in 2003 with Divorce Mediation Training Associates (DMTA) and is a member of the Massachusetts Council of Family Mediation.
Charles F. Mundhenk, Ph.D., Mediator
Charles Mundhenk is a licensed psychologist who has engaged in private practice in Massachusetts for more than twenty-five years. His counseling practice has focused on marriage, divorce, and the impact of divorce on families. He holds Master of Education and Ph.D. degrees in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. He is President of MarVista Psychological Associates, P.C., where he has focused his private counseling practice on issues pertaining to marriage, divorce, and the impact of divorce on children. Dr. Mundhenk has been an instructor of the Parents Apart program since 1997 and regularly gives seminars on communication and conflict resolution. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Massachusetts Psychological Association, the Association for Cognitive and Behavior Therapy, and the Massachusetts Council for Family Mediation.
Charles Mundhenk received his mediation training from Divorce Mediation Training Associates, and serves as a divorce and family law mediator with Mediation Solutions Incorporated.
Mary Jean (MJ) Shultz, Mediator
MJ Shultz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from Wellesley College, and a Master of Science Degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. For more than twenty years she served as the Zoning Administrator of the Town of Hingham, MA. Currently she maintains a private zoning and land use permitting consulting practice, and works with the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution and Public Collaboration (MODR). At MODR she has assisted in the development of a Guidebook to Alternative Dispute Resolution for Municipal Officials and other land use outreach materials. She administers the affordable housing mediation program at MODR which is sponsored by the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee under M.G.L. Chapter 40B.
MJ received her mediation training at the UMass Dispute Resolution Program, which included a 30-hour mediation internship, attaining her Certificate with an award for academic excellence. She has completed the Advanced Land Use Mediation training at the Consensus Building Institute. At Mediation Solutions Incorporated she mediates cases involving real estate disputes, municipal permitting, and land use conflicts.
Evanne Boudrow, Mediation Practice Administrator
Evanne Boudrow is a summa cum laude graduate of Eastern Nazarene College and has worked as a legal secretary and paralegal for more than twenty years. While raising her children she established and operated daycare and bookkeeping businesses. Since 2002, Evanne has been employed by Kellem & Kellem, LLP, where she currently serves as Office Manager and paralegal to David Kellem. Evanne works with clients of Mediation Solutions Incorporated to orient them to the mediation process, to assist them in developing any required financial and background information, and in ongoing communication with the mediators.
Please email us or visit our website for additional information.
