Professor Stephanie Blondell Speaks on "Lessons from the Pro Pers" -- Southern California Mediation Association

Professor Stephanie Blondell presented "The Unauthorized Practice of Law: Lessons from the Pro Pers" at the Southern California Mediation Association 2019 Family Law Institute. The program, titled "Empowering Mediators into the 2020s and Beyond," took place in Santa Ana on July 8.

From "The Unauthorized Practice of Law: Lessons from the Pro Pers"

While there is growing consensus that mediation is not the practice of law, there remain significant ethical and legal questions as to what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law when you are mediating with unrepresented parties. After defining the unauthorized practice of law, and exploring an overview of the ethical rules and statutes that govern the issue, we will tackle the problem of pro per from a skills-based approach. While responsible mediators ask, what is going over the line, we will approach this from a broader policy perspective. Even if we aren't going over the line, don't we want to mediate with unrepresented parties in ways that reinforce to the parties you are their mediator, not their lawyer? This workshop addresses the skills, techniques, and questions that reinforce this approach.

Additional information on the program may be found here