A couple of years ago I had the good fortune to chat with some of our county court judges about some of their frustations. Because county court cases often deal with small dollar figure cases, one issue is that mediation just isn’t an “affordable” solution for many of these cases.
Our Dispute Resolution Centers work hard to try and bridge the gap here by providing pro bono legal services. However, with around 4,000 cases a week filed into the county courts there is no way they can meet the overwhelming need.
On the other side, I am often approached by new mediators who want to co-mediate or shadow me on a case or are looking to establish their own practice. They need experience and advanced trainings to reach their goals.
So from all of that has come Texas Volunteer Mediator Association (TVMA). Right now we are just kicking things off by recruiting mediators and those who may wish to volunteer and help in other ways. Come check us out at https://www.txvma.org.
