Lawyer Monthly - December 2021 Edition

Cordeiro & Associates offers compassionate mediation, arbitration and parenting co-ordination services in addition to mental health support. Built from the ground up by Cheryl Cordeiro based on her own experiences of family litigation and its profoundly negative effect on children, the firm aids families in settling disputes outside of the courts and in a less acrimonious manner. MY LEGAL LIFE - CHERYL CORDEIRO Tell us a little about your journey into law. What first drew you to your practice? With a degree in Psychology and a Bachelor of Education from York University and having completed the educational components, graduating magna cum laude for my Qualified Arbitrator (Q. Arb.) and Associate Mediator designations with ADRIC, ADRIO and OAFM further complements my more than 17 years of experience within the realm of children, education and families. I founded Cordeiro & Associates after having lived through the litigation process of divorce, mediation and finally arbitration. I have personal experience with how the litigation process can exacerbate and perpetuate the current conflict that led to the marriage breakdown, as well as fostering new conflicts which can forever plague the co-parenting relationship. I know from experience that good faith, negotiation and interest-based bargaining can often save people thousands of dollars in legal fees, allow relationships to be mended and achieve lasting results. Part of your work involves teaching up-and-coming arbitrators. Can you tell us more about this aspect of your practice? What qualities would you say are essential for an effective mediator? Along with practicing arbitration and mediation, I also am an instructor, teaching up- and-coming arbitrators and preparing them for the Qualifying Arbitrator’s exam with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada (ADRIC). It is equally important to ensure that our arbitrators are skilled, effective listeners and precise note-takers. Arbitrators and judges are only human, and like all humans are subject to our own perceptions of the world and situation. Therefore, it is vital that arbitrators are aware of their personal perceptions of the world, as our perceptions are grounded in our morals, backgrounds, upbringings, schemas and experiences which guide us in our decisions. Thus, to ensure that we maintain our ethical code and ensure that the founding pillar of arbitration, natural justice, is always prevailing, we must constantly ask ourselves if we are judging evidence and testimony through the lens of our own personal perception or through the lens of natural justice and weighing it against our jurisdictional law statues and not against our own morality. Can you tell us about your plans for the future? In the future I would welcome the ability to work more closely with the Ontario Bar Association ADR section. I would also like to begin to collaborate with community foundations such as the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, as their practices are grounded in a reflective practice that continually examines power imbalances and builds our collective awareness and ability to work towards equitable responses and solutions, along with respecting a promoting self-determination and autonomy. I want to contribute to a vibrant family dispute resolution community and help families come to a resolution governed by the principal of “do no harm” so that families can obtain a fair resolution without unnecessary expense or delay, and one that supports them in their journey to freedom from violence, conflict and further trauma. About Cheryl Cordeiro... DEC 2021 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM 29