“I expected to feel outnumbered. Greta gave me exactly as much room as my ex-husband, and after every session I knew what we had settled and what we hadn't.”
Bronwyn S.Divorce mediation
Mediation in Burlington
Two people, one table, and an agreement you both wrote
I'm Greta Lachapelle, a lawyer who mediates. I sit down with divorcing couples, coworkers and business partners, help them say what they need, and put what they decide in writing, so no judge has to decide it for them.
A note from Greta
Why I traded the courtroom for a kitchen-sized table
For years I represented one side. I was good at it, and I watched people I liked spend their savings to be told by a stranger how to divide a life they had built together.
Mediation asks more of you in the first hour and much less after that. You both sit at the same table, or on the same video call. I don't take sides and I don't decide anything. I ask the next question, keep the talk on the problem rather than the person, and write down what you agree to in words you both understand.
Most of my work is divorce, where the children's weeks and the house come first. I also sit with coworkers who have stopped speaking, and with partners in small businesses who want out of each other's way without losing what they built.
If mediation isn't right for the two of you, I'll say so on the first call and tell you who can help instead.
Greta Lachapelle
Attorney and mediator
The training behind the questions I ask
Admitted to practice law, and trained to mediate family, workplace and business disputes.
Bar admissions
Vermont
2009
New York
2008
Courts
Vermont Superior Court
2009
U.S. District Court, District of Vermont
2011
Education
J.D., Vermont Law School
B.A., McGill University
Mediation training
Family mediation, 40 hours
Workplace and commercial mediation, 32 hours
Languages
English
French
Memberships
Vermont Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section
Worked examples
Three mediations, from the first call to the signed page
These are sample stories with names and figures made up, to show how a mediation actually runs. They aren't past results, and every case is different.
DivorceHow divorce mediation works
Corinna and Abel: a house in the New North End, two kids, one retirement account
They agreed on almost nothing except that they didn't want a trial. Over four two-hour sessions we built a parenting schedule around the school week, priced the house with one appraiser they chose together, and divided a $64,000 retirement account so Abel kept the house and Corinna kept more of the savings. I drafted the agreement, and each of them read it with their own lawyer before signing.
First session: what each of them needed, said out loud
Second and third: the children's weeks, then the numbers
Fourth: the written agreement, read line by line
WorkplaceHow workplace mediation works
A charge nurse and her unit manager, after a year of not speaking
Their clinic asked for an outside mediator after two formal complaints had gone nowhere. I met each of them alone first, then together for one long afternoon. They left with five written agreements about shift handoffs, scheduling and how to raise a problem before it grows, and a check-in date six weeks out. Nobody was disciplined and nobody had to transfer.
Two private conversations, one with each of them
One joint session, with breaks whenever either asked
A six-week check-in, by phone
BusinessHow business mediation works
Two brothers and the family sugarhouse
One brother wanted to expand and the other wanted out, and their father's handshake partnership said nothing about a buyout. In three sessions they agreed on how to value the business, a $180,000 buyout paid over five years from syrup sales, and who keeps the family name on the label. Their accountant checked the figures before anyone signed.
One session on the numbers, with their accountant on the call
One on what the business means to each of them
One to agree the terms their lawyers would draft
Heard from both sides of the table
“We had stopped talking at work. After one afternoon we had a plan for handoffs that we both still use, and we eat lunch in the same room again.”
Keziah M.Workplace mediation
“My brother and I were one bad phone call from lawyers on both sides. Instead we wrote the buyout ourselves, and we still sugar together every March.”
Lowell P.Business mediation
Sample testimonials. Every case is different, and what worked for these clients may not fit yours.
Start with a short call, alone or together
Either of you can reach out first. I'll explain how mediation works and what it costs, and you can decide from there.