MAM ANNUAL MEETING AND FALL CONFERENCE - Thursday, November 14th at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Augusta. DIRECTIONS

5.5 hours of CLE credit to include 1.25 hours for Ethics and Professionalism and 1.5 hours for the Avoidance of Harassment and Discrimination, 5.5 hours for CADRES

MAM members $100, Non MAM members $150. Registered non members qualify for a free year membership at MAM ($50 level)

8:30 AM - DOORS OPEN - Refreshments available

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM - KEYNOTE PRESENTATION - An Introduction to Elder Law Mediation: Challenges and Opportunities by Crystal Thorpe - 1.5 CLE credits

As the population ages, families are facing difficult decisions about elder care, living situations, family homes, and personal property. These decisions can be emotional and challenging even when everyone is “on the same page,” and they become rapidly more complex when there is disagreement in the ranks. Learn how Elder Mediation can help, and consider the skill sets needed to offer this increasingly sought-after service. Hear about challenges in this practice area, including: determining who needs to be at the table; concerns about capacity; working with multiple stakeholders; geographically dispersed families; and involving other professionals; to name just a few.

After an introduction to this field, participants will have the opportunity to practice an early phase of the process.

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM - FOLLOW UP - Skill Building Exercise - 1.25 CLE credits

Pre-Mediation Private Session (Role Play Exercise in Pairs): Participants will work in pairs to experience the role of both a party and a mediator in a pre-mediation private session (alternating roles part way through the process).

Participants will:

• Practice developing trust with a party, identifying interests, and identifying topics in a pre-mediation private session exercise

• Gain insight into the experience of a party (specifically an elder) in the early stages of the mediation process

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION - Crystal Thorpe is a mediator, trainer and co-founder of Elder Decisions® - a division of Agreement Resources, LLC, that specializes in "making hard conversations easier."TM Crystal facilitates proactive family meetings, and she mediates disputes among adult family members about caregiving, living arrangements, family communication, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, estate planning, inheritance, family real estate, and personal property distribution, as well as divorce and parenting. Crystal has trained hundreds of mediators from around the world in the growing field of Elder and Adult Family Mediation. She co-authored "Elder Mediation: Optimizing Major Family Transitions" for Marquette Elder's Advisor Law Journal, and the book "Mom Always Liked You Best: A Guide for Resolving Family Feuds, Inheritance Battles and Eldercare Crises."

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM - LUNCH will be provided. 

12:45 PM - 1:00 PM - MAM ANNUAL MEETING

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM - AFTERNOON SESSION 1 - Ethical Issues in Mediation - Elizabeth F. Stout, Esq., Presenter - 1.25 Ethics CLE credits

Liz Stout, who is an experienced family law practitioner and former educator at the University of Maine School of Law, will speak about her experience as a mediator. She will discuss ethical issues that come into play when mediating with both self-represented and represented parties. When you see someone, who is unrepresented, making what you believe are poor choices or if they are asking for assistance with legal issues, what do you do? How do you handle a situation when a party is being told what you believe is incorrect legal information or encouraged to take an untenable position by an attorney? Liz also will talk about the issue of participants who may be impaired as well as safety issues for the parties and the mediator. Liz will take questions and welcomes the audience to share strategies used to handle such situations.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION - Elizabeth Stout received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in 1986 and her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law in 1990. Following a distinguished career in public service, in 2002, Elizabeth opened a solo practice, and later became a partner in the firm of Givertz, Scheffee & Lavoie, P.A. In 2015, Elizabeth launched the first legal residency program in the state of Maine, the Maine Community Law Center, and currently serves as its Executive Director. She is a practicing family law attorney, Guardian ad litem and mediator, and was an adjunct professor at the University of Maine School of Law teaching Family Law for five years. Elizabeth is a member of the Maine State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the Maine Collaborative Law Alliance.

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM - AFTERNOON SESSION 2 - Identification and Prevention of Harassment, Discrimination, and Bullying, - Aria Eee, Esq., Counsel for the Maine Board of Overseers, Hon. Peter G. Cary, US Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge and Gia Drew, Program Director for EqualityMaine - Presenters - 1.5 CLE credits for the Avoidance of Harassment and Discrimination 

This presentation will focus on Maine's new mandatory harassment and discrimination CLE credit requirement.  Topics will include application of the rules governing harassment, bullying and discrimination; related anti-bias laws and professional conduct rules; and the identification of harassment, bullying, and discrimination and how best to address and respond to these issues.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION - Aria Eee serves as Bar Counsel to Maine’sBoard of Overseers of the Bar. Her primary responsibilities include advising on ethics concerns, presenting legal education programs, and investigating/prosecuting bar complaint matters. Aria began her legal career as a NAPIL fellow primarily assisting Passamaquoddy clients and then as counsel for the Passamaquoddy Tribe's Housing Authority. She was a solo practitioner in Washington County before serving for several years as an Assistant Attorney General. An Adjunct Professor, Aria also teaches Professional Responsibility at Maine Law and is a subject matter expert/MPRE writer for the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Aria is a member of the ABA, the MSBA, the NOBC, and the Ballou and Gignoux Inns of Court.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION - Peter G. Cary was sworn in as the District of Maine’s fifth United States Bankruptcy Judge in January of 2014. He presently serves as the Chief Judge of the Court. He is also a panel member of the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit, the treasurer of the Maine State-Federal Judicial Council, an advisory director of the Nathan & Henry B. Cleaves Law Library, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine School of Law, and a member of the First Circuit Workplace Conduct Committee. He received his undergraduate degree in History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1982 (Phi Beta Kappa) and his law degree from Boston College Law School in 1987 (cum laude). He is certified in both Consumer and Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION - Gia Drew joined the staff of EqualityMaine in 2014 after being a volunteer for several years. As program director, Gia oversees all our education, rural outreach, and youth programming, as well as supporting our advocacy work. While originally from Boston, Gia has called Maine home for nearly 18 years. After earning degrees from Syracuse University and Savannah College of Art and Design, Gia was a high school teacher and coach for twenty years, working in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maryland, and Maine. In that time she became one of Maine’s first OUT transgender teachers and one of the first transgender coaches in the country.