Together with Riverside County Courts' Alternative Dispute Resolution programs' Director Barrie J. Roberts (and of course others), Thurman helped to establish the new Riverside Countywide Private Family Law Mediation Panel and to set up a Voluntary Settlement Program in Department 2J of the Indio Court, supervised by Judge Dale Wells, by which experienced family law attorney/mediators volunteer considerable time the first Monday of each month to assist selected couples in resolving their legal issues and in concluding their divorce actions in an amicable and holistic fashion. These developments are a "first" within Riverside County, and in particular here within the Coachella Valley.
Here is the June issue of the Riverside County News for Neutrals Newsletter.
In particular it states:
"Many thanks to those of you who attended the court's first ADR Appreciation Event in Indio on May 17. Judicial support for ADR was strong at this event, thanks to Assistant Presiding Judge Mark Cope, Judge Harold Hopp, Judge Craig Riemer, Judge Dale Wells, and Commissioner David Gregory.
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Judge Dale Wells described several 'firsts' that occurred during the first half of 2012: The first countywide family law mediation training; the first countywide Family Law Private Mediation Panel; and the first VSCs at Larson (see story on pages 1-2).
Judge Wells also paid special recognition to the one person who made all three 'firsts' possible: Desert Bar Association (DBA) Family Law Section Chair, Thurman W. Arnold, III. Thurman and the DBA are true and indispensable justice partners to the court."
At DFMS, we are committed to the idea that for many, many people mediation is an economic and emotionally transcendent vehicle for unwinding the financial and child related ties that too often bind separating opposite and same-sex couples in a expensive and unproductive litigation and warfare. Mediation is not for everyone, because it requires two willing participants, but our hope is that it might make sense for you!