Iska Ziver specializes in helping people resolve conflicts in their personal lives and plan for their future, including pre-nuptial agreements, separations, divorces, parenting agreements, wills and other family-related issues

I come to the legal profession with a rich and varied professional career. I have worked in a large corporation, owned and run a small business and participated in managing an arts organization. I started my legal career in 2001 representing children in Family Court. Through this work, it became clear to me that there must be a better way to resolve these deeply personal family issues that bring people to the court house, which many times is ill-suited to provide adequate resolutions. In the past ten years, I have developed my knowledge and training in mediation and collaborative law. In addition to my private practice, I am a volunteer mediator at Community Dispute Resolution Center in Ithaca, NY, and am currently the vice-president of the Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals practice group. I also volunteer as a legal presenter for the Parents Apart Program in Tompkins County, a six-hour class that offers parents information and guidance in helping their children adjust to their separation and divorce.

I am divorced, have two adult children, and also teach ballroom dance at Cornell University.

Mediation is a process by which people talk to each other with the goal of working out an acceptable resolution to whatever they may be in conflict about. They are helped in this process by a mediator, who acts as a neutral third party to facilitate the conversation. The conversation can occur over time, requiring a number of sessions.

Mediation is a forward-looking process. Usually the desired result is some type of agreement by which the parties involved can abide. A successful mediation is one where each party is able to speak freely, feels heard, feels understood and is able to listen and understand the other party's perspective. It is not a negotiation, although negotiating can certainly be part of the mediation process.

When mediating, I follow the conversation and through active/reflective listening, checking in and summarizing, I help the parties identify and discuss the issues. I do not sit in judgment, nor do I express personal opinions. I may work with parties to problem-solve, if that is their desire.

Education

• JD, Cornell Law School, 1994
• BS, Business Administration, State University of New York at Albany, 1981 magna cum laude
• Licensed to practice Law in the State of New York, 1995

Professional Activities

• Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals, vice-chair
• International Academy of Collaborative Practice, member
• NYS Council on Divorce Mediation, member
• New York State Bar Association, member
• Community Dispute Resolution Center, volunteer mediator since 2006
• Parents Apart Program of Tompkins County, volunteer presenter since 2008
• Attorneys for Children, Tompkins County panel member since 2002
• Tompkins County Family Court Initiative, member

Professional Training

• 2001, Attorney for the Child training, NYS Third Department
• Yearly, Attorney for the Child continuing education, NYS Third Department
• 2005, Mediation Training, Community Dispute Resolution Center of Tompkins County
• 2005, Mediation Training, Center for Mediation in Law
• Yearly, Advanced Mediation Training, Center for Mediation in Law
• Yearly, Advanced Mediation Training, NYS Council on Divorce Mediation
• 2006, Basic Collaborative Law Training
• Yearly, Advanced Collaborative Law continuing education
• 2011, International Academy of Collaborative Practice Forum, San Francisco, CA

108 N. Cayuga Street
Itaca, NY 14850

P: 607-257-0284
F: 607-272-0520
E: [email protected]