Subject: Mediation Inquiry

Hi Ms. Gerli,

My spouse, Lisa Donahue, and I are looking for a Missouri family-law mediator to help us work through the terms of a divorce settlement. Your name was recommended to both of us independently, so I wanted to reach out.

We are hoping to pursue mediation first, outside the formal collaborative process, and try to work through the details in a settlement-oriented way. At a high level, we appear to have a shared starting framework for discussion, and our goal is to see whether we can turn that into a workable agreement without needlessly increasing legal friction or expense. I do expect that each of us may have consulting counsel in the background.

Could you let me know:

- whether you are currently accepting new mediation matters,
- whether you work with parties who each have consulting counsel,
- what your process typically looks like,
- your fee structure / retainer, and
- your earliest availability?

If helpful, I’m happy to send a short summary of the issues we’re trying to resolve.

Thank you,
Karl Stiefvater
qarl@qarl.com
+1 (415) 938-7275