Attorney shares benefits of serving as a volunteer mediator with the WCDRC

How are your listening skills? How can you help others listen and not talk past each other to resolve disputes and focus on areas of agreement?

John Sier, a practicing attorney for more than three decades, recently shared how the Wayne County Dispute Resolution Center (WCDRC), formerly Wayne Mediation Center, helped him hone these skills.

In 2005, Sier took the 40-hour State Court approved mediation training course through the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE). It required that he also observe and participate in co-mediations.

“After I completed the course, Howard Lischeron, former director of WCDRC, invited me to volunteer with his organization,” said Sier. “It really gave me the opportunity to practice my listening skills and gave me strategies to keep them developed.”

Serving all of Wayne County, WCDRC is the largest of 18 community-based nonprofit mediation centers in Michigan. The Center provides mediation for a wide variety of domestic, general civil and school conflict issues along with training, education and volunteer opportunities.

As an attorney with Kitch Drutchas Wager Valitutti & Sherbrook, P.C. in Detroit, Sier concentrates his practice on dispute avoidance and resolution of commercial, health care and construction contract issues.
As a volunteer, Sier has mediated a variety of civil disputes and probate matters at WCDRC.

“A lot of problems start with miscommunication and misunderstandings, where people have felt ignored or disrespected,” said Sier. “The goal is to help them listen and think through issues so they can work toward a common ground.”

Sier found that when parties learn he is an attorney, they sometimes seek advice, which attorneys cannot provide in their role as mediators.

“The answers actually lie with the parties involved, not with the mediator,” said Sier. “It’s our role to help them feel comfortable enough to share their answers with each other. It’s relationship building and relationship defining.”

Over the course of serving as a volunteer, Sier was approached by attorney Donovan Greening, a former WCDRC board member and past president of the WCDRC, to join the Center’s board 8 years ago.

“It’s a commitment I could not refuse after experiencing the great work this organization does to help so many people in our community confronting issues that can be resolved through mediation and improved communication,” added Sier.

“As a nonprofit organization which is partially funded by filing fees, having sufficient financial resources to provide much needed mediation services to the Wayne County community is always a challenge,” said Bernard Dempsey, WCDRC’s executive director. “We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of volunteers and board members as John, who bring outstanding expertise and community connections to the table.”

In addition to attorneys, WCDRC recruits volunteers from a variety of backgrounds including teachers, social workers, civil servants and other nonprofit organizations.

According to Dempsey, WCDRC was able to assist more than 6,500 people in conflict in 2017. These are people referred from numerous courts, schools, and agencies in Wayne County.

For individuals interested in learning more about WCDRC, with offices centrally located in Dearborn, and to receive details about mediation services, training and volunteer opportunities, visit www.wcdrc.org. For information about the next mediator training scheduled in April, call (313) 561-3500.