-- Beth Padilla

Updated: 03/16/2017
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What is mediation?

Black’s Law Dictionary defines mediation as “the act of a third person who interferes between two contending parties with a view to reconcile them or persuade them to adjust or settle their dispute.”

Why should I mediate?

Mediation can be helpful in order to resolve disputes without involving the court. Often, clients that are able to mediate even one issue save thousands of dollars on attorney’s fees. Mediation can also preserve a working relationship between the parties because it can eliminate or lessen the amount of time the parties spend in court. In addition, meditation can offer a relatively quick resolution to a dispute.

What type of case should be mediated?

Many types of cases can be mediated. Mediation is often very beneficial in dissolution of marriage and child custody cases. It is not uncommon for a dissolution of marriage case to cost each party thousands of dollars. If the parties are able to sit down with an impartial party with experience in family law matters, it will likely save them a substantial amount of money.

How does mediation work?

Every mediator will handle mediation differently. Generally, we will ask the parties to submit a pre-mediation statement outlining the issues and the parties’ position. Then, the mediator will meet with both of the parties at the same time. The mediator will facilitate the discussion between the parties. The goal of mediation is for the parties to reach an agreement that will be binding in the case. If the parties reach an agreement, the mediator will draft the agreement and the parties will sign it. The agreement will then be filed with the court.

Padilla Law Mediators

Paul Padilla has been successfully mediating cases for five years. He was professionally trained in Denver. Beth Padilla recently underwent forty hours of professional training. Both Paul and Beth are accepting mediation clients. Padilla Law will offer one Saturday mediation slot per month.

Padilla Law, P.C. is pleased to announce that it has relocated to its new offices, located at 150 East 9th Street, Suite 100, Durango, Colorado 81301, on the first floor of the Colorado Heritage Plaza.

The firm's telephone and fax numbers, email addresses, mailing address, and website will remain the same.  We look forward to serving you in our new facilities.

Padilla Law, P.C. is proud to announce that Beth Padilla has been designated as a Colorado Rising Star 2014 by Super Lawyers.

"Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

Super Lawyers Magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-accredited law school libraries. Super Lawyers is also published as a special section in leading city and regional magazines across the country.

The selection process for the Rising Stars list is the same as the Super Lawyers selection process, with one exception: to be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. All attorneys first go through the Super Lawyers selection process. Those who are not selected to the Super Lawyers list, but who meet either one of the Rising Stars eligibility requirements, then go through the Rising Stars selection process. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list." http://www.superlawyers.com.

Beth Padilla was designated as a Rising Star in her Immigration practice.

Padilla Law is pleased to announce that Paul Padilla has been appointed as a Commissioner for the Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice’s Commission on Professional Development, and a Member of the New Lawyer Working Group.

The Commission is responsible for the creation of the Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP), and Paul will represent Southwest Colorado in efforts to develop programs and strategy to encourage and support career development for young attorneys in Colorado and on the Western Slope.

Padilla Law, P.C. was invited to participate in a high school career fair at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. More than one thousand local students from three area high schools attended the event. Beth Padilla was a presenter for the criminal justice panel. Ms. Padilla majored in criminal justice at Indiana University prior to attending law school. Padilla Law thanks all of the students, staff, and Fort Lewis College for their involvement in the event.

The event was also featured in the Durango Herald: http://durangoherald.com/article/20140109/NEWS01/140109563/0/NEWS01/High-school-pupils-ponder-possibilities-

Padilla Law, P.C. is proud to announce we continue to accept new clients in Colorado and New Mexico. Beginning on January 1, 2014, we will schedule initial consultations regarding immigration matters for a discounted fee of $100. Please contact the office for additional details.

Padilla Law, P.C. esta orgulloso de anunciar que continuamos de aceptar clientes nuevos en Colorado y Nuevo México. Empezando el 1 de enero, 2014, haremos consultas de inmigración para una descuento de $100. Por favor, contacte la oficina para mas detalles.

-- Beth Padilla

Child custody matters often come to a head around the holidays. Parents frequently want to change the parenting plan (a.k.a. the custody arrangement) for special holiday events. The reality of our court system is that making changes that require court review or intervention a few weeks before Christmas is unlikely to occur before the holiday. However, this does not necessarily mean parents are stuck with a parenting plan that neither of them wants for the holidays. We often encourage our clients to come up with sensible agreements with their ex-partner to benefit the children, especially during the holidays.

So what can you do if you and your ex agree to change the plan but do not have time to go to court? We suggest you draft a written stipulation explaining in great detail how the parenting plan ordered by the court will be modified for the holiday season. The parties should notarize the stipulation and file it with the court. We can assist families with stipulations on an hourly basis without a retainer. If you would like help drafting a stipulation, please contact us.

Padilla Law, P.C. is pleased to announce that Paul Padilla has been appointed to the Criminal Justice Act Petty Offense and Misdemeanor Panel, for the United States District Court, District of Colorado.

The Criminal Justice Act was originally created in 1964 to establish a system for appointing and compensating lawyers to represent defendants who are financially unable to retain counsel in federal criminal proceedings.  Later, the CJA was expanded to create federal defender organizations, similar to state public defenders.

In Southwest Colorado, the CJA Panel is used to hire local attorneys as defense counsel, when a federal public defender is not available or has a conflict that otherwise prohibits him or her from working on a case.