Contact: Ian Szlazak
Resolution House Inc.
71 Rideau Terrace
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada  K1M 2A2
E-mail: iszlazak@resolutionhouse.com

RH Plus: Special Services

Workplace Interventions/ Investigations

Workplace problems, often between people who clearly are in a continuing relationship, frequently call for rapid interventions. Whether it be a facilitated dialogue, a mediation, an investigation, fact-finding, coaching, arbitration or some hybrid process, Ian Szlazak is accustomed to telephone briefings and can be on-site in short order. He has over twenty-five years of experience with employment-related problems, including over a decade of managerial service in a large corporation. Confidences that are inherent in many of these types of interventions are a paramount concern and are dealt with accordingly.

Quick Intervention Service

Resolution House appreciates that busy parties and representatives frequently have agenda problems. To help alleviate these problems, Ian Szlazak frequently is able to provide dates for all types of interventions that are only a few days or weeks hence. Particularly for that vexing problem that should have been dealt with months prior or where party/representative availability is an issue, this service is very useful. Email iszlazak@resolutionhouse.com, preferably indicating several available dates, the length of time required, your location (travel time is a factor) and a short description of the dispute or problem.

Toronto/GTA Flat-Rate Mediations

In addition to operations in Ottawa and eastern Ontario, Ian Szlazak offers mediation in the Greater Toronto area (GTA), at a competitive flat-rate per diem and permits clients to use the day in a flexible manner if they so wish, including doing two mediations in a day for one fee. This service is designed to be particularly attractive to parties and counsel who are engaged in complex, multi-party disputes. Email iszlazak@resolutionhouse.com for a copy of the GTA Flat Rate Fee Schedule.

Securities-Related Litigation

As an investor and third party in turbulent economic times, Ian Szlazak is familiar with the types of issues that can arise in a client-stock broker relationship. Having successfully completed the Canadian Securities Course in 1996 and been involved in several dozen of these relatively specialized mediations, Ian offers an ability to quickly assimilate complex information and offer effective, contextually-relevant neutral assistance.

Mediation to Stay Married (MSM)

Resolution House Inc. does not offer traditional family mediation services associated with relationship or marriage breakdown. However, Ian offers a family/marital service that will appeal to those who are having difficulties in their relationship but who would like to try and make changes so that it might continue, rather than come to an end. This service, not generally offered in the Ottawa area, is called "Mediation to Stay Married" (MSM). It requires a mutual desire to participate in a mediation process which will focus on helping a couple develop concrete techniques, plans and goals to address their marital issues. Ian will assist the parties to break impasses they may have come to and help them improve their interpersonal communication skills, drawing upon his extensive experience with parties in disputes of all kinds and his legal background. The MSM process is not “marriage counseling”, nor is it analysis/therapy of deep-seated psychological issues; where the need for such processes becomes apparent, it will be recommended to the party(ies). In many cases, MSM can continue concurrently with complementary processes.

An example of the type of challenge where MSM can offer a couple assistance is with respect to financial issues, which encompass matters related to level of contribution to family wealth, spending habits, “lifestyle”, loss of employment, business bankruptcy and inheritances, to name some. By no means is MSM limited to financial issues.

Ian will work with the couple to analyze their problem(s), discuss options and assist them in forging a way forward that meets the needs of both. It is possible that with some new tools in their marital conflict management toolbox, parties who were contemplating divorce may find that they are better equipped to address the array of issues that can crop up between them, and that they come to look upon divorce as an option they do not want to pursue. In addition, MSM allows a couple to carefully consider the consequences of divorce before they take steps which may be irreversible. If desired, the parties can put their commitments to each other in written form, in a memorandum of agreement which Ian will help them write. It is recommended that the parties consult legal counsel before finalizing any agreements.

If you believe that marriage, at least some of the time, is WORK, wish that a deteriorating situation could be addressed and are not sure what to do, MSM offers an alternative. And you might just discover a truth that some ”multiple-marriage” spouses have found: "If I knew then what I know now about marriage, I would have made my first marriage work!".

MSM mediations are governed by a fee schedule and related terms and conditions which are designed to accommodate individuals participating in mediation without lawyers.

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