Attorney Keeps Cases Out Of Court
“All we are saying is give peace a chance.” - John Lennon
The domestic cases are attorney John Sahlin’s lip-smackers.
They’re as challenging as a bike ride over a mountain pass and as satisfying as the coast down the other side.
Preying on people’s misfortunes, you say? Think again.
John’s goal is peace, and mediation, usually unpaid, is his means.
“I always thought litigation was confrontational and I didn’t like that,” says John, who works with his golden retriever, Serious, at his side.
Lawsuits don’t have to be combative, but, by their very nature, they tear people apart. They’re costly to the checkbook, emotions and psyche and often leave permanent scars.
“Trials don’t solve, they perpetuate conflict,” the Coeur d’Alene attorney says.
As a mediator, he helps battling parties talk out their problems and work toward a resolution.
His services get the most use during the annual settlement weeks in Bonner and Kootenai counties.
One week each year, attorneys volunteer to thin court calendars by mediating chosen cases. Dozens of disputes come to a conclusion during that week.
This year, John helped a couple hash out the hatred that had led to their divorce case. Both sides blamed, accused and cried.
“They needed to vent their feelings about what had happened in their marriage,” he says.
He walked a tightrope between them for four hours before they began to forgive. When John left, they had settled their fight over property and still were talking.
“I’m sort of a referee of emotions,” John says.
Outside of settlement week, few cases come John’s way, although he and four other attorneys are listed in the Yellow Pages under “Mediation Services.” Battling parties often don’t consider a peaceful solution.
Maybe they should.
And the band played on
If you don’t have a picnic basket, get one. Coeur d’Alene’s City Park is the place to be for free Sunday concerts this summer.
Rhythm and blues, African rhythms, bluegrass, reggae, Dixieland and Latin jazz, country western and rock will take turns blasting from the Rotary Lakeside Band Shell.
Whether you jump to the music or lie comatose in the grass, you have to admit it’s a nice way to spend a Sunday.
The music starts at 1 p.m. If you like it, say something nice to the Parks Department, downtown Rotary Club or Chris Guggemos at Handshake Productions.
Literal translation
Nikki Young’s son was 7 when she asked him to stir up a batch of frozen orange juice. The Coeur d’Alene woman encouraged her boy to follow the directions on the label, which called for adding three cans of water.
“He was very sad,” Nikki writes in response to my call for kidtales. “He said, ‘I can’t make this. I have only one can.”’
What do you do on your weekends that would surprise your neighbors or co-workers? Spill the beans to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; send a fax to 765-7149 or call 765-7128 and whisper it in my ear.
, DataTimes