2021 40-Hour Basic Mediation Training: 10 half-days via Zoom

Program Trainers:

 Eva M. DeFranco, JD

   Louise R. Zito, JD

& Several Guest Trainers

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Eva M. DeFranco, JD:

www.evadefranco.com

Eva practices primarily in the areas of divorce mediation, collaborative divorce, and divorce litigation, and is admitted to practice in both state and federal courts. Attorney DeFranco is a member of the family law section of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and past president of the Danbury Bar Association. In recognition of her leadership and service to the legal community, Attorney DeFranco was elected as a James W. Cooper Fellow. She has earned the AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Attorney DeFranco earned her certification as a divorce mediator in 2007 and a collaborative divorce attorney in 2005. She is a founding member of the Collaborative Divorce Group of Western Connecticut and a member of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM). She is past president and current board member of the Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce (CCND). She has served as a Special Master for the state's Judicial Department for many years, making recommendations regarding settlement to litigants involved in the divorce process. She has lectured extensively on various topics of divorce and collaborative divorce law and has been part of the Connecticut Family Mediation Training Group since its inception in 2014.

Attorney DeFranco is a Ridgefield native and currently resides in Sherman with her husband. 

Louise R. Zito, JD:

www.bszllaw.com

Louise R. Zito is a Connecticut attorney with thirty-three years of experience in family law, litigation, mediation and collaborative law. Her practice is now devoted to resolving family law matters working through her Center for Divorce, Mediation, and Collaboration. She graduated from New York Law School in 1985 and is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut state and federal courts.

Attorney Zito is committed to helping resolve family disputes through the collaborative divorce and mediation processes, convinced that they provide a positive structure for dispute resolution,; help in transforming one family unit into two communicating, interacting units; and fostering self-determination in decision-making that results in little to no post-dissolution conflict.

Attorney Zito practices with her partners in the firm Biller, Sachs, Zito and LeMoult with offices in Hamden and Branford. She is a past president and board member of the Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce (CCND) and serves as the liaison between CCND and Quinnipiac University School of Law. She serves as a Special Master in New Haven Superior Court, is a founding member of Divorce Solutions of Connecticut, and a member of the Collaborative Divorce Team of CT.

CCND's 40-hour training is intended for attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial planners and meets membership requirements of CCND, the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM), and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP).