Co-Mediation Services
At Lehal Law, we are proud to continue offering co-mediation legal services—an approach built on collaboration, experience, and a commitment to resolving disputes amicably.
Kathryn and Kamaljit met over 30 years ago while working together at a North Delta law firm. They shared a vision for a more effective, client-focused approach to family law mediation. Their training at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation reinforced their belief in mediation as a powerful tool for resolving disputes. Together, they built a co-mediation model that blended our collective expertise of over 50 years in the legal profession.
Kathryn was an exceptional lawyer, mediator, and arbitrator, bringing deep insight and compassion to every case she handled. Beyond her impressive career—including her role as Registrar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia—she was a trusted colleague and a dear friend. Kamaljit will always be grateful for the time they spent working together, and for the impact she had on the practice of mediation.
While Kathryn is deeply missed, her legacy in co-mediation lives on. Kamaljit remains committed to providing the thoughtful, balanced, and resolution-driven mediation services that they built together. Towards that end we are pleased to introduce Anita Atwal with whom the co-mediation model that Kathryn and Kamaljit embraced will continue; Kamaljit and Anita will provide co-mediation of complex or multi-party civil matters.
Anita K. Atwal is senior legal counsel with expertise in workplace law, mediations and investigations. She has represented a broad spectrum of clients at various tribunals and all levels of court in British Columbia. Anita is a skilled mediator, having received her training at the Harvard Negotiation Institute. She is on Mediate B.C.’s Associate Civil Roster. Anita is also a Chartered Professional in Human Resource (CPHR) and completed training in workplace investigations from the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto.
https://www.anitaatwallaw.com/mediations
We are also pleased to introduce Sandy Sihota, with whom Kamaljit will also provide co-mediation services for complex or multi-party family law matters.
Sandy Sihota is the founder of SiLaw Group. Since 2013, Sandy practices as a family litigation lawyer, a collaborative lawyer, and a children’s lawyer. In 2021, Sandy’s practice expanded towards out-of-court dispute resolutions and she is accredited as a Family Law Mediator, a Family Law Arbitrator and a Parenting Coordinator. She is also trained in writing Views of the Children reports for children.
https://www.silawgroup.ca/
What is Co-Mediation and What are Its Benefits
Co-mediation is a mediation process using two mediators working as a team to assist parties in resolving their conflict. Two common goals and benefits of co-mediation are to:
- Provide an extra set of eyes and ears to help resolve the dispute. (“Two heads are better than one”; for example in co-mediations one mediator can take notes and observe while the other mediator asks questions; or, one mediator can focus on the details, while the other focuses on the big picture);
- Speed up the mediation process and encourage prompt agreement of the parties. Two mediators may divide tasks; for example, each mediator can caucus (meet individually) with one of the participants at the same time, making the mediation more efficient.
Two mediators may also be beneficial when the mediators have varying skills. .
Co-mediation is advantageous because the professional consultation between the mediators is built in and readily available.
Co-mediation offers many advantages at a fee comparable to most experienced, individual mediators, while saving the family the considerable financial and personal cost of possible litigation. Because the co-mediation model creates an atmosphere particularly conducive to reaching agreements, the entire mediation process can be less costly in both time and expense.
Contact Us
To find out more about retaining Kamaljit for a co-mediation with either Anita or Sandy, please contact our mediation schedules at the following email: lehal.mediations@gmail.com.
“I have had the opportunity to utilise the co-mediation services of Kamaljit Lehal and Kathryn Sainty a number of times and will continue to use them for multi-party and complex cases. They are truly a dynamic duo that help parties reach a resolution of their legal issues.”