Ms. Russell was hired to mediate and then arbitrate a matter with my ex-spouse. The issue at hand was the custody of our dog. The dog had been in my possession for ~ two years since we'd separated and during that time I had been responsible for almost all of the animal's expenses. My ex would have the dog on occasion but acknowledged that he had told me I could have the dog. I came prepared with two years worth of receipts thinking this would be a pretty simple case. The ex wished to share the dog, switching custody every two weeks. Not surprisingly, I wanted to proceed on my own without the regular contact. She ultimately awarded the dog to my ex-husband because she thought he would be willing to let me in the dog's life, whereas I would not. She was right. Immediately after being given the dog my ex-husband asked me to watch the dog for him while he was on holiday. In this case, she was selected by my ex's lawyer. She based her opinion not on fact but on her pity for my ex-husband. She made it clear in her opinion that I had family and a personal network and hobbies and he had nothing and therefore should have the dog. I wouldn't recommend her to anyone. More importantly, she also repeatedly allowed my ex and his lawyer to miss deadlines but would still include their late submissions of materials. Why bother with deadlines in the first place?
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