Worst family mediation service in Melbourne; bring a lawyer and a witness

Mia Chen

One star. Would be zero if I could. This is a review of the mediation service provided by Graham Fisher, the retired solicitor who my father's lawyer suggested as a neutral party. I use the term 'neutral' very loosely, because what I got was a man who sat in his armchair, sipped Earl Grey, and told me my grandmother's handwritten promise meant less than the ink on her death certificate.

My father, Greg Chen, had already served me with a legal notice at my grandmother's wake. I was still holding the program, still smelling the lilies. He stood there in his black suit, flanked by his second wife, and handed me an envelope. Inside was a claim for sole ownership of the house my grandmother had promised me in her own hand. The letter, which I have framed on my wall, says: 'To my darling Mia, I leave you the house on Station Street. You are the only one who ever loved it properly.'

But Greg had a newer will, one he had his mother sign under pressure three days before she died. I know this because my best friend Priya saw it happen. She was there, visiting with flowers, and she saw Greg holding his mother's hand, guiding the pen, saying 'Just sign here, Mum, it's just a form for the bank.' Priya told me this, in tears, and then she cancelled our meeting to give a sworn statement because she was terrified of Greg's lawyer and of losing her job at the same small business Greg uses for his property deals.

So instead of a witness, I got Graham Fisher. He listened to both sides. He saw the letter. He saw the date on Greg's will. He saw the look on Greg's face when I played the recording of Priya's admission. And then he said, 'Mia, the letter is a moral promise, but it's not a binding testamentary document under Victorian law. Your father has the legal claim. I recommend you both enter formal mediation to avoid court costs.'

I asked him, 'What about the pressure? What about the pen-guidance? What about the fact that my grandmother was on morphine and could barely hold a pen?' And he said, 'That's a matter for a court, not for me.'

Greg smirked. He looked at me and said, 'You're no daughter of mine. You never were. You were always your mother's girl.'

Graham Fisher did not tell him to stop. He did not say that was irrelevant. He just sat there, looking at his watch.

So here is my advice to you, future customers: do not use Graham Fisher for anything. Not mediation. Not a letter. Not a referral. He is a man who values the letter of the law over the spirit of a dying woman's wish. He is a man who will sit in his armchair and let a father disown his daughter in front of him, while charging you $400 an hour.

Take your money. Take your evidence. Take your broken heart. Go to a real mediator, or go to court. But do not go to Graham Fisher.

One star. Would be zero if I could.