Trained in Mediation.

In Tennessee:

In Tennessee, the most frequent use of listed mediators is for divorce cases. If you are an attorney, or a client in a divorce or other type of family or civil matter and want to avail yourself of a process that is often far less time consuming and less stressful for the parties involved, please contact Christina Burdette.
Mediation types: Family, General Civil, Civil/Family

Association of Professional Mediators.

This article appeared in the January 2015 edition of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators.

CHRISTINA M. BURDETTE is an attorney, certified public accountant and mediator. Her main areas of practice include Probate/Estate Administration, Trusts and Estates/Wills, Family Law and Taxation/Business Law.  She earned her undergraduate degree at Austin Peay State University with a double major in accounting and finance.  After completing her law degree at the University of Memphis in 1992, Ms. Burdette practiced law with the Memphis firm of Hanover, Walsh, Jalenak & Blair until she opened her office in Germantown in 1998. She is a member of the Memphis and Tennessee Bar Associations.  In 2005, she became a Listed Rule 31 Family and Civil Mediator.  She is fluent in German.
 

1. The most-used tools in my mediator’s toolkit are summarization, rephrasing and repetition. I listen carefully to what each party has to say, then I rephrase, summarize and repeat back what I think is important. In this way the parties feel that they have been heard and that what they said has been understood.
    
2.  Once I have been selected as the mediator, I prepare the attorneys and their clients for mediation by sending them a checklist. It’s not just a checklist of things to bring to the mediation, it’s a checklist of things to consider. For example, I always ask for a description of each party’s demands and the best-case outcome hoped to be achieved in the mediation.
    
3. If I was a superhero I would be Wonder Woman and my slogan/saying would be “which holds greater power over you, your fear or your curiosity?”
    
4. My pet peeve in mediation is when a party comes to mediation with a closed mind.
    
5.  I am divorced, have three children, a dog named Edgar Allen Pug, and two cats, Dixie and Zuzu.
    
6. I became a mediator because I believe in self-determination theory or the idea that people seek to control their own destiny.
    
7. My favorite mediation read is “What We Keep” by Elizabeth Berg. It is a novel about intergenerational dispute involving perceptions and misunderstandings of events between mother and daughters. It touches on the power of truth, forgiveness, and understanding. Also, it was written by an army brat, like me!
    
8. What are you most afraid of in mediation? I don’t really have any fears. “Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.” Thich Nhat Hanh 

9. Personal or professional accomplishments you are particularly proud of:
 
Personally, I’m proud of my gun carry permit and my motorcycle license.
 
Professionally, I’m proud of a case that I won in the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 2012. I’m also proud that I’ve been able to remain a solo practitioner for over 17 years.
 
10. Please complete these sentences:
 
            “ I have a burning desire to pilot an F14 Tomcat”
 
            “People tell me I look like Jackie Kennedy”
 
            “If I could have a 30 minute conversation with anyone, I would want to speak with my 17-year old son, John Maximilian Burdette, who passed away on September 5, 2014 from a rare form of liver cancer.”

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