The Mediation Group
Family Practice Division
Alicia Gooden was the
recipient of President’s
Award of Service to the
Indianapolis Bar Association
in 2006 and the IBA Board of Directors Award in 2009
Phyllis Armstrong is a former attorney for the Marion County Office of Family and Children who litigated Children in Need of Services (CHINS) and Termination of Parent-Child Relationship (TPR) cases
Alicia serves on the Board
of Directors of the Junior
League of Indianapolis and
has been slated to become
President of the Junior League in 2011-2012
Phyllis was a delegate of the Juvenile & Family Justice Delegation to South Africa, People to People Ambassador Program in September 2008
Phyllis S. Armstrong and Alicia A. Gooden
Experienced & Committed
to Resolving Family Conflict
Welcome to the Family Practice Division of The Mediation Group - Indiana's largest and most experienced group of dispute resolution specialists - dedicated to neutrally resolving disputes with mutually agreeable outcomes.
Knowledgeable and fair-minded, Alicia Gooden and Phyllis Armstrong bring substantial experience in family law to The Mediation Group, along with a professional empathy to the sensitivities of how a divorce, separation or child custody dispute can impact both parties and their family members.
Family Practice Division put their experience to work in helping clients resolve the conflicts surrounding the process of of divorce, separation and child support.
Our Family Practice Division offers services of mediation, arbitration and parenting coordination to help you resolve challenging issues, including:
• Child custody
• Parenting time
• Child support
• Division of the marital estate
• Guardianship
• Adoption
• Paternity
• Domestic partnerships
• Other family law mattersAbout the Alternatives to Litigation
Traditional litigation is not considered to be the ideal method to resolve most family law conflicts.
The Family Practice Division at The Mediation Group offers alternatives to litigation that provide swift and efficient resolution of conflict while promoting and protecting the interests of children and providing an opportunity for input, certainty and closure, so families may move forward.
Mediation is a confidential, non-adversarial process in which the parties, with the help of a neutral person, collaborate to reach a resolution that is mutually agreeable. Mediation fosters joint decision making and allows the parties to have input and control of the outcome.
Arbitration is a confidential, non-binding (or binding upon agreement) process by which a neutral person considers facts and arguments presented by the parties. An alternative to litigation, arbitration provides an expeditious route to resolution of the parties’ conflict.
Parenting coordination is a post-decree intervention in which a neutral person assists parents who are in the midst of extreme conflict in the development, implementation and monitoring of parenting plans. Parenting coordination assists the parents in addressing their children’s needs in a timely and appropriate manner.
Our Family Practice Mediators
Alicia A. Gooden
Alicia Gooden is the first and only former judicial officer in the state of Indiana who heard family law matters exclusively and now devotes her practice solely to the areas of mediation and arbitration of family law matters, as well as parenting coordination.
Alicia served as the Master Commissioner of Marion Circuit Court, Paternity Division, since 2001. In her role as Commissioner she presided over custody, parenting time and support issues, and supervised all of the child support enforcement dockets in paternity cases. She also heard and ruled upon all Orders for Protection in Marion County that had a companion paternity case.
Prior to her work on the bench, Alicia was in private practice with Kiefer & McGoff. As a trial lawyer, she advocated for clients involved in custody disputes and complex financial divorces.
Alicia is a Registered Family Law Mediator and has been trained as a Parenting Coordinator by Seminars for Advanced Interdisciplinary Family Professionals (SAIF).
To email Alicia:
Phyllis S. Armstrong
Most recently, Phyllis Armstrong served the past 12 years as Attorney and then Director of Custody Program for Child Advocates, Inc.
While at Child Advocates, she represented the best interests of children in high-conflict custody cases, including paternity, dissolution, adoption and guardianship cases.
Phyllis brings extensive experience in litigating cases involving issues of sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, parental substance abuse, domestic violence, parental mental health issues and parental alienation.
She has also handled adoption cases, including private, step-parent and foster parent adoptions. Phyllis is a Registered Mediator and has trained as a Parenting Coordinator with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC).
To email Phyllis:
