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130 S. Euclid Avenue # 3
Pasadena,
California
91101
Phone: 626-441-1900
Fax: 626-405-9120
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Is mediation right for you?
Do you want a process that is:
- Flexible
- Customized to your special circumstances
- Confidential
- Client-centered
- Faster and much less expensive than going to court?
Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process in which a neutral third-party facilitator helps people discuss difficult issues and negotiate an agreement. ... Parties in mediation create their own solutions and the mediator does not have any decision-making power over the outcome. Association for Conflict Resolution, 2006
Do you want a mediator who is:
- Caring and compassionate
- Ethical
- A retired lawyer (Oregon) (not a California lawyer)
- Well-trained, with extensive relevant experience
- Available for evening and Saturday mediations?
Services
My practice focuses on three areas: divorce and related family matters, probate/inheritance issues, and family-owned business disputes.
Family Mediation
The scope of Family Mediation includes everything from mediation of pre-marital agreements to marital agreements where there are issues to be resolved but divorce is not contemplated, to divorce, including temporary arrangements, parenting, support, and property settlement, with division of assets and debts.
Probate/Inheritance Issues
Mediation is often the perfect forum for resolution of competing claims and issues related to probate and inheritance. Typically, the claimants are related and will have on-going relationships with each other after the disuptes are resolved.
Family-Owned Business Disputes
Similarly, mediation is frequently the best process for sorting out the different interests present when disputes arise in the context of a family-owned business.
My Approach
Generally, I prefer to meet with all parties together to discuss what to expect from mediation and to get a feel for whether we are a good fit to work together. It is important that all parties have confidence in the integrity and neutrality of the mediator. If, for any reason, the "fit" does not seem to be present, and a party does not wish to proceed, I would gladly refer you to other local mediators.
Internet Mediation
It sometimes happens that hectic schedules or geographic distance makes it nearly impossible to get everyone together for multiple mediation sessions. In some cases, after the initial session, it may be possible to conduct a substantial part of the mediation by email.
Brief Bio
EducationI am a California native, born and raised in Pasadena, a product of local schools and colleges (Occidental, 1973, and UCLA, M.A. 1977), and a graduate (cum laude) of Seattle University School of Law, 1983.
Mediation Training
- Confluence Northwest, 1990, 20 hours
- Basic Divorce Training with Jim Melamed, February 1996, 40 hours
- Community Mediation Training, Centinela Youth Services, 2002, 32 hours
- Advanced Divorce Training with Ken Cloke, 2003, 16 hours
- STAR Training, Strauss Institute, 2003, 18 hours
- Advanced Family Mediation, Strauss Institute, 2006, 18 hours
Legal Career
My interest in divorce mediation began back in 1978, when I read an article about it in a newspaper. That article, along with other factors, prompted me to apply to law schools, but I got side-tracked into a more conventional legal career. I have been a Navy JAG officer, a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, a lawyer in private practice (approximately one-third of my cases were in family law), and Assistant County Counsel for Jackson County, Oregon. I attended my first mediation training in 1990, and it changed the way I practiced law to a more collaborative approach.
Mediation
During my tenure with Jackson County, I used mediation principles whenever possible to help disputing neighbors work out agreements in land use or zoning violation cases. In 1996, I opened a divorce mediation practice in Ashland, Oregon, but ended up moving back to California in 1997 for family reasons. Since then, I have sought further training in divorce and community mediation, co-mediated a number of cases involving juvenile defendants, trained and supervised sixty children who served as playground mediators in an elementary school, and opened my mediation practice.
My work concentrates on divorce and related family matters, (including parenting, support, and division of assets and debts), probate/contested inheritance cases, elder care concerns, family-owned business issues, and online mediation.
Because I am not a member of the California bar, I am considered a "non-attorney" mediator. If you need an attorney for consultation or representation in your mediation, I am happy to provide referrals to California lawyers who support mediation as your preferred approach to problem-solving.
Personal
I am the divorced mother of a twenty-year-old son. In my spare time I enjoy reading, working on a collection of short stories, dancing, and spiritual direction.
Please email us or visit our website for additional information.
