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870 Market Street, Suite 1151
San Francisco,
California
94102
Phone: 415-398-3400
Fax: 415-398-3446
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Family Law and Mediation Services
Paula M. Lawhon is a skilled Family Law Attorney and Mediator. She provides neutral mediation services to couples going through divorce and other family law matters, including:
- Mediation of Divorce, Legal Separation, Domestic Partnership Dissolution, and Co-Habitations
- Mediation of Custody and Visitation Matters
- Mediation of Pre-nuptial and Post-nuptial Agreements
- Preparation of Marital Property Agreements
Ms. Lawhon continues to provide legal services to individuals in transactional matters, including:
- Preparing and reviewing Pre-Marital Agreements
- Preparing and reviewing Post-Marital Agreements
- Drafting Marital Settlement Agreements and other Marital Property Agreements
- Providing independent consulting and reviewing services for mediated or otherwise negotiated property agreements (including Marital Settlement Agreements, Pre-nuptial Agreements, and Post-nuptial Agreements)
Ms. Lawhon has been a practicing attorney for 9 years and a mediator for 4 years. She is trusted by parties and attorneys to provide experienced and balanced perspectives in mediation and to be compassionate yet thorough and persistent in helping parties reach informal resolution of their disputes without going to court.
Attorney Lawhon mediates all types of family law and divorce issues. She mediates cases for both unrepresented and represented parties.
Areas of Practice. Ms. Lawhon specializes in handling family law matters with discretion and compassion. She provides counseling and transactional services, as well as mediation services, to families and individuals. She is experienced in all areas of family law, including:
• Pre-marital Agreements
• Post-marital Agreements
• Property Agreements
• Divorce Mediation and Settlements
• Domestic Partnership Dissolution
• Child Custody Mediation
• Child Support
• Spousal Support
• Property Division
Attorney-Mediator Profile: Paula M. Lawhon, Esq.
Paula M. Lawhon is a private mediator, providing confidential services in the convenience of her own on-site mediation facilities. She serves as a mediator for the Mediation Services of the Bar Association of San Francisco, which is administered in cooperation with the San Francisco Superior Court and also serves as a Settlement Conference Judge for the San Francisco Unified Family Law Courts. She serves as an arbitrator of attorney-client fee disputes with the California State Bar and the San Francisco Bar Association.
Ms. Lawhon worked as a civil and criminal defense private investigator from 1990 until 2000 and then as a civil litigation attorney, practicing in several defense law firms before starting her own practice in San Francisco. In addition to her years of family law experience, Ms. Lawhon has litigation, counseling, and mediation experience in employment, personal injury, product liability, general liability, insurance coverage, insurance defense, property and real estate cases, as well as estate planning and probate matters, such as guardianships and conservatorships.
Ms. Lawhon was admitted to the California Bar in December of 1999. She received her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1999, graduating as a Public Interest Scholar and with a Public Interest Concentration. She received her Bachelor's degree in Criminology, Law and Society from the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine in 1996, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
Paula is a volunteer family law attorney with the Bar Association of San Francisco's Volunteer Legal Services Program, which provides pro bono representation to low-income families in the Bay Area for dissolutions of marriage, custody, and child and spousal support matters. Additionally, Ms. Lawhon is a mediator for San Francisco Unified Family Courts' FLASH mediation program, which assists qualifying divorcing couples in mediating their disputes and finalizing their divorces through the court system.
Ms. Lawhon has participated in over 130 hours of mediation skills training including:
- Community Boards, San Francisco, "The Basics of Mediation"
- University of California, Berkeley, "Commercial Mediation & Conflict Resolution"
- Northern California Mediation Center, "Civil and Family Law Mediation"
- San Francisco Superior Court Family Law Self-Help, "FLASH Mediation"
- San Francisco Bar Association, Mediation Section ongoing seminars
Ms. Lawhon has also received arbitration skills trainings through the San Francisco Bar Association's Mandatory Fee Dispute Arbitration Program.
Memberships
Association for Conflict Resolution
Member
Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California
Member
San Francisco Bar Association
Mediator, Mediation Services of BASF, through SF Superior Court
Fee Arbitrator
Volunteer Legal Services Program, Family Law Volunteer Attorney
Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Mediation Committee Member
Family Law Section Member
Pro Bono Section, Committee Member
Day in Court & Lawyers in the Schools
State Bar of California
Active Member
Fee Arbitrator
Legal Aid Society -- Employment Law Center -- Workers' Rights Clinic
Volunteer Supervising Attorney
Community Boards, Panel mediator and Board of Directors
Office of Citizen Complaints, Panel mediator
Awards
Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Award (2005)
Bar Association of San Francisco's Volunteer Legal Services Program
Certificate of Appreciation for Public Service Award (2006)
California State Bar Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program
Honored Member (2006-2007)
Cambridge Who's Who Registry of Executives and Professionals
Publications
Mediation web log: www.sfmediation.com
San Francisco Mediation: A Better Solution, 2006 (author)
Crafting an Enforceable Settlement Agreement
Plaintiff Magazine, Alternative Dispute Resolution Issue, 2007 (author)
Disability Management: Implications of the ADA and FMLA
Minnesota State Bar Association, 2004 (co-author)
Significant Recent Developments in Employment Law
U.S. Law Network, 2004 (co-author)
Death Penalty Defense Manual Supplement
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, 2000 (co-author and co-editor)
Death Penalty Defense Manual
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, 1998 (co-author)
Please email us or visit our website for additional information.
