A Fair Way Mediation Center has been helping San Diego couples through divorce issues for more than 20 years. Clients who choose a divorce via mediation avoid high legal fees and complex courtroom procedures, and their mediation rarely exceeds $5,000. The team has experience in resolving disputes in traditional marriages, same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, and alternative relationships.
A Healthy Divorce is a law firm located in Chula Vista serving clients with family law matters throughout San Diego. The firm has experience in divorce, legal separation, paternity, child custody, move aways, child support, the division of assets and debts, and more, and it has offered divorce mediation since 2003. The principal attorney is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, Family Law Section and serves as Vice President of the San Diego Family Law Council for Children. The hourly rate for mediation is $225, and a typical case takes two to four sessions of two hours each to resolve. The cost for drafting the settlement agreement ranges between $1,200 and $2,700 depending on the complexity of the issues.
Cage & Miles has represented hundreds of clients in high-profile family law matters, complex custody issues, and high-net-worth divorce cases in San Diego. The team is exclusively dedicated to family law and includes a Board Certified Family Law Specialist. The firm offers divorce resolution through mediation without couples appearing in court, and clients can approach the team for a no-obligation 30-minute free consultation.
Law & Mediation Firm of Klueck & Hoppes is a full-service family law firm with offices in La Mesa and La Jolla. The firm has been serving the San Diego community for over 25 years and offers legal aid in Arabic and Aramaic. The attorneys can represent clients in court cases, but they are also trained in alternative dispute resolution and can resolve a situation through negotiation, mediation, collaborative law, or cooperative divorce. The firm is led by board certified specialists in family law, and every member of the team has studied the field of mental and emotional health.
Law Office of Paul Staley provides legal advice focusing on family law and has represented hundreds of parents and couples in divorce, divorce mediation, custody, and child support in San Diego. The attorney graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1993 and has been admitted to the bar in both California and the Federal Courts. Paul Staley charges a fixed amount for his services, has authored the book “The Smart Guide to Getting Divorced,” and was the first to request permission from a family court judge to serve divorce papers by Facebook.
Law Office of Renkin & Associates handles divorce and family law cases, as well as mediation, business valuation, real estate appraisals, hidden assets, and employee benefits in the Encinitas and San Diego areas. Richard Renkin is a Certified Family Law Specialist and has been awarded the AV Preeminent Judicial Award by Martindale-Hubbell in 2016. He has experience in high-net-worth divorces and father’s rights in contested custody matters.
Law Offices of Nancy J. Bickford is a legal practice focused exclusively in the area of family law. The firm has been helping clients with divorce and separation in San Diego since 2002. Nancy J. Bickford is the only Certified Family Law Specialist in San Diego County who is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant with an MBA. Her practice areas include family law mediation, spousal and child support, child custody, the division of property, premarital agreements, annulment, and more.
McMillan Law Group is a San Diego legal practice which handles litigation, arbitration, mediation, debt resolution, real estate, and bankruptcy relief. The firm has been named a Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters twice, and Julian McMillan has serviced individual and corporate clients in resolving their legal issues for about a decade.
San Diego Divorce Mediation & Family Law is a mediation practice focusing exclusively in the area of divorce and family law, and it serves clients in San Diego and throughout Southern California. The principal, attorney Scott Levin, has practiced law for more than a decade and after experiencing the destructive legal structure facing divorcing couples, has made a choice not to represent spouses in a traditional litigation setting. Mediation is offered in English or Spanish, and meeting times are flexible, including evenings and weekends.
Mediation is an alternative to going to trial during legal disputes. The parties on both sides agree to work with an impartial third party who oversees discussions concerning the matter in dispute. The goal and hope of mediation is to come to a settlement or compromise that is agreeable to both parties. The mediator doesn't represent either party but works with both to help ensure that discussions are civil and agreements are as fair as possible given the situation. In many cases, if mediation fails, then the parties can move on to a trial in court.
Arbitration is another alternative to a court trial, but it's a bit more formal than mediation. During the arbitration, evidence and testimony is presented to a panel of people who act as judges of sorts. They issue an opinion about the matter in writing, and depending on how the arbitration was entered into, it may or may not be binding. If it's binding, the parties must accept and abide by the decisions of the arbitrators. Commonly, each side selects a third-party arbitrator, and each of those people selects a third person.
Arbitration and mediation both have pros and cons, and which one is right for you depends on your personal preferences, legal goals, and the details of your case. Mediation can offer more control, and because of that, those who go through it tend to report a higher level of satisfaction. But arbitration is more formal and may provide a more structured environment, which may be needed if civil discussions aren't possible.
If you can choose a mediator or arbitrator, it's critical to look for a neutral third party. Someone who is in any way tied to either side or who might have a known strong opinion on matters related to the case may not be the best option. Legal knowledge is important for mediators and arbitrators, but arbitrators should also have court experience. Retired or former judges or trial lawyers may be good choices for arbitrators, for example.
An arbitration agreement waives your right to seek legal remedies in court under certain circumstances, specifically, if you and the other party have unresolved disputes. You submit to binding arbitration over all matters, which can be somewhat risky as arbitration agreements are usually requested by companies that have arbitration processes set up, and those processes may not be impartial.
Mandatory arbitration occurs when someone is forced to use arbitration as a means of settling an issue. One of the most common scenarios for this is employment. Employers may require that employees sign an arbitration agreement before they can begin work. The employees then give up some rights to go to court over certain employment issues.
During a child custody mediation, the mediator will likely encourage each party to focus on the needs of the child or children. The parties work together to agree on custody. They typically won't discuss matters of child support, marital property, or other factors of the divorce—unless the mediation is for the whole divorce. If you are attending mediation, it is advised to come prepared to discuss what's in the best interest of your children and situation, but also be prepared to reach a compromise.
Divorce mediation enables two parties to work together to come to decisions about their divorce with the guidance of a third-party mediator. The mediator may help to work through child custody, child support, property division, and other divorce matters. You'll need to pay the mediator for their services, which may be a cost you split. Be prepared to make a civil and calm case for your side of issues, but know that mediation is about coming to a compromise that works for both parties.
Mediation is a voluntary process, and both parties must put in the work for it to succeed. If either party stops working toward a compromise, the mediation can fail. And, it can also fail if the parties reach a point that they simply can't agree. In such cases, you might choose another course of action, such as arbitration or a court trial.
