A confidential, structured mediation process that helps you reach agreements you can both actually live with, without a courtroom, without the delays, and without the cost of a drawn out legal battle.
"We accomplished more in two sessions than we did in two years."
Client, Silver Spring, MD
Work through every issue in your divorce in one process, and leave with a complete agreement.
Put the terms of your separation in writing, whether or not divorce comes next.
Decide what happens to the home, accounts, retirement savings, and debts.
Talk through whether support makes sense for your situation, how much, and for how long.
Decide together how legal and physical custody will work, instead of leaving it to a judge.
A written plan for schedules, holidays, school, and decisions, built around how your family actually lives.
For parents who need to keep working together, including arrangements that no longer fit and need to change.
Sort out who pays for what, from everyday costs to activities, medical care, and education.
Mediation is typically far less expensive than litigation. No stacked court fees, no drawn out legal proceedings.
Most mediations move in weeks, not the months or years a court case can take.
The process is built around open communication, which lowers hostility for everyone involved, including the kids.
A judge's ruling is binding and often rigid. Mediation lets you build a solution that actually fits your situation.
Mediation stays private. Court proceedings become part of the public record.
What each path costs, how long it takes, and who ends up deciding.
| MediationYou both, with a neutral guide | LitigationTwo attorneys, one judge | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Typically $3,000 to $8,000 total, shared by the couple, for full divorce mediation.1 | About $11,300 on average per person with attorneys. About $23,300 if a contested case goes to trial.2 |
| How long it takes | Most couples finish in a handful of sessions. Weeks, not months. | Contested cases commonly run one to two years through crowded court dockets. |
| Who decides | You do. Nothing becomes final until you both agree to the terms. | A judge, a stranger applying general rules to your specific family. |
| Privacy | Confidential. What's said in mediation stays in mediation. | Court proceedings and filings become part of the public record. |
| Your kids | A parenting schedule built around your actual lives, and a co-parenting relationship that survives the process. | A generic template imposed by the court, after months of escalating conflict your kids can feel. |
| If it doesn't work | You've lost little and usually narrowed the issues. Court remains available. You can bring attorneys in to review anytime. | There is no undo. Positions harden, costs are sunk, and the conflict itself has grown. |
About me
Credentialed mediator serving Montgomery County and the greater DC Metro area, approved by both the Maryland Circuit Court and District Court systems.
Before mediation, I spent three decades in the music industry, structuring deals and resolving disputes between parties with competing interests. I co-founded a digital distribution company that was later acquired, and a record label that went on to win multiple Grammys. Along the way I noticed the same pattern showing up again and again: the disagreement people brought to the table usually wasn't the real one, and the deal only held once we found what was underneath it.
What shows on the surface, the money, the schedule, the house, is rarely the actual conflict. The real reasons sit underneath: feeling wronged, unheard, or unsure. Before we talk about numbers or logistics, I ask a simple question: why do you want this? That's usually where the real agreement starts.
A contract dispute between two entertainment companies and a divorce between two people are not as different as they look. Both start with someone who feels wronged. Both get worse when the practical issues get argued before the emotional ones are addressed. I wrote about this in an article called Zen and the Art of Mediation: staying calm in the room is not a personality trait, it's a discipline, the same one that got me through thousands of high stakes negotiations. That's what I bring into a divorce mediation. Not detachment, just enough tough situations so that yours won't rattle me.
My role isn't to take sides. It's to help everyone reach an agreement that works.
“I create a little extra peace in the world by helping people resolve their disputes.”
A confidential conversation to understand your situation and figure out, together, if mediation is a good fit.
We work through the key issues, finances, co-parenting, assets, one at a time, at a pace that's actually productive.
Once you've reached terms, your agreement is drafted and ready for court submission. No battle required.
You don't have to. Mediation is structured to keep the conversation productive even when things are tense.
Yes. The process is built so both people are heard, and any agreement has to be mutually acceptable.
You're not locked in. Most clients find mediation gives them a clearer, less stressful path forward than they expected.
Not necessarily. Many people bring an attorney in near the end, to review the agreement before it's signed. Some choose not to involve one at all. Either way, I can't give either of you legal advice. I can help you build the agreement. A lawyer can tell you whether it holds up.
Once it's signed and, where required, filed with the court, yes. I draft the agreement so it's ready for submission. The mediation process itself is confidential and doesn't produce a binding outcome until you both agree to the terms.
Yes. Custody, parenting schedules and co-parenting logistics are some of the most common things people bring into mediation. The goal is a schedule that fits your actual lives, not a generic template a court would otherwise impose.
It depends on how many issues you're working through, but most couples finish in a handful of sessions, often a matter of weeks rather than the months or years a court case can take.
No. I don't determine what's fair, and I won't tell you what your outcome should look like. That's not my role. My job is to create the conditions where the two of you can work that out yourselves, and to make sure the agreement you land on is one you actually understand and can live with.
A short conversation can help you understand your options and decide what's right for you.
No pressure. Just a conversation.
