Effective Divorce Solutions – Mediation or Litigation
April 2021
Mediate! Don’t Litigate!
I have been a lawyer for over 40 years and one of the top family law litigation lawyers in Northern California and in the state for 20 years. Nevertheless I’m always mystified why smart, rational people are willing, almost eager, to throw away tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting their spouse in a divorce the outcome of which is almost preordained. Why indeed.
Ask us about our all-inclusive divorce mediation package that can get you through to the end for a fraction of the cost and time a typical divorce would cost you and your family. Get details by filling out our consultation request form.
Mediate! Don’t Litigate!
I have been a lawyer for over 40 years and one of the top family law litigation lawyers in Northern California and in the state for 20 years. Nevertheless I’m always mystified why smart, rational people are willing, almost eager, to throw away tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting their spouse in a divorce the outcome of which is almost preordained. Why indeed.
Ask us about our all-inclusive divorce mediation package that can get you through to the end for a fraction of the cost and time a typical divorce would cost you and your family. Get details by filling out our consultation request form.
"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.
Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser..." Abraham Lincoln
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle." Sun Tzu - The Art of War
“If your opponent insists on litigation, it's best to know the law, the judge and how to put your
client's best case forward. Law school doesn't teach you that, experience does.” Mark Ressa
Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser..." Abraham Lincoln
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle." Sun Tzu - The Art of War
“If your opponent insists on litigation, it's best to know the law, the judge and how to put your
client's best case forward. Law school doesn't teach you that, experience does.” Mark Ressa
Make an AppointmentNew Client Process
Typically a potential client will have a brief intake telephone conference with one of our paralegals followed by an appointment with Mark Ressa. New clients will also work with one of our two paralegals and occasionally one of our associate attorneys.
Approach
We are a no-nonsense law firm, committed to providing our clients with knowledgeable, pragmatic, ROI (return on investment) and efficient legal representation.
From the initial appointment we provide and realistically manage our clients' expectations about what is possible, perhaps more importantly what is not, and we find creative ways to get our clients through what can be a very stressful, prolonged and sometimes expensive legal process. We explore non-conventional approaches to getting our clients to the end of their case. That may include 4-way meetings, mediation with private judges, various kinds of therapy (co-parenting and parallel parenting, reconciliation counseling and vocational evaluations), leveraging financial experts in complex cases involving business valuations, income-available-for-support, and reimbursement and equalization issues. We often bypass the delayed and convoluted public court process by private-judging cases. Our Clients
We receive client referrals from other lawyers, private judges, family law forensics (financial and custody), and from many of our former clients. We have represented people from the business world, C and VP-level executives, owners of start-ups and small businesses, venture capitalists, politicians, Oscar winners, teachers, medical professionals (MDs, mental healthcare workers and nurses) stay-at-home parents and everyone in-between.
Areas of Practice
We assist clients in a wide variety of family law matters including Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) and Legal Separation, Establishment of Parental Relationship (Paternity), Child Custody and Visitation, Child Support, Spousal Support, Domestic Violence, Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements, Contempt Proceedings, Post-Judgment Enforcement actions, Mediation, Arbitration, and other Domestic Relations matters.
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Our FirmMark Ressa is a CFLS, Certified Family Law Specialist. He is a seven-time (2011-21) SuperLawyer™. He was recognized as a ‘Top Attorney in Northern California – Selected by Peer Recognition and Professional Achievement’ as published in the San Francisco Magazine, ‘One of the Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in California’ by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys, and has received many other professional recognitions.
Mr. Ressa is a former Chair to the Family Law Section of the California State Bar, a former board member of the ACFLS (Association for Certified Family Law Specialists), and is still a member of two State Bar Task Forces. Most recently, Mr. Ressa was Co-Chair to the Council of State Bar Sections that managed all 16 State Bar Sections and CYLA, made up of approximately 120,000 California lawyers statewide, and oversaw the separation of The Sections from The State Bar of California effective January 1, 2018. Because of Mr. Ressa’s reputation and his work as a family law attorney in the Bay Area, he has been interviewed by television networks (KTVU Channel 2 and KGO ABC7), radio stations (KCBS – SF Bay Area and KALW 91.7FM San Francisco), and the press (San Francisco Chronicle, Mercury News, Forbes, NY Post, The Guardian, California Lawyer and others). Of late, Mr. Ressa has been designated as an expert in several of the largest family law cases in both Southern and Northern California. Mr. Ressa has lectured about family law topics in California (mandatory continuing legal education) and nationally many times to thousands of attorneys and judges, including for The State Bar of California, CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar), ACFLS, LEI (Legal Education Institute), Nevada Judicial Education Symposium, Lawline, HalfMoon Education, at least six country bar associations and other organizations. |