Sean Collinson in a navy suit, seated at a marble conference table with his hands clasped

Resolve Conflict Without Losing Control

Sean Collinson is a family and civil mediator who helps individuals, families, and businesses reach practical agreements without the cost, delay, and strain of prolonged litigation. You keep the decisions. He keeps the process calm, focused, and fair.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation Explore Mediation Services

Private
Practical
Solution-focused

How mediation works

The full process

Four stages, each with one purpose. Most people find the structure itself lowers the temperature.

Confidential consultation
A private conversation about what is in dispute, who needs to be involved, and whether mediation is a good fit.
Issue identification and preparation
Sean helps each side name the decisions that actually need to be made and gather the information needed to make them.
Guided mediation sessions
Structured sessions, in person or by Zoom, that keep the conversation focused, respectful, and moving toward options.
Clear written terms
Agreed points are captured in writing so each party can review them, with independent counsel if they choose, before anything is final.

Start with a confidential consultation

A private first conversation about your dispute, the format, and fees.

Step 1 of 4

In person across California
By Zoom, nationwide

Schedule a Confidential Consultation

Divorce and family

Parenting, support, property, and debt, worked through at a pace both of you can manage.

Custody and parenting plans

Schedules, holidays, and decision-making built around your children.

Civil and business

Contract, partnership, and workplace disputes, before or during litigation.

Who decides the outcome?

Mediation: You and the other party
Litigation: A judge

Nothing in mediation is imposed. Compare the two

Why people choose mediation

Litigation hands the most personal decisions of your life to a stranger with a crowded docket. Mediation keeps them with the people who will live with the result.

Save time and money

Mediation usually involves fewer filings, fewer hearings, and less back-and-forth than litigation, so more of your time and resources stay with your family or business.

Keep control of the outcome

Nothing is imposed. You and the other party shape the terms together, so the agreement can reflect details a court order rarely captures.

Reduce conflict, protect relationships

Co-parents, business partners, and colleagues often have to keep working together. A respectful process makes that far easier after the dispute is settled.

Mediation services

From divorce and parenting plans to contract and workplace disputes, each matter gets the same disciplined, neutral approach.

Divorce and family mediation

A structured, private process for working through the decisions a divorce requires, at a pace both of you can manage.
Legal separation mediation

Clear terms for living apart when you are not ready for, or do not want, a divorce.
Child custody and parenting plans

Schedules, holidays, and decision-making built around your children rather than the courtroom calendar.
Property and financial issues

Homes, retirement accounts, business interests, debt, and support, discussed with the documents on the table.
Civil and business mediation

Contract, partnership, and commercial disputes resolved before, or during, litigation.
Workplace and community disputes

Employment conflict, landlord and tenant matters, and neighbor or community disagreements.

See how each type of mediation works

A steady neutral for difficult conversations

Sean Collinson has spent more than 22 years helping people resolve disputes they could not settle on their own. His training includes Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, Loyola Law School’s Mediating the Litigated Case program, and advanced family mediation training recognized by the Florida Supreme Court.

He is also an FBI-trained crisis negotiator who volunteers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. That work demands disciplined listening and calm under pressure, and he brings the same skills to every mediation, while staying strictly neutral between the parties.

Read Sean Collinson’s background and approach

Experience you can trust

With more than 22 years of mediation experience and advanced training from Harvard, Loyola Law School, and the FBI, Sean Collinson brings proven judgment, calm leadership, and practical problem-solving to every case.

Common questions

How does mediation work?

Both parties meet with a neutral mediator, together or in separate rooms, to identify the issues, exchange the information each side needs, and work toward terms both can accept. The mediator guides the process but does not decide the outcome or take sides. Read how the mediation process works.

Is mediation confidential?

Sessions are private, and California has statutes that generally protect what is said in mediation, subject to specific exceptions. How those rules apply depends on your situation and jurisdiction, so it is worth asking your own attorney. Sean explains the confidentiality terms at the start of every matter.

How long does mediation take?

It depends on how many issues are in dispute, how complex the finances are, and how prepared both sides are. Some matters settle in a single session; others take several sessions over a few weeks. You will have a clearer sense after the consultation.

Can mediation address custody, support, and property?

Yes. Parenting schedules, decision-making, child and spousal support, property, debt, and retirement assets can all be discussed in mediation. See the full list of mediation services.

Your Dispute Does Not Have to Control Your Future

A short, confidential consultation is the simplest way to find out whether mediation fits your situation.

Schedule a Consultation

Resolve Conflict Without Losing Control

How mediation works

Confidential consultation

Issue identification and preparation

Guided mediation sessions

Clear written terms