A Fair Way Mediation Center celebrates 30 years of resolving conflicts through effective mediation, helping marital couples and partnerships get separated with ease. Founded by Richard Gordon, the company has provided its mediation services since the late 70s with a single goal: to facilitate the arduous and often painful process of separation through a compassionate approach. As it enters its 30th year, the company’s motto, “We help people break up nicely,” has echoed throughout its business operations, enabling couples to have a peaceful resolution.
“Divorces are often messy, but when legal proceedings are involved, it can get much uglier,” Gordon says. “We’re showing people that there are other ways of resolving the problem.”
At its heart, A Fair Way provides mediation services to divorcing couples without confusing legal complications, exorbitant fees, and conflicting solutions. “Many divorces involve a lot of money, time, and resources, which really adds to the suffering of the people who are going through the divorce,” Gordon explains. “My business is built on the belief that there has to be a better way, for everyone.”
A Fair Way’s values are rooted in compassion, sensitivity, and transparency, and they bring these values to every client interaction. The firm recognizes that people undergoing a divorce aren’t looking for complex procedures that break their bank accounts, but require a compassionate approach that prioritizes their emotions. “At our firm, we get to know you to the best of our ability and equip you with all the options to help you make a decision,” Gordon states. With a personalized and empathetic approach, the company reaffirms that married couples can work through the process of mediation and arrive at a peaceful resolution, without losing control to divorce lawyers and judges.
Gordon’s passion for his work comes from an epiphany he had in the late 80s when he realized that he wanted to be involved in mediation rather than litigation. “I realized I wanted to help people more than hurt them,” says Gordon.
At A Fair Way, the company takes great measures to ensure that its divorce settlement procedures are straightforward, uncomplicated, and, at its core, compassionate. They have a 30-minute free consultation to gauge the couple’s dynamics and if there’s a possibility of reconciliation between the two parties. Once the parties have come to a mutual decision, the firm begins the paperwork process. They provide the Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) with financial disclosure statements to facilitate a fair, reasonable, and equitable division of assets. Both parties receive a thorough explanation of the terms of the contract to ensure clarity and avoid any future disagreements before the divorce is processed. “This is mediation 101,” Gordon adds.
While amicable divorces do occur, there have been many instances where divorce has led to one party losing their assets, and a major reason behind this is due to the lack of legal knowledge that pervades the general public. “Each party owns 50% of everything in a community property state, such as California. Most people aren’t aware of this, which brings forth a lot of confusion and anger after the division of assets,” Gordon explains. “People need to make efforts to get educated about their rights and responsibilities to have better control when facing such circumstances.”
Aside from divorce agreement mediation, the company provides dispute resolution and mediation for homeowners associations, partnership agreements, and even between parents and schools. “Almost anything can be mediated,” Gordon says. “Mediation creates a forum for calm discussions, compassion, and most importantly, compromise, which is pivotal for any conflict resolution.”
Separation, at its core, is a bitter and complicated experience for every party involved, but Richard Gordon proves that it doesn’t have to be through his proficient mediation services. By leading with compassion, honesty, consideration, and structure for the last 30 years, A Fair Way Mediation Center has redefined messy breakups, embodying the role of the silver lining after every dark cloud.
