Firm Profile

Peace Talks Mediation Services, Inc., teams lawyers and therapists as mediators to help couples resolve divorce and custody issues in a sane, sensible and fair way at a reasonable cost.

Peace Talks was founded in 2000 by Diana Mercer, who is an attorney-mediator with the company in addition to being President and CEO. Peace Talks is one of the country’s only full time, mediation-only law firms, and one of even fewer co-mediation practices.

Peace Talks is frequently featured in the press and is a 2006 recipient of the Make Mine a Million Dollar Business Award from Count Me In and Open by American Express.

Peace Talks Brochure

Our Mission: Peace Talks Mediation Services is dedicated to providing a constructive, forward-thinking and peaceful ending to relationships. Marriages may end, but families endure. We provide a confidential, efficient and impartial atmosphere to help people resolve conflict and to create solutions with integrity and dignity for everyone concerned.

Why Mediation?

The purpose of mediation is to help parties settle their financial issues and reach a child-centered parenting plan, and for these agreements to be practical for their individual and family circumstances. Peace Talks is also committed to helping couples achieve a “win/win” settlement, with each party having his or her most important needs and goals met, while giving up only their less important goals in meeting the most important needs and goals of the other party.

Other benefits of mediation with Peace Talks include less overall cost than a litigated case, swifter resolution, and confidentiality for the settlement discussions. No one is pressured into signing agreements, and everyone has time to fully investigate and review their options before making a commitment to a final agreement.

Peace Talks takes the mediation one step further: In addition to the product goal of mediation i.e., the settlement agreement, the process of mediation can also help parents and/or former spouses to communicate better, to bring closure to the end of the marital or romantic relationship, and to repair enough of the ruptures in the relationship that both may move forward into the future. While the mediation process is not therapy, it can be therapeutic, as clients typically feel that they have been heard in a way that the court system is not set up to accommodate. Peace Talks is committed to helping people stay out of the court system and redefine their relationships in a positive way.

Mediation is a method for couples to resolve their financial and parenting issues without court intervention. With the help of Peace Talks’ mediators, each couple identifies issues, discusses their interests, considers different options, and works toward making proposals and tentative agreements. By leaving the substance of the settlement up to the couples themselves, Peace Talk’s mediations insure a settlement which is well tailored to the couple’s interests and needs. Because the couples are the decision-makers, mediated agreements typically have a much higher adherence rate than court orders.

Mediation typically consists of several joint meetings between spouses or parents which last 3-4 hours each. During those meetings, the Peace Talks mediators facilitate the discussion, assist with communication, provide information and suggestions, and they use their specialized conflict resolution training to assist the couple in resolving their differences. At Peace Talks, couples can also have any legal paperwork done, since there are attorney-mediators and paralegals on staff.

Diana Mercer, President and CEO

Diana Mercer, Esq. is an Attorney-Mediator and the founder of Peace Talks Mediation Services in Los Angeles, California (www.peace-talks.com). A veteran litigator, she now devotes her practice solely to mediation. Outgoing and down-to-earth, she makes clients and attorneys feel at ease in solving litigation disputes in civil cases, from divorces to employment law and real estate. She is the co-author of Your Divorce Advisor: A Lawyer and a Psychologist Guide You Through the Legal and Emotional Landscape of Divorce (Fireside 2001). She’s an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) and is admitted to practice law in California, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and before the United States Supreme Court.