Private Mediation Program
The Congress of Neutrals now offers mediation in the community beyond the walls of the Contra Costa County Courthouses. Our mission is to help the community meet the gap in the need for mediation at affordable rates.
Our highly trained mediators can mediate in a vast number of subject matters, as many of our mediators are trained attorneys and negotiators with backgrounds in finance, counseling, and many areas of civil law to include but not limited to real estate/unlawful detainers, construction defects, insurance claims, tort injury, money dispute, probate and much more.
As a non-profit and community minded, our goal is to provide our services to meet the needs of those who may not be able to pay the rates of other mediators. We offer better than competitive rates and we offer a need-based sliding scale for those eligible. Contact us at contact@congressofneutrals.org. for our rates.
We offer two hours of free mediation with a Four hour commitment at $300/hour. Thus, a half day mediation is $600.
If you have a conflict that you may have to take to court, we can work on resolving your differences without the greater expense and time to file and take your case through the court system.
We currently mediate all court unlawful detainer/eviction cases where parties agree to mediate. We are successful in finding meaningful solutions for all parties, often avoiding an eviction for the defendant and payment options for the plaintiff.
Mediation allows you to maintain control and a say in the outcome of your case!
If you are interested in our services, please contact us at contact@congressofneutrals.org or call (925) 307-3008. One of our staff will get back to you shortly.
Mediators
(Click on the mediator’s name to see their resume/CV)
• Judy Bornstein, MBA, MDR (business, financial, employment, interpersonal disputes and civil harassment cases)
• Jeff Buck, JD (personal injury, general liability, landlord tenant, premises liability, products liability, and construction accidents.)
• Helen Chen, JD, MS. (Employment, Workplace Disputes)
• Michael Freedman, JD (Probate and Trust Law, Elder Law, Unlawful Detainers)
• Daphne Golliher, JD (Business law, Construction Law, Civil Litigation, Real Estate Law, Unfair Competition/Trademark law)
• Emma Humphris , PhD. (Unlawful Detainer, Restorative Justice, Police Reform, Cross-Cultural Mediation)
• Johanna Kwasniewski JD. (Family Law, Unlawful Detainers, Civil Harassment and Breaches of Contract)
• Deborah Levy, JD, MSW, MPH (Unlawful Detainer, Harassment, Elder Abuse/related elder matters)
• Peter Linn, JD (Torts including PI, Defamation, Fraud, Prof Negl., Wrongful Termination, Civil Litigation, Judicial Review arbitration,Breach of Contracts, Construction Defect, Real Estate Law/Unlawful Detainer)
• Arabelle Malinis, JD (Probate/Wills/Trusts, Unlawful Detainer)
• Joann Martinez MS. (Family Law, Child Custody, Civil Harassment, Real Estate Purchase disputes, Unlawful Detainers, Civil Money Disputes)
• Leo Murphy JD. (Product Liability, Insurance and Business Litigations, Government and Regulatory Affairs)
• Delia Pedroza (Unlawful Detainer, Housing Matters, Discrimination)
• Jim Price, JD (Personal Injury, Real Estate Law, Unlawful Detainers, Estate Planning)
• Dan Sandman, JD (Personal Injury/Torts, Business Litigation)
• Brent Tarnow, JD. (Real estate, landlord-tenant, employment and workplace, breach of contract, business)
• William Waterman, JD (Insurance Defense, Premises and Product Liability, Employment Law, Personal Injury)
• Alba Zavala, JD (Family Law, Unlawful Detainers, Civil Harassment)