As we know, emotionally-charged issues between parties can prevent timely and satisfactory resolution, derail settlement negotiations altogether, and worsen already fragile or dysfunctional relationships. Involving someone with the training, knowledge, skills, experience, and track record for resolving or otherwise managing conflict can be a tremendous asset.
Mark B. Baer has over two decades of experience helping to resolve highly-charged family disputes and business conflicts as a Pasadena mediator, attorney and conflict resolution consultant.
Mediator Baer's calming presence and ability to win trust from parties at a time of extreme emotionalism is an ability few possess. Mark has crafted a reputation within the industry for his psychologically-minded and relationship-centered approach. His track record in resolving matters through mediation has gained him recognition not only in California but nationally and internationally as well.
Benefits Mediator Mark Baer Provides Through His Work
High success record in resolving matters through mediation
Ability to establish rapport and engender trust from those in conflict
Skill in recognizing underlying sources of conflicts and issues
Experience in facilitating conversations that allow clients to feel heard and understood
Provides a non-judgmental, safe, respectful, and confidential environment where candid conversations take place
Ability to endure emotional firestorms and de-escalate conflict
Provides professionally-guided problem-solving techniques
Meet Mark Baer – The Words of Pasadena's Trusted Mediator
As a child of a very dysfunctional marriage that ended in an expensive and highly contentious and destructive divorce and related court cases, I attended law school believing that by better understanding the law and the inner workings of our legal system, I could use my knowledge to help steer people away from getting involved with such an unjust system in the first place. I was unaware of mediation at the time, so I reluctantly began my career as an attorney; however, I initially wanted to stay as far away from Family Law as humanly possible because of my experience as collateral damage of my own parents’ divorce.
However, in my fourth year of practice, I found myself working in that exact field of law. The Family Law attorney with whom I was working at the time found that the insight and perspective I had gained from my personal background and life experiences made me more compassionate, child-centered and adept at helping settle my clients' cases.
At the time, I had convinced myself that I could represent people in family law matters and do so in a manner that would reduce the harm and trauma that the children might otherwise experience if a lawyer with a different approach and mindset were instead involved.
However, over time our society became increasingly more contentious, as did the legal community overall. I came to realize that I had been fooling myself because it only takes one parent and/or their attorney to sink the family ship. In other words, cases proceed in accordance with the lowest common denominator. It increasingly caused me a great deal of pain representing people within our “justice system”, a system I found to be incredibly destructive and unjust before ever entering law school.
Then, in 2006, after the death of my mother, I found myself involved in litigation pertaining to her estate in my capacity as Successor-Trustee of her Trust and Executor of her Will. I learned new life lessons from that experience that I again would not wish on anyone. Among other things, I learned how it feels when actual facts and evidence are excluded based upon legal technicalities that result in judges and juries making decisions based upon a false reality. I also learned how it feels when judges rewrite history by making factual findings consistent with perjured testimony.
"The greatest lesson I learned was that after more than fifteen years of working within the legal field, I was unable to prevent the legal injustice that occurred at trial."
When I realized that my legal knowledge couldn’t prevent me from experiencing yet another injustice at the hands of our “justice system”, I couldn’t get myself to continue working within that system. After all, if every experience I personally had with the legal system had led to an injustice, how could I believe otherwise with regard to my clients?
I’ve personally experienced injustice at the hands of our “justice system” in family law, domestic violence, criminal law, personal injury law, bankruptcy, and probate law. For those interested in a deeper understanding of my experiences, they were described in great deal in my article titled “What Drives Your Passion? I Certainly Know What Drives Mine.” In any event, it’s impossible that every time I find myself involved in any aspect of our “justice system,” I experience such injustices and the same isn’t true for others.
I don’t know what motivated any of my mediation colleagues to pursue mediation – and I don’t mean the type of mediation I encountered in my mother’s probate case with a retired judge engaging in soft-arbitration, something I no longer consider mediation, but I most certainly know what motivated me. I also know from where my passion comes and why I spend the time I spend doing the research and writing I do, using the social media, and otherwise trying to constantly gain more knowledge and improve my skills, while also working tirelessly to try and educate people about the realities of our legal system and the available alternatives.
Had I known about true mediation before ever applying to law school, there’s no question I would have pursued a career in mediation at that time. After all, as a mediator, among other things, I'm doing exactly what I set out to do when I decided to attend law school - I'm using my personal background and life experiences along with my deep understanding of the law and the inner workings of our legal system to steer people away from getting involved with that system in the first place.
When someone walks into my office, they can expect to find a competent, caring, and compassionate professional who is determined to assist them in resolving their conflicts and disputes constructively, rather than destructively.
"I assist clients in solving their problems, rather than merely brokering deals on the legal issues."
The more I understand the nature of human conflict and what makes people tick, the better able I am at helping them resolve their differences. This involves a lot of empathy (the core of which is perspective-taking) and understanding how others think. It’s impossible to be empathic toward someone you’re judging.
Whether in my work as a mediator, attorney, or conflict resolution consultant, I am committed to assisting people in resolving or otherwise managing their conflicts and reaching agreements that are in their best interest and that of their children. In my practice, I try to capture the essence of a conflict and move people to a place of empathy and compassion. By de-escalating conflict, building trust and actually heading and understanding each other, people are better able to resolve their differences in a constructive manner. I help people to see things from different perspectives and to focus on the bigger picture.
Working as a mediator closely aligns with my core values and how I define them. Two of the values that speak to me the most and without which I would not be who I am are “fairness” and “making a difference.” In addition, I define mediators as “peacemakers”, not “deal brokers”, and litigation attorneys as “warriors” and “gladiators.” As I began realizing that “legal justice” is not the same as “fundamental fairness”, I lost my passion “making a difference” through it.
Mediator Mark Baer is committed to helping individuals and families resolve their conflicts through mediation.
He has mentored hundreds of individuals facing difficult family law issues, and can do the same for you.
Contact the service provider today to enlist the help of our compassionate and experienced mediator.
"Mark earns trust from everyone involved and guides you through the process with complete expertise and overwhelming compassion.” – David K
"Mark’s style and expertise brought fairness, integrity, and clarity to a very thorough process so we were able to sort through details in a dignified manner and end with a sense of closure. The most powerful element was his ability to direct our energies towards empathy for one another, which made all the difference." – Jason F
"Mark is an excellent mediator with a talent for recognizing people’s emotions and feelings, helping them work through issues with a quiet compassion that makes the process a little easier." – Lauren C
“I appreciated how Mark led us through our negotiations ensuring that we were making informed decisions, as well as his intuitive knowledge of when to sit back and allow us to find our way through to a decision. It’s pretty awesome to be on the other side of a scary and emotional process with legal matters settled to our mutual satisfaction.” – Chris D
“Mark’s empathy toward others, combined with his incredible understanding of the process tools available to mediators, his intelligence and insight into human behavior and psychology, makes him, in my estimation, one of the most effective mediators I’ve known. He’s able to discover and effectively deal with, not only the obvious issues, but also those below the line issues, which often makes the difference in conflict resolution.” – Len Levy, Esq., Mediator
