Who sits across the table decides everything.
A dispute isn’t resolved by a room, a rule, or a split-the-difference number. It’s resolved by the people in the chairs. That’s why every matter is led by two neutrals, for the investment of one.
So before you ever tell us about your matter, let’s tell you who you’d be sitting with.
You would never bring one set of eyes to something this important. That is the whole reason two neutrals sit at the table here instead of one.
The wrong room makes the fight worse.
You’ve felt it before, in some room, with some person who was supposed to help. The clock ticking.
The pressure to just accept a number nobody believes in, so everyone can go home. A mediator who never asked the one question that mattered, who heard the dollars and missed the betrayal underneath them.
You left that room lighter in the wallet and heavier in the chest, and the thing that actually broke was still broken.
That’s what happens when the person in the middle treats a dispute like arithmetic. They average the gap, they call it peace, and they move to the next file.
The agreement doesn’t hold, because it never touched the real matter. The quiet truth of this work is simple and a little uncomfortable: the method is only as good as the two human beings running it.
Which is exactly why we built the room the way we did.
Two neutrals at the table. Two sets of eyes find what one misses.
Most mediations put one person in the middle. One temperament, one blind spot, one way of reading a room.
We do it differently, and we do it on purpose. Every Dyadic engagement brings two mediators from two different disciplines, the legal mind and the human mind, working the same table at the same time.
Every dispute is two problems wearing one face, a legal one and a human one, so it takes two kinds of mind at the table to actually end it.
When one of us is listening to the words, the other is reading the silence. When one is tracking the numbers, the other is tracking the need underneath them.
Independent study of mediation across the major providers found the process settles roughly three out of four disputes.1 Our read is that the settlements which actually last are the ones where somebody finally saw the whole picture. Two people see more of it than one.
You help shape the outcome, because the right neutrals run the table, instead of leaving your future to a judge or jury.
Experienced enough to be trusted. Human enough to sit with.
People don’t hire a logo. They hire the two people who will be in the room when it matters. Here they are.
Warren Morten
Warren is a California attorney and the founder of The Morten Law Group in Irvine. He has spent his career in the rooms where business is really decided, in corporate and partnership matters, estate planning, health care, and mergers and acquisitions.
He has drafted the contracts, run the negotiations, and stood in the courtrooms, which is precisely why he would rather bring people to the end of a dispute than watch them spend years inside one.
He’s the legal mind at the table. He knows what a judge would likely do, what a settlement needs to survive, and where an agreement will crack if it’s written carelessly.
That knowledge doesn’t make him combative. It makes him calm, because he already knows how most of these stories end.
- Founder, The Morten Law Group, Irvine, California
- Licensed California attorney since 2006
- Graduate, Chapman University School of Law
- Named to Super Lawyers, 2024 through 20272
- Named to Rising Stars, 2017 through 20212
Fred Smith
Fred is a communications strategist and business operator who has spent decades in high-stakes rooms where words carry as much weight as the numbers. He worked at the corporate level of multinational groups, including Hyundai Capital, Kia Motors America, the Volkswagen Group, and Audi of America, directing the message down to their national dealer networks.
A United States Marine Corps combat veteran and recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, he stays steady when the pressure is real and moves people toward a decision instead of letting a standoff harden.
He’s the human mind at the table. He listens for what nobody is saying out loud and keeps both sides in the conversation, so the agreement holds after everyone goes home.
- Communications strategist and business operator
- Group-level work with multinational companies, including Hyundai Capital, Kia Motors America, the Volkswagen Group, and Audi of America
- United States Marine Corps combat veteran
- Recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal
- Author of two books on building and leading
Four commitments we don’t bend.
Neutrality
We hold no allegiance to any outcome. Our only loyalty is to a fair and honest process that both sides can trust.
Confidentiality
What’s said in the room stays in the room, protected by law, unless every party agrees in writing to waive it.
Dignity
Every person who walks through the door is heard with respect and without judgment, no matter how the dispute began.
Command
Real experience in business and law, brought to the table so the agreement holds up in the real world, not just on paper.
Across the major mediation providers, the process settles most disputes that reach the table, often far faster and far cheaper than a case fought through to trial.
No outcome is ever guaranteed. These figures describe the process in general, not any one matter, and certainly not yours in advance.
What’s dyadic mediation?
Dyadic mediation is a private, voluntary way to resolve a dispute without going to court, led by two neutral mediators working together instead of one. The word dyadic means a pair, two trained neutrals, one grounded in law and one in human communication, guiding both sides toward an agreement they build themselves.
It’s a form of co-mediation, used here for business, employment, estate, and general civil matters across Orange County, California.
Because two mediators share the work, each party is genuinely heard, blind spots get caught, and the agreement is more likely to hold. The process is confidential by California law, is usually faster and less costly than litigation, and always ends with a resolution the parties shape, not one imposed on them.
Most mediation asks one neutral to be everything at once. We split that impossible job in two: a California attorney who reads the law and the leverage, and a Marine Corps combat veteran who reads the people and the pressure.
Two minds, one table, and far less slips through the cracks.
About Dyadic Mediation, answered.
What’s dyadic mediation?
Dyadic mediation is private dispute resolution led by two neutral mediators instead of one. The pair works the same session together, with one focused on the legal substance and one on the communication between the parties, so both sides are fully heard and the agreement is more durable. It’s a form of co-mediation.
How is a two-mediator model different from traditional mediation?
In most mediations a single neutral manages everything alone. With two mediators, one can listen while the other reads the room, the numbers and the emotions are tracked at the same time, and fewer things slip through. The goal is an agreement both sides helped build, not a split-the-difference number handed down to them.
What kinds of disputes do you mediate?
Business and partnership disputes, employment and workplace matters, estate and family-business conflicts, contract and commercial disagreements, real estate and property issues, and general civil disputes. We don’t handle divorce mediation.
Where are you located and what areas do you serve?
Our office is at 18300 Von Karman Ave, Suite 660, Irvine, California. We serve clients throughout Orange County, including Irvine and Newport Beach, and the wider Southern California area.
Is mediation confidential in California?
Yes. Mediation is confidential by law in California. With narrow exceptions, what’s said in the session stays in the room and can’t be used later, unless every party agrees in writing to waive it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a mediated agreement legally binding?
The mediation conversation itself isn’t binding. A written agreement the parties sign at the end can be made binding and enforceable, which is why we document it clearly and recommend legal review before anyone signs.
Do I need a lawyer to mediate?
No. Many people mediate without counsel, and you’re always welcome to bring your attorney. We recommend legal review of any agreement before you sign it.
How long does mediation take, and what does it cost?
Many matters are resolved in a single day, though complex disputes may take more than one session. Costs vary by the matter, and mediation is typically far less expensive than fighting a case through to trial. We walk you through what your path would look like on a free, no-obligation intake call.
Who will my mediators be?
Warren Morten, a California attorney and the founder of The Morten Law Group, serves as the legal mind at the table, and Fred Smith, a communications strategist and Marine Corps combat veteran, serves as the human mind. You can read more about each of them above.
Now you know who. Tell us the what.
The first conversation is private and carries no obligation. Tell us a little about the matter, and we’ll tell you honestly whether this is the right room for it.
Sources & Notes
- Independent analysis of mediation outcomes across four major providers (American Arbitration Association, CPR, JAMS, and U.S. Mediation and Arbitration Service) found that mediation settled approximately 78 percent of cases, whether the parties were court-referred or came voluntarily. National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs research library, “Effectiveness of Mediation: An Independent Analysis of Cases Handled by Four Major Service Providers.”
- Attorney recognitions refer to Warren Morten’s listings in Super Lawyers (2024 to 2027) and Rising Stars (2017 to 2021). Super Lawyers is a rating service of Thomson Reuters. Selection to a list is a recognition by that service and isn’t a guarantee of any result in a given matter.
- In fiscal year 2024, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported resolving approximately 71 percent of the charges that went through its mediation program. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, mediation program statistics.
Figures above are drawn from third-party studies and public agency reporting and are provided for general educational context. They describe mediation as a process and don’t predict the outcome of any individual matter.
Mediation is voluntary and confidential, and no result is guaranteed.