After more than 25 years of full-time work as a divorce mediator, I serve as an experienced trail guide for couples traveling the path of separation and divorce.
John Spiegel, J.D.
I know from my own life experience that separation and divorce can present one of life’s biggest challenges. I also know, both from personal experience and from working with many hundreds of divorcing couples, that the process of figuring out a divorce settlement does not have to be horrible. In fact, with the proper assistance, it can be a positive experience that moves people forward toward the next stage of their lives.
It gives me deep satisfaction to use my legal knowledge and my understanding of facilitation and communication to help people minimize the emotional and financial pain of divorce.
Education
- Yale Law School, J.D.
- Stanford University, B.A.
Memberships/Professional Associations
- Bar of Maryland
- Bar of District of Columbia
- Bar of California (inactive status)
- Certified Mediator (demonstrated “the highest standards of practice” as stipulated by the Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution)
- 5-term President, Montgomery County Divorce Roundtable
- 2-term President, Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution
- Academy of Professional Family Mediators
- Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Employment History
After graduating from Yale Law School, I served as a judicial law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Then, after a brief stint as an attorney-advisor for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, I worked for 10 years as an attorney representing children and parents in child welfare cases in the District of Columbia. During part of that time I served as the Staff Attorney for the Office of Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect of the District of Columbia Superior Court. For over twenty years, my law practice has been devoted exclusively to divorce mediation. For a ten-year period, I also served as the founder and mediator of the divorce mediation program of Jewish Family Services in Baltimore, Maryland. Overall the mission of my law career has been the protection of children and families.
Educator/Trainer
- Adjunct Professor of Law, The American University (4 years)
- Trainer providing an 80-hour Divorce Mediation Certificate Program for the University of Maryland School of Social Work, Office of Continuing Professional Education (4 years)
- Instructor of Conflict Resolution, University of Maryland at College Park (3 years)
- Presenter at numerous professional conferences in the United States, Canada, and England
- Trainer for a variety of governmental, professional, religious, and educational organizations
Resource Recommendations
- More Time to Think, Nancy Kline
- Getting to Yes, Roger Fisher and William Ury
- Split: Divorce Through Kids’ Eyes (documentary film), Ellen Bruno
- Little Children Big Challenges: Divorce (Sesame Street resource kit)
Personal
- Father of 4 children
- Grandfather of 7 grandchildren
You can learn more about my work from the testimonials provided by our professional colleagues and our former clients.