Armine Baltazar 

My passion for mediation and consensual dispute resolution comes from my feelings of empathy. Since I was a child, I’ve loved people – talking with them, learning about them, getting to know them. In school, I was scolded for talking too much. But connecting with others always felt so good!

My love of people didn’t immediately translate into a career. After I graduated from college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. A lot of people said, "You should go to law school!" So I did. The education was fabulous, and I don’t regret it for a moment.
But still, I didn’t have a deep sense of what I wanted to do, so for years, I practiced family law in the traditional sense, which included going to court and presenting polarized positions.

At my core, this didn’t feel right. I felt more and more dissatisfied until one day, I decided it was enough. I dove head on into the world of conflict management and peacemaking, and realized that this was what I wanted to pursue. I read books, took seminars, and started meeting people and volunteering in the field. Finally, this felt right. It struck a tuning fork in my soul.

I find that the simple act of listening can lead to understanding. I’ve been practicing family law for over 23 years. It’s fulfilling to know that I can apply my legal skills and knowledge in a way that aligns with who I am as a human being and that can help guide people during a particularly difficult time in their life. It matters to me that I help, not hurt, in an already difficult situation.