Located in Seattle, Washington
available statewide
EXPERIENCED TRUSTED CONNECTED
At Emery Law & Mediation Services, I firmly believe that a comprehensive estate plan allows you to confidently and comfortably protect those you love, whatever may come.
I’m a parent as well as a professional, and bring my breadth of experience, knowledge, patience, and passion to my work serving clients — in all walks of life.
When most conflicts arise, whether in everyday life or during the probate of an estate, I firmly believe that mediation — facilitated by a skilled, experienced and compassionate mediator — offers the single most effective approach for meaningfully resolving those conflicts.
SERVICES
MEDIATION services
Resolving issues is hard on everyone. Mediation can help you sort out what is most important long term to you and determine what are the areas where you can compromise.
ESTATE PLANNING
A comprehensive estate plan allows you to confidently and comfortably protect those you love, whatever may come.
My approach is flexible, and I’ve found that estate planning is not one size fits all.
Paula Emery
About
I’ve been working for more than 25 years as a lawyer, advocate, mediator, nonprofit leader, and business professional. As a person, partner, parent, and professional of privilege, I am deeply committed to helping individuals and families from all walks of life prepare for and get through major life events Estate Planning with compassion and dignity.
Born and raised on a farm in Nebraska, I was the first in my family to attend college, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1990. Committed to justice and conflict resolution since at least high school (or more likely upon the birth of my first sibling in 1970), I earned my J.D. from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia in 1996.
After practicing criminal, civil and constitutional law and mediation in Texas for almost 10 years, I relocated to Seattle and honed skills in advocacy, public speaking, strategic thinking and organizational change management during 8 years at Microsoft.
I returned to law and mediation in 2018, earning my Washington State law license and completing Basic Mediation Training offered through the Dispute Resolution Center of King County.
Mediation services
Mediation offers a meaningful alternative to emotional and costly legal battles. Instead of lawyers publicly arguing about the facts and the law to a judge, client can come together to discuss the conflict in private, confidentially, with an impartial third party.
Clients and their attorneys, if any, are guided through the conflict resolution process by a trained, experienced, mediator, who is skilled at sifting through the facts, emotions and individual interests to help clients determine what the issues are and to support them in negotiating what is a fair outcome for them.
Importantly, the mediator is not a judge nor an advocate for either side, but can help sort out and prioritize what’s needed, and help the parties craft an agreement to resolve their dispute.
Resolving issues in an adversarial manner is hard on everyone. It takes a great deal of time and effort as well as money to properly prepare a case for trial and to litigate that case. The outcome is never guaranteed and can be frustrating. Mediation can remove the uncertainty, lessen the time required, and help bring down the emotional cost to all involved.
Mediation can help you sort out what is most important long term to you and determine what are the areas where you can compromise or let go.
Getting the Mediation Process Started
The first step in the mediation process starts with a short Zoom meeting with me, so I can answer your questions about mediation and set the agenda for the first meeting. The next step is to schedule the first mediation session of up to two hours if we’re meeting by Zoom (and a maximum of four hours if you prefer to meet in person). I usually expect to meet with both parties in the same room initially; however, we will break into separate conversations as appropriate.
In many cases, mediation can be concluded in one to three sessions, depending on how many people are involved and how complex the issues are between them.
Fee Policy
My fee policy is to bill in a flat fee of $1000 for each online mediation session and $1500 for each in person mediation session. This fee includes time for the mediation session itself, as well as email and phone conversations, document preparation, and responding to substantive questions between sessions. Special cases will be billed by agreement before services begin.
Online Mediation Services
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, clients and colleagues have become comfortable and adept with using Zoom or other online video conferencing tools to sustain communication. Many find comfort in joining a meeting from their own home or workplace. If you choose to use online mediation services, I will provide my Online Mediation Guidelines and Ground Rules and we will have a short “tech check” meeting before the mediation, to ensure you have adequate connectivity and feel comfortable using the Zoom features.
Estate Planning
A comprehensive estate plan allows you to confidently and comfortably protect those you love, whatever may come. And, as a parent and a professional, I bring a breadth of experience, knowledge, patience, and passion to serving clients — from all walks of life. My approach is flexible, as estate planning is not one size fits all. I will ask questions to understand what is most important to you, and will raise important but often not considered topics to help your wishes be met – with sensitivity, compassion and thoughtfulness.
I can work with you to create and complete one or more of these documents to provide you peace of mind:
- Last Will and Testament
- Community Property Agreement
- Revocable Living Trust
- Power of Attorney
- Healthcare Directive
I’m a firm believer that a good estate planning professional supports clients through the emotional and practical considerations that arise when incapacity or death happens. To support this, I can also provide you with non-traditional estate planning services, such as:
- preparing documents to instruct someone you trust in dealing with your digital assets (social media, online accounts, digital photos, etc.) if you become unable to do so yourself
- providing compassionate counsel as you express what is most important to you to share with your loved ones in the event you become unable to advocate for yourself
- helping you think through and protect your privacy while also protecting your financial and healthcare interests
- providing information on and referrals to additional professionals to help you meet needs I cannot, such as financial advisors, healthcare professionals, tax attorneys, and grief support.
Fees for these services are agreed to in advance, based on the complexity of the tasks needed and the urgency with which services are needed.
Primary Estate Planning Documents
Additional Services
estate Packages
Consultation & Estate Plan Evaluation
Simple Will and Last Testament
Power of Attorney
Healthcare Directive
$1000
Single Individual (no trusts)
Basic Estate Planning Package
Couples (no trusts)
Estate Planning Package
Consultation & Estate Plan Evaluation
Simple Will and Last Testament
Power of Attorney
Healthcare Directive
$1500
Ala Carte
(per person)
Simple Will & Last Testament - $500
General Power of Attorney - $300
Healthcare Directive - $200
Community Property Agreement - $300
Codicil - starts at $100
Writing & Speaking
Dispute Resolution Leadership
Chair, King County Bar Association, ADR section
Vice Chair, Washington State Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section
Adjunct Professor, Seattle University School of Law
Public Speaking and Publications
ERPP: Washington State’s Pre-Filing Dispute Resolution Program: A Crisis Response to Chronic Housing Instability, with Laurie Sale and Lauren Novack, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference, May 10, 2023
Dispute Resolution, Residential Evictions, The Seminar Group, with Marilyn Littlejohn, Dispute Resolution Center of King County, November 18, 2022
The Just Cause Ordinance and an Introduction to RCW 59.18.660: Washington's New Eviction Resolution Pilot Program, with Kaitlyn Jackson, Dimension Law, January 5, 2022
Emerging Issues in Court-Adjacent ADR: Washington's New Eviction Resolution Pilot Program, King County Bar Association Continuing Legal Education program, December 9, 2021
Emergent Issues in Landlord Tenant Law, Washington State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education program, with Kaitlyn Jackson, Dimension Law Group; Eric Steven, Steven Law Office; Rani Sampson, Overcast Law Offices, November 10, 2021
Exploring Small Claims Court Pre-trial Mediation in King County District Court, with Judge Anne Harper, King County District Court; Gaye Bammert, King County Dispute Resolution Center; and Win Todd, King County Dispute Resolution Center, September 12, 2019
Depolarizing Within - Meeting our Ethical Responsibilities within the Current Political Climate, with Will Clemmer and Lorraine Howell, Better Angels; and Sophie Morse, Kitsap County Dispute Resolution Center, December 12, 2019
Women’s World Cup Soccer Pay Case Focuses Attention on Sports Mediation, King County Bar Bulletin, August 1, 2019
Contact
Emery Law & Mediation
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