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Contact Lisa Derr

Lisa Derr has practiced family law for almost 25 years. Lisa graduated in 1987 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and after two years of working in Chicago, she joined Schwefel & Derr in 1989. She began her family law mediation practice in 1995 after seeing that litigation was not the best avenue for solving clients' divorce issues. Lisa practices out of three locations including Beaver Dam, Oshkosh and West Bend Wisconsin. She is a past director of the Family Law Section Board and a past chair of the Wisconsin State Bar Gender Equity Committee. Lisa has given extensive training in mediation as well as resolving workplace conflicts and is a past President of the Wisconsin Association of Mediators. Lisa also served on the District 13 Committee for the Office of Lawyer Regulation from 1999 through 2004. She lives in Beaver Dam with her husband and three boys where she is actively involved in community theater and current president of Women's Affiliate of the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce.

Lisa has worked as a family law attorney for 22 years. With a bachelor's degree in psychology, she has always been sensitive to clients concerns and feelings as they proceed through the family mediation process.

Lisa has worked in a private mediation practice (Derr & Villarreal, Attorneys and Mediators) since 1995. For six years (2002 - 2007), Lisa also served as one of four Washington County family court mediators handling mediations for both married and unmarried couples who needed mediation for placement issues.

Lisa's practice includes all facets of family law including placement, child support and all other financial issues. She has helped couples who have few assets as well as couples with 20 million dollars in assets.

Lisa has occasionally assisted people in other substantive areas including a boundary dispute and a homeowner's insurance claim against his company.

J.D. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. May 1987. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. August 1984, BA, Psychology - GPA 3.7.

Mediation is my life's career choice because of my firm belief in the right to self-determination. Second, while it is critical that parties perceive that their mediator is neutral, no human being, with all our life experiences and prejudices is truly neutral. We can aspire to neutrality by recognizing our prejudices (both innate and in the moment). With that recognition, we can minimize that which would pull us off track by interfering with the mediation process. (This includes my own thoughts of possible or probable outcomes.)

Because the best decisions are well-informed, I encourage couples to seek legal counsel and provide significant amounts of written information for them to consider. Most important, I encourage them at the onset to give and listen to information from the other.

Over the years, I've become less nervous about outcomes and procedures. The result is that I am more attentive and focused with each person. This allows them to be more focused with each other.

We charge $8,000 as a flat fee for family law (divorce) mediation which generally takes place over four meetings. People can pay upfront or on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. For post-judgment or nonfamily mediations, we generally request $800 ($200 per person per hour) for two hours initially. Thereafter, the parties decide to continue and can pay as they continue mediation.