January 13, 2026

What The Divorce Mediator Is Really Thinking, With Superstar Mediator Joe Dillon

55 minutes

What would possess a person to choose to put themselves in the middle of the maelstrom of stress that is modern divorce negotiation, on a daily basis?

For Joe Dillon, the founder of Equitable Divorce Mediation, it was personal. A child of divorce at a time when it was far less common than it is today, Joe can recall sitting in the courtroom as a teen, witnessing his parent’s strife at close range, and then withstanding the near total loss of any relationship with one parent after the fact. Years later, amidst a successful business career as a negotiator, it was in fact his mother-in-law who suggested he consider a new path. And it stuck.

The firm which he founded and runs to this day with his wife 17 years later, far outperforms the industry standards metrics on settling via mediation before costly litigation. The impact of prolonged litigation is deeply clear to Joe, which is why his goal is always to get it done as soon as possible, and in the best interests of the kids.

The problem, unfortunately, is usually just teaching the soon-to-be-ex-spouses how to get out of their own way….

Joe is a former board member of the Chicago chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators, the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA), the Academy of Professional Family Mediators, the NY State Council on Divorce Mediation, and the Washington Mediation Association. And he’s got some hard won advice that anybody even contemplating divorce should consider.

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By Poonam Sharma