Joan H McWilliams

An award-winning lawyer, author and cutting-edge mediator, Joan knows what it takes to bring parties together and foster solutions.  She is a shining example of excellence and easily shares her tried and true methods with others.  

A mediator all of her life, Joan is an attorney who conducts a dispute resolution practice in domestic and commercial conflicts through her firm, McWilliams Mediation Group Ltd. in Denver, CO.  She received her BS Degree from the University of Colorado and her MSJA and JD Degrees from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.  She served as a law clerk for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and was a partner in a large Denver law firm where she practiced corporate banking, securities and family law.

In addition to sharing her wisdom as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Joan has served as Chair of the Colorado and Denver Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Sections and has served on the Colorado Bar Association Board of Governors.  She is a member of the Executive Council of the CBA Family Law Section.  She is a past-president of the Metropolitan Denver Interdisciplinary Committee on Child Custody and was a member of the Committee that drafted the Colorado Parental Responsibilities Bill.  Joan is a Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and is the recipient of the Alumni Professional Award from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the Family Law Icon Award from the Colorado Bar Association.  In addition, Joan was selected by her peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America and is included in Super Lawyers.  Joan was also recently honored to receive the "Best Lawyers 2012 Denver Family Law Mediation Lawyer of the Year" award.   She is the author of Parenting Plans that Work and the award-winning The Peace Finder:  Riley McFee’s Quest for World Peace.  Joan serves on numerous dispute resolution panels and frequently lectures and writes on the topic.