About Attorney-mediator-strategist Erika englund
Erika's Background
Erika Anne Englund was born, raised, and educated in Northern California. One of eight children, she learned to advocate and negotiate early. Erika was educated in psychology and political science at UC Davis before getting her law degree at McGeorge School of Law, entering the Bar in 2005 as a family law attorney. She obtained certification as a professional mediator in 2009; in 2010, Erika closed her litigation practice to become one of the few California attorneys practicing exclusively divorce mediation. Since then, Erika has successfully mediated hundreds of divorces, engaging in over 15,000 hours of mediation matters with a 98% success rate. Erika also gathered teaching experience, as a professor at McGeorge School of Law, a provider of continuing education for attorneys and financial planners, and a guest-lecturer at McGeorge, King Hall at UC Davis, William Jessup, and Stanford Business School. Highlights of her public speaking career include two-time keynote speaking at the Sacramento Women's Exposition, panel speaker at McGeorge's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion event, and ongoing participation in local DivorceCare support groups. Erika's career in strategy (and love affair) began with legaltech consulting in 2018. In 2019, she took a break from mediation to work full time as Chief of Strategy for a divorce legaltech company, which tripled in value, diversified revenue streams, and won placement in two prestigious residencies under Erika's leadership. Now, Erika has turned back to her true passion, creating and sharing a divorce mediation system that is friendly, affordable, and efficient. This time, Erika brings her background in strategy and consulting, adding to her practice the unique component of divorce planning and coordination. Working with Erika provides the opportunity for guidance derived from a background that is both wide and deep. She is determined to provide better divorce for better people, like you.
Why you should hire an attorney who never won a case
In 2005, on the day Erika was sworn in as an attorney member of the California bar, she had a court appearance - and lost. By 2010, Erika still had never won a case, so she gave up, and became a private mediator. Technically, Erika hadn't lost all of the time, because most family law cases settle. But family lawyers say, "A good settlement is when both parties are equally unhappy," and that is not a win. Sometimes, Erika had the judge rule against her (loss), but more often, in her favor. Even a "win" in family court, though, is a loss. Families are shattered, costs exceed tens of thousands of dollars, years of stress cause pain and illness, and chances of future conflict are extremely high. So, in a way, settlement is losing, losing is losing, and even winning is losing.
Erika prefers to win. In 2010, she shuttered her courtroom practice and built a new, different, winning mediation practice. Designed from the ground up to be friendly, efficient, and affordable, with fixed fees and simple solutions, Erika's new method of mediation was immediately successful. All of that losing pivoted Erika to create a new type of divorce where everyone wins.
Erika's divorced. Here's why it matters
Everyone says, "Divorce is hard," but what does that mean? Erika knows, not only due to her 15+ years divorce industry experience, but also because she lives divorce herself. Erika divorced when her children were just one and three. Since, she has faced many of the same challenges - and experienced many of the same joys - as her clients. Hurting and healing, navigating single life and dating, being a co-parent through thick and thin - Erika has seen it all from the inside as well as the outside.
What does this mean for you? Erika has experience that is personal and professional, wide and deep, bringing unparalleled perspective to the table. She has personally-vetted tools, professional recommendations, and solutions to help you meet your divorce goals. Erika will seek to understand you, never judging or dismissing. She'll speak to you kindly, care for your matter meticulously, and never forget that you are, as she was, just a human going through a "hard" time.