The Compass Mediation Group Story
Compass Mediation Group — originally established as Blend Mediation in 2017 — was born from Alisa's firsthand observation that the adversarial legal system often made conflict worse, not better. During her 16 years practicing law at the Law Office of Alisa Maples and Maples-Lane PLLC, she saw families enter the court system and come out more damaged than when they began.
What struck Alisa most was a fundamental disconnect: courts traditionally require mediation before parties can proceed to trial — meaning most people end up mediating anyway, but only after months of adversarial proceedings, mounting legal fees, and escalating emotional damage. It was far more efficient to start with mediation from the beginning. She committed to building a practice that makes mediation more accessible and user-friendly for people who are already in crisis — before the court system compounds their stress.
Mediation offered a better path: a structured, neutral process where both parties could be heard, where solutions could be crafted collaboratively, and where the goal was agreement — not victory.
Over the years, the practice expanded from local cases in the Pacific Northwest to serving clients virtually across the entire United States. The rebrand from Blend Mediation to Compass Mediation Group reflected the practice's evolution — the name representing guidance, direction, and helping people find their way through difficult transitions.
Today, Compass Mediation Group offers divorce, family, business, and estate mediation, with every session conducted via secure video conferencing, so geography is never a barrier to quality mediation.