Julie LaVan - From Courtroom to Calm: Finding Peaceful Resolutions

What if conflict didn’t have to destroy your family, your business, or your peace of mind? In this powerful episode of the Junk to Jewels Podcast, host Georgette Beck sits down with Julie LaVan — attorney turned Certified Professional Mediator — whose own journey through a high-conflict divorce with a narcissist transformed her understanding of conflict, resolution, and healing.

Julie shares her remarkable story: from growing up in small-town New York to building a thriving law firm in Philadelphia, raising two children, surviving a 15-year marriage to a narcissist, and ultimately stepping away from litigation to offer a better path forward for others. Her vulnerability, wisdom, and professional expertise make this a conversation you won’t want to miss.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Why Julie left a successful legal career to become a mediator — and what her own divorce taught her about the court system
• What mediation really is, and why it’s often the wiser, more loving approach before calling a lawyer
• How to navigate conflict with a narcissist or high-conflict personality with strategy and calm
• The power of listening — as a life skill, a leadership tool, and a spiritual practice
• Julie’s insights on business mediation, family mediation, and closely held business disputes
• Her current favorite book: Slay the Bully by Rebecca Zung — and why it’s a game-changer
• Her life scripture: Psalm 34:14 — “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it”

About the Junk to Jewels Podcast

The Junk to Jewels Podcast is hosted by Georgette Beck — author, speaker, lay minister, mentor, and founder of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation. Each episode features conversations with extraordinary women and change-makers who have turned pain into purpose and brokenness into beauty. From faith and resilience to entrepreneurship, relationships, and transformation — this show is for anyone on the journey from who they were to who they’re becoming.

Georgette’s Book: Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight — Winner, International Impact Book Awards (Inspirational/Transformational) | Semi-Finalist, 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition, Florida Writers Association

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About Julie LaVan

Julie LaVan is the founder of Useful Mediation and a Certified Professional Mediator, certified through Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor and Relations (ILR). A prior litigator, attorney, and business owner, Julie managed LaVan Law as a shareholder, general counsel, and partner across various business entities.

After experiencing firsthand the traumatic, costly, and often unresolved effects of the court system — both personally and professionally — Julie shifted her life’s work toward a better way. She founded Useful Mediation to advocate for neutral, cost-effective, peaceful, and advantageous resolutions for individuals, families, and businesses, outside the interference of the legal and court system.

Julie’s mediator philosophy is simple and powerful: litigation is a lose-lose for all parties. Mediation offers a collaborative, confidential, and empathetic path to resolving important matters — from divorce and co-parenting to business breakups, workplace conflicts, employment disputes, and will and estate matters.

Her tagline says it all: “Your Experienced and Empathetic Guide to a Peaceful Resolution.”

Connect With Julie LaVan:

• Website: usefulmediation.com