A Northern Virginia mediator committed to clarity, neutrality, and compassion
Conflict resolved with clarity, compassion, and dignity
We believe that conflict can be resolved with clarity, compassion, and dignity. We provide a supportive, structured space for businesses, professionals, and families to navigate challenging conversations and reach agreements that honor everyone's needs.
We provide a safe, confidential environment for employers, employees, business partners, spouses, and families navigating conflict — empowering every party to be heard and move forward with confidence.
A structured, human-centered process
Initial Consultation
We begin with a confidential intake session to understand the nature of the dispute, the parties involved, and the outcomes each side hopes to achieve. This sets the foundation for a productive process.
Structured Mediation
Using proven mediation frameworks, we guide each session with a neutral hand — creating space for honest dialogue, surfacing underlying interests, and helping parties identify paths to resolution.
Lasting Agreement
We help parties capture their agreements in clear, written terms. Our goal is not just resolution today, but durable outcomes that hold up over time and preserve working relationships where possible.
Mediation for workplaces, businesses, and families
Employment Mediation
Workplace conflict can disrupt productivity, damage morale, and expose organizations to significant legal and reputational risk. We provide a confidential, neutral forum for employers and employees to resolve disputes efficiently — without the time, cost, and exposure of litigation.
- Discrimination & harassment claims
- Wrongful termination disputes
- Wage and hour disagreements
- ADA and accommodation conflicts
- Performance and disciplinary disputes
- Retaliation and whistleblower concerns
Business Mediation
Commercial disputes can strain partnerships, stall operations, and threaten everything you have built. Our business mediation services help companies of all sizes reach durable, practical agreements — privately and on their terms.
- Partnership & co-founder disputes
- Contract and vendor disagreements
- Shareholder & ownership conflicts
- Customer and client claims
- Franchise and licensing disputes
- Business dissolution negotiations
Family Mediation
Family transitions are deeply personal, and the decisions made during them shape lives for years. Mediation gives spouses, parents, and family members a private, respectful setting to work through difficult issues together — with far less cost and conflict than going to court.
- Separation & divorce agreements
- Custody & parenting plans
- Child & spousal support
- Property & asset division
- Co-parenting disputes & modifications
- Prenuptial & postnuptial agreements
Elder Care Mediation
When families face decisions about an aging loved one, emotions run high and the stakes feel personal. We help adult children, siblings, spouses, and caregivers talk through sensitive matters with dignity — keeping the focus on the well-being and wishes of the person at the center.
- Care planning & living arrangements
- Caregiving responsibilities among siblings
- Guardianship & decision-making disputes
- Estate, inheritance & will disagreements
- Financial management & power of attorney concerns
- Long-term care costs & planning
What guides everything we do
Neutrality
We have no stake in any outcome. Our sole commitment is to a fair, balanced process where every party feels genuinely heard.
Confidentiality
Everything shared in mediation stays in mediation. We provide a private, protected space that encourages candid dialogue.
Integrity
We operate with transparency and honesty at every stage — from intake through final agreement — without exception.
Empowerment
We believe the best solutions come from the parties themselves. Our role is to facilitate, not decide — keeping control where it belongs.
Steady guidance through life's hardest conversations
Sara M. Khan, JD, is the founder and principal mediator of Olive Branch Mediation, a Northern Virginia practice serving clients in Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, Alexandria, and Falls Church — and nationwide by secure video. She mediates employment, business, family, and elder care disputes.
Ms. Khan brings a wide-angle view to every matter. Conflict rarely stays in one lane: a business breakup can upend a family's finances, a workplace dispute can follow someone home, and decisions about an aging parent's care can test even the closest siblings. She helps parties see the whole picture, so the agreements they reach hold up in real life — not just on paper.
Before founding the practice, Ms. Khan spent close to two decades at the intersection of policy, strategy, and complex organizational conflict — in federal consulting at national firms, enterprise technology implementation, and legal operations for large institutional clients. She also spent two years as a law clerk at an estate planning firm (2019–2021), where she saw firsthand how families work through wills, trusts, and decisions about caring for aging parents — experience that shapes her family and elder care mediation. That work sharpened the skills she brings to every session: careful preparation, a structured process, and the ability to keep many voices moving toward a shared outcome.
Known for a calm and even-handed approach, Ms. Khan believes the best agreements come from the parties themselves. She creates a confidential, respectful setting where everyone is heard, emotions can be acknowledged without derailing progress, and practical solutions can take shape — without the cost, delay, and exposure of litigation.
Ms. Khan earned her Juris Doctor from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and her Bachelor of Science in Management from George Mason University. She has completed 40 hours of basic mediation training, 24 hours of family mediation training, and the Virginia Judicial System orientation course.
Ms. Khan is based in Northern Virginia and serves clients throughout the Commonwealth, with virtual mediation available nationwide.
Mediation Training
Education
Areas of Focus
- Employment Mediation
- Business & Commercial Mediation
- Family Mediation
- Elder & Family Care Mediation
Service Area
- Northern Virginia
- Throughout Virginia
- Virtual sessions nationwide
Ready to move forward?
Whether facing a workplace dispute, a business conflict, or a difficult family decision, Olive Branch Mediation is prepared to help find resolution with clarity and confidence.
Contact Us Today