Conflict resolved with 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 and professionals to navigate challenging conversations and reach agreements that honor everyone's needs.
We provide a safe, confidential environment for employers, employees, business owners, and partners 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 document their agreements in clear, enforceable terms. Our goal is not just resolution today, but durable outcomes that hold up over time and preserve working relationships where possible.
Specialized in employment and business mediation
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've built. Our business mediation services help companies of all sizes reach binding, 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
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.
Sara Khan founded Olive Branch Mediation after nearly a decade working at the intersection of law, strategy, and complex organizational conflict — as a federal consultant, implementation specialist, and legal professional navigating high-stakes, multi-party disputes where the cost of getting it wrong was significant.
That background shapes everything about how she mediates. Sara approaches every case the way a skilled neutral should: with deep preparation, a structured process, and zero interest in dragging things out. Her clients — employers facing sensitive HR matters, employees navigating difficult exits, and business partners whose relationships are under strain — come to her because they need resolution, not escalation.
Sara 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. Her professional career spans federal consulting at national firms, project management for enterprise technology implementations, and legal operations for large institutional clients. She has spent years helping organizations move through complexity — and mediation is where that work finds its most direct expression.
She is a Virginia-certified mediator with 20 hours of general mediation training and 20 hours of specialized employment and business mediation training, completed in 2025.
Sara is based in Northern Virginia and serves clients throughout Virginia, with virtual mediation available nationwide.
Ready to move forward?
Whether you're facing a workplace dispute or a business conflict, we're here to help you find resolution with clarity and confidence.
Contact Us Today