Colin Family Mediation Group LLC
Professional Family Mediators
Colin Family Mediation Group LLC
Professional Family Mediators
Our family mediators provide services throughout Virginia and online. We are available weekdays, evenings, and weekends. Some are willing to make house calls. We can also provide services to long-distance clients via phone calls, email, and Zoom video meetings.
All of the family mediators in Colin Family Mediation Group LLC are licensed attorneys who have been certified by the Supreme Court of Virginia to mediate family cases.
Our family mediators provide services throughout Virginia and online. We are available weekdays, evenings, and weekends. Some are willing to make house calls. We can also provide services to long-distance clients via phone calls, email, and Zoom video meetings.
All of the family mediators in Colin Family Mediation Group LLC are licensed attorneys who have been certified by the Supreme Court of Virginia to mediate family cases.
Virginia L Colin, Ph.D., Founder
Dr. Virginia Colin founded The Colin Family Mediation Group in 1999 after a career as a research psychologist. The practice offered affordable mediation services, specializing in creating parenting plans and financial agreements that prioritized child well-being and parental stability. Dedicated solely to family mediation, Dr. Colin was a founding member of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators and served as its President in 2018. A certified mentor mediator, she is also the co-author of The Guide to Low-Cost Divorce in Virginia and author of Human Attachment, and a variety of other print and Internet publications. She was also the host of Family Matters, an Internet talk radio show. Dr. Colin’s extensive experience as a parent, including as a single, foster, married, divorced, and remarried stepparent, deepened her understanding of family dynamics.
As her practice grew, Dr. Colin recognized a need to expand access to quality mediation services. To address this, she transitioned from a solo practice to forming Colin Family Mediation Group. By uniting skilled mediators who shared her commitment to helping families, she created a collaborative environment for professional growth and support.
Over time, Dr. Colin desired a more significant role in retirement. To ensure the continuity of the group’s mission, she facilitated a transition of ownership to experienced colleagues Lucy Nichols, Renee Reynolds, and Rick Schapira. While she maintains a supportive role, she primarily focuses on personal interests such as reading, gardening, fostering puppies, and spending time in nature.
Read more: Why I Became a Family Mediator
Renee Kostick Reynolds, J.D., Owner
Renee Kostick Reynolds, J.D. is a distinguished mediator with over three decades of experience, specializing in family matters. Since earning her license to practice in Washington, D.C., in 1993, Renee has been deeply committed to assisting clients navigate the complexities of family legal matters with empathy and expertise.
Driven by a passion for providing constructive solutions, Renee became intrigued by the potential of family mediation as a practical alternative for individuals undergoing divorce. In 2011, she assumed the role of Family Intake Specialist at the Northern Virginia Mediation Service, where she honed her skills and became well-versed in legal trends pertinent to divorce proceedings in Virginia. Her comprehensive understanding encompasses various facets, including child custody, support, alimony, equitable distribution of assets and debts, tax implications, and the paramount consideration of children’s best interests, which she incorporates into her mediation practice.
Beyond her private mediation practice, Renee serves as a mentor for emerging mediators and willingly undertakes court-referred cases in Virginia. Her dedication to advancing alternative dispute resolution methods underscores her commitment to fostering constructive resolutions for families in transition.
Renee’s professional journey commenced as an attorney for the National District Attorney’s Association, where she laid the foundation for her legal acumen. In 2011, she attained certification as a family mediator by the Supreme Court of Virginia, marking a pivotal milestone in her career. Subsequently, Renee served as a mediator at the DC Multidoor Dispute Resolution Family Division until 2020, further solidifying her reputation as a respected authority in family mediation. In 2017, she became a roster mediator for the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediation Program specializing in parenting plans and support issues where she served for five years.
Educated at Villanova University and the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University, Renee continues to contribute to legal education as an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law. She also is an active board member for the NVMS Conflict Resolution Center.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Renee finds joy in outdoor activities such as biking and hiking, immersing herself in literature, and embarking on new adventures with her husband and four children. Renee Kostick Reynolds combines compassionate advocacy and a commitment to empowering families to navigate challenging transitions with dignity and resilience.
Rick Schapira, P.E., J.D., Owner
As a licensed attorney in Virginia, Florida, and the District of Columbia and a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia, Rick has specialized in family and workplace mediation as a productive and efficient alternative to litigation. A retired Senior Executive and former Naval Nuclear Power Officer, he was Deputy General Counsel of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. He is a certified District Court and Circuit Court mediator for civil and family cases and is a certified mentor mediator. He is well-versed in Virginia law as it relates to divorce, Federal and military pensions, co-parenting, equitable distribution of assets and debts, tax issues upon divorce, and the standards and norms upon which the courts rely when deciding what would be in the best interests of children. He is also well-versed in Federal law as it relates to workplace disputes. As a mediator, he strives to assist his clients in reaching creative solutions to their specific situations. Rick enjoys scuba diving, kayaking, and spending time with his dogs.
Lucy Nichols, J.D., Owner
As a lawyer licensed in Virginia for more than 33 years, Lucy devoted her legal career to the practice of family law. She focused her law practice on helping people through complex, high conflict cases with an emphasis on child custody litigation. Early in her career, Lucy also served as a guardian ad litem appointed by the court to represent the best interests of children. These experiences provided Lucy with a unique and an up-close understanding of conflict within families and the impact on the children. She understands that when family disputes play out in an adversarial system, there are often devastating and long-lasting consequences impacting the entire family emotionally and financially. These consequences are damaging to the adults, but often hurt the children the most both in the short and long term. Mediation can help families to chart a new course by reducing conflict and helping parents to place their children’s interests first in settlement negotiations.
Lucy works with families to build agreements addressing child custody, parenting time, child support, alimony and equitable distribution of assets and debts. Approaching these negotiations and reaching agreements in mediation allows parties to resolve their issues by compromising and moving forward. The mediation process helps parties and their families to heal rather than remain stuck in conflict. Lucy describes these mediated negotiations and discussions as a family and child-centered process.
Lucy’s family mediation practice also consists of working with families of adult children and aging parents concerning transitions and changing roles within the family. Some of the hardest conversations we will have with the people we love involve decisions concerning our aging family members, usually our parents. Conversations about how to best meet the needs of our aging parents while preserving their dignity and independence to the fullest extent possible, financial considerations, the role each person in the family will play, end of life decisions and estate and probate issues are not conversations that occur naturally or easily in most families. These subjects can be incredibly painful to imagine and even harder to discuss. The reality is that these crucial decisions will be faced by every family at some point and there is tremendous benefit to having these discussions before a crisis arises. Once a family is in the midst of a crisis, emotions are extremely raw, everyone is physically and emotionally depleted, and it can be very difficult to make sound decisions during this time. Lucy considers it an honor to work with families facing these decisions and she does so with compassion and with empathy within her role as a neutral mediator and facilitator.
Lucy recognized that it was time for change in her own life and that there is a better way for her to serve families stuck in conflict and unable to have productive conversations. Lucy dedicates her practice exclusively to mediation, a constructive and cost-efficient process that enables families to have difficult conversations and move beyond the conflict to reach agreements for their own family. Lucy recognizes that by keeping important family decisions out of the adversarial system and committing to the mediation process, families maintain control over reaching agreements that are best-suited for their particular family’s needs.
Lucy is certified as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court mediator, a Circuit Court mediator for family cases and as a Mentor mediator, working with new mediators to obtain state certification. She works with private clients not only in Oakton, Vienna, Fairfax and in the Northern Virginia area where she lives, but also provides mediation services in areas across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lucy also serves with a non-profit organization, Conflict to Peace, as a Christian Mediator and Outreach and Development Ambassador. Lucy formerly served for five years as a roster mediator with the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (JDRDC) Mediation Program where she mediated with parties referred by the Court concerning their parenting plan, custody, visitation and support matters.
Lucy received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her law degree from T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. She began her family law practice in Richmond, Virginia before returning to the Fairfax area to be closer to her family. Lucy grew up in Vienna, Virginia and lives in Oakton where she enjoys spending time with her daughter and is active in their Church, serving as a small group leader with the middle and high school youth.
Virginia L Colin, Ph.D., Founder
Dr. Virginia Colin founded The Colin Family Mediation Group in 1999 after a career as a research psychologist. The practice offered affordable mediation services, specializing in creating parenting plans and financial agreements that prioritized child well-being and parental stability. Dedicated solely to family mediation, Dr. Colin was a founding member of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators and served as its President in 2018. A certified mentor mediator, she is also the co-author of The Guide to Low-Cost Divorce in Virginia and author of Human Attachment, and a variety of other print and Internet publications. She was also the host of Family Matters, an Internet talk radio show. Dr. Colin’s extensive experience as a parent, including as a single, foster, married, divorced, and remarried stepparent, deepened her understanding of family dynamics.
As her practice grew, Dr. Colin recognized a need to expand access to quality mediation services. To address this, she transitioned from a solo practice to forming Colin Family Mediation Group. By uniting skilled mediators who shared her commitment to helping families, she created a collaborative environment for professional growth and support.
Over time, Dr. Colin desired a more significant role in retirement. To ensure the continuity of the group’s mission, she facilitated a transition of ownership to experienced colleagues Lucy Nichols, Renee Reynolds, and Rick Schapira. While she maintains a supportive role, she primarily focuses on personal interests such as reading, gardening, fostering puppies, and spending time in nature.
Read more: Why I Became a Family Mediator
Renee Kostick Reynolds, J.D., Owner
Renee Kostick Reynolds, J.D. is a distinguished mediator with over three decades of experience, specializing in family matters. Since earning her license to practice in Washington, D.C., in 1993, Renee has been deeply committed to assisting clients navigate the complexities of family legal matters with empathy and expertise.
Driven by a passion for providing constructive solutions, Renee became intrigued by the potential of family mediation as a practical alternative for individuals undergoing divorce. In 2011, she assumed the role of Family Intake Specialist at the Northern Virginia Mediation Service, where she honed her skills and became well-versed in legal trends pertinent to divorce proceedings in Virginia. Her comprehensive understanding encompasses various facets, including child custody, support, alimony, equitable distribution of assets and debts, tax implications, and the paramount consideration of children’s best interests, which she incorporates into her mediation practice.
Beyond her private mediation practice, Renee serves as a mentor for emerging mediators and willingly undertakes court-referred cases in Virginia. Her dedication to advancing alternative dispute resolution methods underscores her commitment to fostering constructive resolutions for families in transition.
Renee’s professional journey commenced as an attorney for the National District Attorney’s Association, where she laid the foundation for her legal acumen. In 2011, she attained certification as a family mediator by the Supreme Court of Virginia, marking a pivotal milestone in her career. Subsequently, Renee served as a mediator at the DC Multidoor Dispute Resolution Family Division until 2020, further solidifying her reputation as a respected authority in family mediation. In 2017, she became a roster mediator for the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediation Program specializing in parenting plans and support issues where she served for five years.
Educated at Villanova University and the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University, Renee continues to contribute to legal education as an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law. She also is an active board member for the NVMS Conflict Resolution Center.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Renee finds joy in outdoor activities such as biking and hiking, immersing herself in literature, and embarking on new adventures with her husband and four children. Renee Kostick Reynolds combines compassionate advocacy and a commitment to empowering families to navigate challenging transitions with dignity and resilience.
Rick Schapira, P.E., J.D., Owner
As a licensed attorney in Virginia, Florida, and the District of Columbia and a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia, Rick has specialized in family and workplace mediation as a productive and efficient alternative to litigation. A retired Senior Executive and former Naval Nuclear Power Officer, he was Deputy General Counsel of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. He is a certified District Court and Circuit Court mediator for civil and family cases and is a certified mentor mediator. He is well-versed in Virginia law as it relates to divorce, Federal and military pensions, co-parenting, equitable distribution of assets and debts, tax issues upon divorce, and the standards and norms upon which the courts rely when deciding what would be in the best interests of children. He is also well-versed in Federal law as it relates to workplace disputes. As a mediator, he strives to assist his clients in reaching creative solutions to their specific situations. Rick enjoys scuba diving, kayaking, and spending time with his dogs.
Lucy Nichols, J.D., Owner
As a lawyer licensed in Virginia for more than 33 years, Lucy devoted her legal career to the practice of family law. She focused her law practice on helping people through complex, high conflict cases with an emphasis on child custody litigation. Early in her career, Lucy also served as a guardian ad litem appointed by the court to represent the best interests of children. These experiences provided Lucy with a unique and an up-close understanding of conflict within families and the impact on the children. She understands that when family disputes play out in an adversarial system, there are often devastating and long-lasting consequences impacting the entire family emotionally and financially. These consequences are damaging to the adults, but often hurt the children the most both in the short and long term. Mediation can help families to chart a new course by reducing conflict and helping parents to place their children’s interests first in settlement negotiations.
Lucy works with families to build agreements addressing child custody, parenting time, child support, alimony and equitable distribution of assets and debts. Approaching these negotiations and reaching agreements in mediation allows parties to resolve their issues by compromising and moving forward. The mediation process helps parties and their families to heal rather than remain stuck in conflict. Lucy describes these mediated negotiations and discussions as a family and child-centered process.
Lucy’s family mediation practice also consists of working with families of adult children and aging parents concerning transitions and changing roles within the family. Some of the hardest conversations we will have with the people we love involve decisions concerning our aging family members, usually our parents. Conversations about how to best meet the needs of our aging parents while preserving their dignity and independence to the fullest extent possible, financial considerations, the role each person in the family will play, end of life decisions and estate and probate issues are not conversations that occur naturally or easily in most families. These subjects can be incredibly painful to imagine and even harder to discuss. The reality is that these crucial decisions will be faced by every family at some point and there is tremendous benefit to having these discussions before a crisis arises. Once a family is in the midst of a crisis, emotions are extremely raw, everyone is physically and emotionally depleted, and it can be very difficult to make sound decisions during this time. Lucy considers it an honor to work with families facing these decisions and she does so with compassion and with empathy within her role as a neutral mediator and facilitator.
Lucy recognized that it was time for change in her own life and that there is a better way for her to serve families stuck in conflict and unable to have productive conversations. Lucy dedicates her practice exclusively to mediation, a constructive and cost-efficient process that enables families to have difficult conversations and move beyond the conflict to reach agreements for their own family. Lucy recognizes that by keeping important family decisions out of the adversarial system and committing to the mediation process, families maintain control over reaching agreements that are best-suited for their particular family’s needs.
Lucy is certified as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court mediator, a Circuit Court mediator for family cases and as a Mentor mediator, working with new mediators to obtain state certification. She works with private clients not only in Oakton, Vienna, Fairfax and in the Northern Virginia area where she lives, but also provides mediation services in areas across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lucy also serves with a non-profit organization, Conflict to Peace, as a Christian Mediator and Outreach and Development Ambassador. Lucy formerly served for five years as a roster mediator with the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (JDRDC) Mediation Program where she mediated with parties referred by the Court concerning their parenting plan, custody, visitation and support matters.
Lucy received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her law degree from T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. She began her family law practice in Richmond, Virginia before returning to the Fairfax area to be closer to her family. Lucy grew up in Vienna, Virginia and lives in Oakton where she enjoys spending time with her daughter and is active in their Church, serving as a small group leader with the middle and high school youth.
Schedule a free consultation today to discuss how Colin Family Mediation Group can help your family find lasting solutions.
Schedule a free consultation today to discuss how Colin Family Mediation Group can help your family find lasting solutions.
