Terri Breer, Esq.
Divorce Mediator, Attorney, Trainer & Thought Leader in Family Dispute Resolution
With more than 40 years of legal experience, Terri Breer is a highly respected attorney, mediator, educator, and advocate for family law reform. Throughout her distinguished career, she has dedicated herself to helping individuals and families navigate divorce with dignity, clarity, and cooperation, empowering clients to resolve disputes outside the courtroom whenever possible.
Terri earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California and her Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law. She began her career as a trial attorney handling real estate, business, and family law litigation. Over time, she recognized that negotiated settlements often produced more meaningful and lasting outcomes for families than traditional litigation. This realization inspired her transition from litigator to mediator and ultimately shaped the focus of her professional mission.
In 1994, Terri founded the Center for Mediated Divorce and launched one of California’s earliest flat-fee divorce mediation programs. After completing advanced family mediation training through Pepperdine University’s renowned Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, she devoted her practice to helping couples reach informed, customized agreements regarding parenting, support, and property division. Today, the majority of her practice is dedicated exclusively to Divorce Mediation Services, offered both virtually and in person.
A recognized leader within the mediation profession, Terri has held numerous leadership positions, including Chair of the Orange County Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section and Board Member of the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA). She served as Chair of the SCMA Family Mediation Institute from 2017 through 2022 and continued as Co-Chair in 2023. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with the SCMA President’s Award for Exceptional Service (2019) and the prestigious Forrest “Woody” Mosten SCMA Star Award for Excellence and Innovation in Family Mediation (2023).
In 2019, Terri founded New Day Divorce Center, Inc., an organization dedicated to training, mentoring, and supporting divorce professionals. Through New Day Divorce Center, she developed the highly regarded Essentials for California Divorce Mediators training series, which includes multiple online programs each year and her signature two-day intensive workshop, The 5-Step System for Mediating California Divorce.
Expanding her educational mission, Terri launched her YouTube channel, New Day Divorce with Terri Breer, in 2026. Through videos, interviews, and educational content, she shares practical strategies, mediation techniques, and insights designed to help couples achieve successful, lasting settlements while minimizing conflict and emotional stress.
Terri has also been a pioneer in collaborative and interdisciplinary divorce practice. She was a founding member of Orange County Collaborative Divorce Solutions and later founded South Coast Collaborative Professionals (SCCP), a professional network that brings together attorneys, mediators, financial professionals, mental health experts, and other divorce specialists committed to helping families resolve disputes through cooperative processes.
An accomplished speaker and educator, Terri has presented nationally and locally for organizations including the American Bar Association, California State Bar, Academy of Professional Family Mediators, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Collaborative Practice California, University of California Irvine Extension, and numerous bar and professional associations. Her presentations have covered a wide range of topics, including Divorce Mediation, Collaborative Divorce, Co-Parenting, Mediation Ethics, Conflict Resolution, Family Law Reform, and the business and marketing of mediation services.
Terri is also a published author whose articles have appeared in Orange County Lawyer and other professional publications. She remains actively engaged in advancing innovative approaches to family dispute resolution and currently leads ongoing conversations about family law reform through her quarterly online program, Dialogue on Family Law System Reform, which advocates for solutions that keep families out of court and focused on constructive resolution.
Today, Terri is widely recognized as one of Southern California’s most experienced and influential family mediators, combining legal expertise, practical problem-solving, and compassionate guidance to help families move forward toward a brighter future.