About Lorna M.
Lorna M. Jaynes earned her law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1999 after completing undergraduate studies in biology and psychology at the University of Victoria in 1982. A later start in law followed an earlier scientific education, a background that has informed how she approaches complex family issues and interpersonal dynamics in practice. She is admitted to practice in California and built her legal career across the Bay Area.
Her professional life centers on alternative dispute resolution and family law. She established the Law & Mediation Office of Lorna Jaynes, where she combines legal representation with mediation and collaborative processes. Her training and certifications include recognition as a Collaborative Lawyer through the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and certification as a Family Mediator from the Academy of Professional Family Mediators.
Jaynes has been active in organizations that shape practice standards for mediation and collaborative law. She is a founding member of Mediators Without Borders and of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators. She also holds memberships with the California State Bar, the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Alameda County Bar Association, the Association for Conflict Resolution, and the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers. Those affiliations reflect an interest in both professional development and the wider networks that support conflict resolution work.
Colleagues and clients describe her work as deliberate and process-oriented. She often handles matters that include parenting plans, property division, and settlement negotiation, and she regularly serves as a neutral mediator in cases where the parties seek an alternative to litigation. In collaborative cases, she works with other professionals—such as financial neutrals and mental health consultants—when the circumstances call for multidisciplinary help. Her undergraduate training in psychology sometimes shows up in how she structures sessions and manages communication between parties.
Over the years Jaynes has balanced case work and mediation services, preferring methods that give clients more control over outcomes than traditional courtroom proceedings typically allow. She has contributed to the development of local dispute resolution practice by participating in bar association committees and mediation networks. Her practice is based at the Law & Mediation Office of Lorna Jaynes, where she continues to provide legal counsel, mediation services, and collaborative law representation in family law matters.
