After stepping away from big-firm legal practice and spending years developing an expertise in connection and community-building, Sarah Rutledge Fischer returned to the legal realm and established a mediation and collaborative law practice, Thresholds LLC. Located in lower Alabama, but serving clients virtually wherever the need arises, Fischer has focused her practice on serving those who desire a more human option than most traditional legal practices currently offer.
Fischer does not limit her practice to a specific area of law. What she offers clients is not predictive knowledge of likely judicial outcomes. Instead, she offers a client-centered process that prioritizes creating a safe space in which each participant can feel heard and take an active role in determining the way forward.
As a woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Fischer has an appreciation for the fact that many individuals and communities do not feel confident that they will be empowered and treated well in a courtroom or traditional law office. It is at the heart of the Thresholds LLC mission to provide a place where each person can feel supported in their humanity, dignity, and autonomy as they work to move through the threshold of their conflict or transition to what is on the other side.
For clients who have demonstrable financial need, Fischer reserves one mediation session each month that is available at a scaled rate.
Fischer is registered on the Alabama State Court Mediation Roster for general mediation as well as domestic relations mediation. Fischer is also registered on the Roster as having completed the necessary training to handle domestic relations mediations containing domestic violence.
Sarah Rutledge Fischer is a mediator and attorney who believes that difficult conversations deserve dignity, clarity, and a space where people can be fully themselves. As the founder of Thresholds Mediation, she helps individuals and families find a compassionate way through conflict, transition, and divorce—without being pulled into the adversarial machinery of the traditional legal system.
As a queer woman, Sarah brings lived experience to her work with clients whose identities, relationships, or family structures fall outside dominant cultural norms. She understands how often these families feel unseen—or even unsafe—within legal and governmental systems. Her practice intentionally offers a judgment-free space for LGBTQ+ individuals, polyamorous families, neurodivergent clients, BIPOC communities, women questioning long-held roles, and anyone who has felt sidelined by traditional expectations. Yet her approach is equally supportive for couples who simply want a calmer, clearer, more humane way to move through divorce.
Sarah’s mediation work centers on the belief that people are capable navigators of their own lives when given the right information, structure, and support. She helps clients name what matters most, understand their options, and make durable decisions together. Sessions are held over Zoom to increase accessibility, reduce stress, and support private, focused conversations. Clients leave with agreements shaped by their values rather than by court procedure.
Her goal is not to fix relationships or reconcile couples—though that can occur; rather, she helps people navigate transition with as little harm as possible. Whether clients are facing divorce, co-parenting decisions, or another major change, Sarah offers a steady presence and a clear pathway through uncertainty.
Through Thresholds Mediation, she provides conflict resolution that protects clients from unnecessary cost and systemic harm while honoring their identities, relationships, and lived experiences. She believes that change does not have to be combative—and that every person deserves a safe place to choose their own path forward.
Duke University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2010
University of Chicago, Bachelors of the Arts, 1999
Free 20 minute consultation
Standard rate $300 per hour, with a four-hour minimum.
Scaled rates available for clients with demonstrable need.
