As a family lawyer I must wear several hats. The first, and foremost, is my role as your attorney; to protect your interests and legal rights and to help you understand the options available to you and consequences of choosing a particular option. The second is my role as your counselor; To guide you through the goal of resolution and assist in your decision making process.

As a collaborative lawyer, I have a third role. That role is to work with your spouses’ attorney to implement an agreement which meets, as much as possible, both parties individual needs, addresses each party’s fears and concerns, and results in an agreement that each feels comfortable in accepting and following. This is particularly important when there are children involved as both parties will have a continuing role in that child’s life no matter what the age of the child.

As a mediator, my goal is to assist both parties, and their attorney’s if either party is represented by an attorney, to resolve family law issues. To that end, my role is to reach an agreement that is acceptable to all parties in an atmosphere that is not adversarial.

In all roles, I recognize that it is important to minimize, as much as possible, the emotional and financial costs of a divorce, or other family dispute, such as child custody and visitation.

Finally, I believe it is important that you, as the client, feel comfortable in communicating with me. You will be informed of everything that is occurring with your case, receive copies of all correspondence, and have your phone calls returned promptly.