My Legal Philosophy

Having practiced law now for over 22 years, with the last 17 years devoted almost exclusively to family law, I've developed some principles and practices that I try to incorporate into my practice and to pass on to my clients. In no particular order, here they are:

• If you're coming to see me, you're going through a difficult, problematic, and stressful time in your life. Your marriage or other intimate relationship is breaking up or has broken up. You have questions about children, money, property, debt, safety. There may be issues of addiction, mental health, and/or domestic violence.
• Although I'm very empathetic, I'm not a counselor or a therapist. It will be very helpful if you visit with one of these trained professionals who can help you process all of the feelings and changes you're experiencing.
• Fighting (known as litigation) almost always makes things worse. For almost 20 years, I believed that the courtroom was the one place where truth would come out, under the harsh give-and-take of direct and cross-examination. And it does, but at what cost? I will encourage you to use more peaceful ways of resolving your issues... but will also litigate when necessary.
• I now believe that litigation is generally the worst way of resolving family law issues. There are so many better ways: mediation, collaborative law, neutral evaluators, parent coordinators, and even arbitration can be peaceful, productive ways of finalizing difficult personal issues. I support and encourage these alternative methods.
• Sometimes litigation is unavoidable. It's not my preferred way of resolving issues, but they do get resolved, and sometimes filing a lawsuit is the only way to get someone to turn over documents, provide information, or even talk about the issues to be decided. Lawsuits, with all their paperwork and deadlines definitely have a way of focussing your attention! And most of them are settled prior to trial.
• I believe in setting boundaries and taking responsibility for one's own actions. If you want more detail on this point, just ask.
• The issues that arise in family law may be complicated and challenging, but each one WILL be resolved, one way or another. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and a good attorney will guide you through the tunnel, holding your hand, as quickly as possible.