My approach to the practice of family law is client-centered. In other words, my goals are to make you feel comfortable and cared for as a person as well as to provide you with top notch legal advice and legal representation.

Most of my cases - even the high conflict ones - settle out of court, which is the best outcome because it allows you to remain in control of how you will parent your children and how you will divide your assets and debts rather than allowing a judge to decide based on the limited information that is admissible in court. Settlement also keeps your attorney fees down and reduces the likelihood of future litigation.

I have been trained to practice collaborative law, which is a fairly new process that allows the parties to agree to stay out of the court system to resolve their differences privately while still within a formal structure. In a collaborative divorce, each party has an attorney, and often the parties share a team of neutral, collaborative professionals in the areas that apply to their case - like finance and parenting - to make well educated decisions about their future. To have a collaborative divorce, both parties must agree to participate in the process, to disclose all relevant information, and to retain an attorney with the required training. If your spouse is not represented by a collaborative attorney, settlement is still possible through mediation or through more traditional negotiation.

If you and your spouse choose to resolve your marital problems through the process of mediation, your mediator will be a neutral who cannot provide you with legal advice or protect your individual interests.  I can represent you in this process to make sure you understand the law and make good decisions.  Alternatively, I am able to serve in the role of the neutral mediator. 

If a fair settlement is not possible, I am prepared to advocate for you to the judge. Since 2006, I have handled an array of family law cases in Virginia trial courts, ranging from complex divorce cases involving business valuations to more discrete post-divorce motions to modify or enforce prior custody, visitation, and support awards.

I am also trained to work with divorcing couples as a mediator.  In this role, I will not represent you or your spouse as your legal counsel becuase I am in a neutral, impartial role.  I will facilitate discussion about the questions that need to be answered, and you and your spouse will be empowered to make decisions about what feels fair to you and what will work best for your unique family.  If a mediated agreement is reached, you can move forward with a simple uncontested divorce. 

I have been recognized in teh Washingtonian and Northern Virginia Magazine as one of the area's top family law attorneys.  I have also been recognized as a Virginia Super Lawyer since 2013, which is based on peer nominations, peer evaluations, and independent research. I have also been included in the Super Lawyer list of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Virginia and the list of the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia. Throughout my career, I have been active in the area of Continuing Legal Education. I was selected by the Virginia Supreme Court as a member of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board from 2014-2017; and, I have been a member of the Fairfax Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee since 2006, serving as a the Committee co-chair in 2011-2013 and vice chair in 2010. I have spoken as a panelist on the topic of family law at the 2016 Fall Conference & 35th Anniversary Celebration of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association and at a 2012 seminar presented by the Virginia Pro Bono Law Center. I received my training certificate from the Collaborative Practice Training Institute in 2018 and I am a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Collaborative Professionals of Northern Virginia, and Virginia Collaborative Professionals. I am a member of the family law sections of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Fairfax Bar Association. I am also a member of the Arlington Bar Association.