I graduated from St. John’s University School of Law, where I was an editor of the Law Review and the Catholic Lawyer and was named a St. Thomas Moore Scholar.  Following my law school graduation, I received a Masters in Law from New York University School of Law.  I began my career as a Law Assistant in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the Second Judicial Department, and then became a Law Secretary to a Supreme Court Justice in the Ninth Judicial District in Westchester County.  I then entered private practice, joining the Family Law Department of an international, general practice law firm, of which I subsequently became Chair.  I am admitted to practice in New York State and the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.

I have held leadership positions in bar associations, including Chairman of the Family Law Sections of both the New York State Bar Association and the Westchester County Bar Association, and Vice President of the New York State Bar Association for the Ninth Judicial District.  I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association. 

I was named Best Lawyers’ 2011 White Plains Family Lawyer of the Year.  I have been a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 1980, and was recently elected to the Board of Managers of its New York Chapter, on which I previously served as Vice President and Executive Committee Member.  I have been listed in Best Lawyers in America, Matrimonial Law, every year since 1989 and was selected as one of the Ten Leaders in Matrimonial Law in the Ninth Judicial District for every year since this list  was created. I have also been listed as one of the top 25 lawyers in Westchester County by the New York Times Super Lawyer section every year from 2007 through 2012 and have consistently received the highest peer ratings in Martindale Hubbell.  I am also listed in U.S. News and World Report Best Lawyers - Family Law. 

I am frequently called upon by matrimonial attorneys in Westchester County, Rockland County and New York City to act as a binding arbitrator in their cases in which I have been the trier of fact and render decisions on all issues. 

I have lectured innumerable times on divorce and family law to the bar and judiciary, under the auspices of bar associations, law schools, judicial training institutes, and other legal organizations. 

I have been married to my law partner, Ronnie Gouz, since 1992, and we have four children and six grandchildren.  I am an avid golfer and enjoy traveling.