EDUCATION & TRAINING

I earned my law degree from Stanford Law School in 1989, after graduating magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1983.  I am licensed to practice law in Maryland, the District of Columbia and California. I am active in state and local bar associations, am a member of numerous organizations devoted to alternative conflict resolution, and am an avid consumer of continuing legal education programs.  In recent years, I have received extensive additional training in mediation (90+ hours), collaborative law (30+ hours), parenting coordination (40+ hours) and parent education and Adlerian family dynamics (144+ hours).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

My professional career began in 1983 as a Correctional Ombudsman in the Connecticut prison system, where I investigated and resolved inmate complaints against the correctional department.  After graduating law school, I joined the litigation department of Washington D.C. law firm Swidler & Berlin, where I handled complex civil and constitutional cases.  After serving as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, I opened my own practice in 1995.  I stumbled into family law accidentally, handling my first divorce case for a friend in 1997.  Having found my calling, I have focused exclusively on family matters ever since.  Over the years, my practice has evolved from a conventional litigation-based practice to a negotiation-based practice in which I can focus on allaying conflict and solving problems.