Education and Experience
I earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology with honors in the mid-1970’s. In 1978, I began working as a Family Relations Counselor in the New Haven Superior Court, Family Relations Division. During that time, I attended Law School and in 1985, I earned my law degree graduating summa cum laude. Upon graduation, I was selected as the Law Clerk for Justice David Borden who was then a Judge of the Appellate Court. My duties as a Family Relations Counselor involved conducting extensive investigations in cases where the parents did not agree regarding custody and parenting schedules for their children. When the Superior Court started its Mediation program, I was among the first Mediators in Connecticut to provide court-connected Mediation services upon referral from the Family Court Judges.
Because of the extensive background and experience I developed while employed with the Family Court, as soon as I entered the law practice upon completion of my Appellate Clerkship in 1986, I began representing clients in Family Law matters exclusively. In those early years, my law practice involved traditional adversarial litigation in Family Courts throughout the State of Connecticut. To preserve and protect my deep-rooted interest in Mediation and non-adversarial conflict resolution during those many years when I was fully engaged in adversarial litigation, I created a dispute resolution course for law students which I have taught every year since 1989.
CURRENT FOCUS OF MY LAW PRACTICE
Throughout my entire career, I have occasionally served as a Mediator in addition to my primary practice as a litigator. I have since shifted the entire focus of my practice away from litigation. My work is now focused entirely upon the non-adversarial, out-of- court processes of Mediation and Collaborative Law along with some related services.
For example, for clients who are engaged in Mediation with other Mediators, I will serve as consulting/review counsel when those clients wish to have their agreements reviewed before they are finalized. In addition, upon request of lawyers or clients who are unable to resolve their matters, I will serve as an Arbitrator. My Arbitration practice is described on this website under the “Arbitration” tab.
MEMBERSHIPS, PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS, ONGOING TRAINING
I am an active member of a variety of professional groups and organizations on the local, state, national and international levels all of which are focused on non-adversarial conflict resolution. The following is a list of my current and recent affiliations.
Connecticut
CONNECTICUT COUNCIL FOR NONADVERSARIAL DIVORCE (CCND)
- Board of Directors
- UCLA Subcommittee
COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY
- Founding member
FAIRFIELD COUNTY COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE GROUP
CONNECTICUT BAR ASSOCIATION
- Family Law Section
- Dispute Resolution Section
FAIRFIELD COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
New York
NEW YORK BAR ASSOCIATION
National
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
- Dispute Resolution Section, Collaborative Law Committee
- Family Law Section
- MY COLLABORATIVE TEAM (MCT)
International
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONALS (IACP)
- Education and Training Committee
- Practice Group Development Committee
SPECIALIZED TRAINING AND ONGOING EDUCATION
I have engaged in numerous specialized trainings and study groups. Those focus upon: interdisciplinary collaborative practice (Connecticut and Florida); mediation; powerful non-defensive communication (PNDC); and study groups with participants from multiple states and countries related to those subjects.