Personal Statement

As a former litigator -  I began my career in the litigation department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison - I know first hand the system’s inefficiencies, the utter waste of resources, the inevitable exacerbation of conflict, and the emotional and economic toll on the litigants.  

When the litigants are people who once loved – and perhaps still love - each other, and who may be parents together, and now find themselves pitted against one another as adversaries, the consequences are invariably appalling and tragic.

When I taught full time at Brooklyn Law School, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with teaching my students how to “make an argument,” or, as they say in politics, “spin” the facts. I also became restless in academia, wanting to return to the practice of law, clear though I was that I did not wish to return to litigation. In 1994, I discovered mediation, a challenging and intriguing blend of law and psychology (had I not become a lawyer, I would have become a clinical psychologist) far more like counseling than litigation, and far more suited to that part of my personality I wished to encourage. 

Six years after I began mediating, I co-founded and became a charter member of the board of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals. It had been clear to me for some time that a significant number of people who are drawn to mediation are not great candidates for a process which requires that they do the “heavy lifting” of negotiation. These people need a “conflict ally,” an advocate who can speak for them and with them without being adversarial or engaging in strategic posturing. 

People often say to me, “I don’t know how you do it.” I work with people who are going through a uniquely painful and vulnerable time in their life. As challenging and at times frustrating as this work can be, it is gratifying to know that I am helping shield my clients from the ravages of the adversary system, while helping them find a better way to a new chapter in their life.