After many years at an international law firm and then a high-stakes boutique family law firm, I am convinced that litigation serves to destroy instead of help the vast majority of divorcing couples.  And it does not have to be that way.  I want the couples that I work with to be able to dance together at their children’s weddings— and to afford the weddings in the first place.  So I am committed to helping clients dissolve their marriage through a consensual dispute resolution process, whether in mediation, a formal collaborative law process, or a hybrid of processes that puts the clients’ unique needs first while minimizing the collateral damage.

I am certified by the State Bar of California’s Board of Specialization as a Family Law Specialist because while I strive to be a peacemaker, I want my clients to have faith that I have the experience and knowledge to represent them at the highest level of competency.  More importantly, however, I want them to know I listen to what matters most to them.  I listen to my client’s positions, but I focus on the underlying reasons for their positions.  Their “why” can break impasse, and lead to creative solutions that rise the tide for their entire family.  I help my clients understand not just the black letter law, but the interpersonal issues that come into play as they walk through the dissolution process.  Nothing is more satisfying than a great breakthrough and clients I know are leaving the divorcing process better than they came into it.  Except for maybe dissecting a good spreadsheet.  I really love to dive deep into messy financials.

When not at my office, I volunteer at the Los Angeles Superior Court in their mediation program and mediate my four children’s squabbles.  In my spare time, I like to take Pilates and dance classes, geek out on ways to optimize my paperless law practice, and drink snobby coffee.

Education and Experience:

• JD, magna cum laude, University of San Diego (Editor-in-Chief of The San Diego Law Review and named Order of the Coif)
• BA, summa cum laude, UCLA (double majored in Communications Studies and Psychology, departmental honors)
• Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert J. Kelleher, United States District Judge, Central District of California
• Associate at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP
• Of Counsel at the law firm of Phillips Jessner LLP