What is a family?
For the purposes of my law practice, if you call it a family, it's a family. In a broader sense, I believe that a family is a group of people who take responsibility for each other's well being.  Your race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, physical or mental disability have nothing to do with it.  In addition, an individual interested in planning to become a family would be more than welcome in my office.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDIATION AND LITIGATION?
Mediation is a cooperative, private proces. Even though I am an attorney, I do not represent either person in a mediation setting. My job is to help people reach agreement. Mediation is usually cheaper and faster than going to court. I bill for each session and there is no ongoing commitment.

Litigation means going to court to ask the legal system to resolve your dispute. Most cases ultimately settle, but not before hearings, discovery and settlement conferences. If each of you has an attorney, then you are paying for both attorneys. Lawyers are supposed to work hard to advocate for their clients' side of the argument. All that hard work is not free - divorce attorneys like me generally bill by the hour and require payment of fees in advance.

DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY?
Hiring a lawyer is not the right way to handle every problem.  That is one reason I offer mediation services to help people create their own, private divorce settlement. I will do my best to help you find the right-sized solution to your legal problem.  My goal is to be the lawyer you trust enough to call first when you think you may need legal help or the mediator you call first when you need help reaching a decision about your family's future.

Consulting a lawyer before making an important decision like starting a business, moving to a new home, planning for your future or changing your family situation can help you feel better about the difficult decisions you are making.  A thoughtful lawyer who makes an effort to understand the personal dimensions of each case can prevent conflict and reduce worry by helping you think objectively about the risks and opportunities you are facing.

Consulting a lawyer in the midst of conflict or crisis can help you find peace by focusing energy on the key issues that have to be dealt with immediately.  An attorney can also provide sensible, real world strategies for reducing tension and resolving conflict in ways that meet your legal, financial and emotional needs.

Sometimes, just understanding your legal rights can change the way you feel about a problem and lead to changed relationships and changed behavior.

Consulting a lawyer after a conflict or crisis is over may help you to find closure or avoid continuing strain by tying up the loose ends of a simmering dispute.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
In mediation cases - the fee for the initial 90 minute session is $250 and for future sessions the fee is $225 for one hour, or $337.50 for 90 minutes. Most cases can be resolved in between 3 to 8 sessions. Sessions may be once per week, or once per two weeks. Payment is due at the time of each session but there is no ongoing commitment.

In litigation cases, it is difficult to say exactly how much work is involved in a case until some work has already been done.  For this reason, I will generally ask for a an initial refundable deposit in litigation cases. This deposit will usually be for 10-25 hours of work. I will do my best to estimate my fees and any other expenses.  If it looks like it will cost more or less than the estimate, I will let you know and we can work on changing your legal strategy if necessary.

If I don't think it is cost effective for your to hire me, I will say so - an attorney is supposed to be a trusted representative of his or her client, not just another salesman.  My hourly rate for new clients is $225.00 per hour effective August 19, 2009 .  I'm also offering discounted initial consultations ($175 for the first hour) through September 1, 2010.

WILL MY INFORMATION BE KEPT SECRET?
An attorney is required by law to protect his or her client's secrets.  I will not discuss identifying details of your case with anyone except other attorneys or others working on your case, or in rare cases, with my own attorney.  I may discuss non-identifying aspects of your case with outside attorneys or other professionals such as accountants in order to make sure I provide you with the best advice I can.

I understand that there are many lawyers and many other sources of legal advice and I believe that most important value I can add to our working relationship is trust.