Jonathan Kales, (Lawyer/Mediator)
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As a family law attorney and mediator, my goal is to provide clients with the support necessary to reach the best possible resolutions for themselves and their families in an environment that is less painful, more compassionate, individualized, holistic, and efficient, and has greater integrity than traditional divorce. I dedicate my practice exclusively to negotiating divorce settlements via the Collaborative Process and divorce mediation. I stopped litigating entirely in 2012 after practicing family law for years and becoming convinced that court and the adversarial system serve divorcing spouses and their children poorly, making already difficult situations even harder by ramping up conflict and rarely focusing on what's in the best interests of anyone involved. In the end, my hope for each client is an enduring divorce settlement agreement that provides them with a positive path forward in life, whether with regard to co-parenting, financially, or otherwise.
Collaborative Services
I have been the Collaborative Professionals of Northern Virginia's president, representative to the Virginia Collaborative Professionals (VacP), and treasurer, as well as a member of the VaCP’s Council. Additionally, I was named as one of “Ten Leaders in Collaborative Divorce Law in Greater Washington District of Columbia” by The Ten Leaders Cooperative and have been recognized by Virginia Business Magazine as a member of Virginia’s "Legal Elite" in the area of Alternative Dispute Resolution in every year from 2013 to the present. My experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution and family conflicts dates back to the mid-1990s, when I mediated parenting disputes in the Connecticut court system while in law school.
Professional Activities
CURRENT:
Member, Fairfax Bar Association's Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
PRIOR:
President, Collaborative Professionals of Northern Virginia
CPNV Representative to Virginia Collaborative Professionals
Treasurer, Collaborative Professionals of Northern Virginia
Member, VaCP Council
Collaborative Practice Training
| Year | Course Title | Instructor | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic/ Introductory Collaborative Law or Interdisciplinary Collaborative Team Training. | |||
| 2006 | Basic Collaborative Law Training | Palliser Conflict Resolution | 20 |
| 30-Hr Interest-Based Negotiation & Mediation Skills | |||
| 1997 | Mediation Training | University of Connecticut School of Law | 50 |
| Additional 15 hours Intermediate/ Advanced interest-based negotiation, communication skills, collaborative, or basic professional coach training | |||
| 2010 | Advanced Collaborative Training | Jack Himmelstein/Katherine Miller | 8 |
| 2009 | Advanced Collaborative Training | Pauline Tesler/Peggy Thompson | 5.5 |
| 2008 | Intermediate Collaborative Training | Pauline Tesler | 3.5 |
| Annual 4 hours collaborative continuing education (basic, intermediate, or advanced) | |||
| 2022 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Collaborative Clients, When Kumbaya Is Not Enough | Barbara Burr | 1.5 |
| 2022 | Advanced Collaborative Training: A Parent’s Mental Illness Should Not Prevent a Successful Parenting Plan | Stephanie Smith, JD, and Patrice Garver, MHP | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Virginia's Uniform Collaborative Law Act - What it Means for Your Collaborative Practice | Bradley, White, and Keyes | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Understanding Domestic Violence and the Challenges in Getting It Right | Viola Vaughan-Eden | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Transform Them | Jonathan Foust | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: The Flexible Potential of the Child Specialist Role | Lisa Herrick and Natalie Goldberg | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: No Justice, No Peace | Burr and Goldberg | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Hold onto Your Hats - Strategies for Streamlining Collaborative Practice | Goldberg, Rowny, Bradley, Fletcher | 1.5 |
| 2021 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Beyond Spread Sheets And Cash Flow – A Deep Dive into The Financial Neutral Roles As Facilitator, Mediator And Advisor | Debbie May and Robin Taub | 1.5 |
| 2020 | VaCP 13th Annual Conference: The Psychological and Ethical Dimensions of Collaborative Practice | David Hoffman | 6 |
| 2020 | Advanced Collaborative Training: “Yikes – My Client Is Recently Sober”: Integrating Substance Abuse Recovery into A Parenting Plan | Goldberg and Young | 1.5 |
| 2020 | Advanced Collaborative Training: The New Normal | Herrick and Goldberg | 1.5 |
| 2020 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Prenups, the Collaborative Way | McHugh and Fletcher | 1.5 |
| 2020 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Disclosure? Distraction? Denial? Dunno. Addressing Full Disclosure of Ambiguous Adultery in Collaborative Divorce | Goldman and Ginsberg | 1.5 |
| 2019 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Common Pitfalls and Best Practice For Drafting Real Estate Provisions In Marital Settlement Agreements | Molly Craig | 1.5 |
| 2019 | Advanced Collaborative Training: ASD/Neuro-diversity in the Family: How to better understand the neuro-diverse adult client (and their neuro-diverse children) | Jamell White, Ph.D., LCSW-C | 1.5 |
| 2018 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Divorce Through the Developmental Lens | Lisa Herrick, PhD and Kate Scharff | 1.5 |
| 2018 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Collaborative TEAM protocols: How the TEAM establishes an environment of thinking and reasoning | Christine Hissong and Mary Szpanka | 1.5 |
| 2018 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Avoiding Financial Errors in Divorce Settlement | Adam Morgan, CFP, CDFA, MBA | 1.5 |
| 2018 | Advanced Collaborative Training: And They Lived Happily Ever After… | Carol Miller, Ph.D, J. Christopher Brown, Elizabeth Gray, Steve Metzler | 1.5 |
| 2017 | VaCP 10th Annual Conference: Creating the Conditions for Growth (As We Help Our Clients Navigate Separation and Divorce) | Herrick and Scharff | 6 |
| 2017 | Advanced Collaborative Training: What Does Neutrality Look Like? | Herrick and Goldberg | 1.5 |
| 2017 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Stop Driving at the End of Your Hood | Garver, Schleifman, McHugh | 1.5 |
| 2017 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Creating the Conditions for Growth As We Help Our Clients Navigate Separation and Divorce | Lisa Herrick and Kate Scharff | 6 |
| 2017 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Complexity and Protocols: Adapting Collaborative Process in the Complex System of Divorce | Smith | 7.5 |
| 2017 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Collaborative Marketing Principles | Rockwell | 1.5 |
| 2016 | VaCP 8th Annual Conference: Counseling Clients through Bad News | Marjorie Aaron | 6 |
| 2016 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Motivational Interviewing and Collaborative Divorce | Goldberg and Marks | 1.5 |
| 2015 | VaCP 8th Annual Conference | Fancher, Macturk, Nelson, Simek | 7 |
| 2015 | How to Present Collaborative Divorce at a First Client Meeting | I was the instructor. | 1.5 |
| 2015 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Working with Families with Special Needs Children | Nuzzo | 1.5 |
| 2015 | Advanced Collaborative Training: What Are Our Core Collaborative Principles (Part 2)? | I was the instructor along with fellow CPNV Executive Board Members | 1.5 |
| 2015 | Advanced Collaborative Training: What Are Our Core Collaborative Principles (Part 1)? | Miller and Fletcher | 1.5 |
| 2015 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Collaborative Premarital Agreements | McHugh | 1.5 |
| 2015 | Advanced Collaborative Training - Employee Benefits: What the Employee and Spouse Need to Know as They Contemplate Divorce? | Schliefman and Lindahl | 1.5 |
| 2014 | VaCP 7th Annual Conference: Adult Attachment Style During Separation & Divorce | Yuval Berger and Lisa Alexander | 6 |
| 2014 | Breaking Down Barriers to Support: How a Cohesive Collaborative Team Can Inspire New Thinking | Smollar, D'Ari, Broussard, Fauss | 7 |
| 2014 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Your Professional Profile Should Communicate Your Commitment to the Collaborative Process | Paul Smollar | 1.5 |
| 2013 | VaCP 6th Annual Conference: Overcoming Barriers to Settlement (A Skills-Based Training Utilizing Strategies from Psychology, Communication, Negotiation and Neuroscience) | Nina Meierding | 7.5 |
| 2013 | Advanced Mediation Training: Dialogues Across Divides | Virginia Mediation Network and The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University | 8 |
| 2013 | Advanced Collaborative Training: The Meaning of Money | Rona Hitlin-Mason | 1.5 |
| 2013 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Everything You Wanted to Know About Divorce and Tax But Were Afraid to Ask | Keith Lindall | 1.5 |
| 2013 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Divorce Research Redux | Lisa Herrick | 1.5 |
| 2013 | Advanced Collaborative Training: Collaborative Conversations About Support | Smollar and D'Ari | 1.5 |
| 2012 | The Collaborative Road Show | Burr, Hirsch, Pence, Solar, & Zimmerman | 1.5 |
| 2012 | Team Collaboration in a Difficult Case | Miller, Fletcher & Pendzich | 1.5 |
| 2012 | Navigating Asset Valuation Pitfalls in Collaborative Divorce Cases | Mitlehner & Schleifman | 1.5 |
| 2011 | VaCP 4th Annual Conference: Navigating Emotional Currents, Delving Beneath the Surface of the Collaborative Process | Lisa Herrick & Kate Scharff | 3 |
| 2011 | Preventing Real Property Pitfalls in Divorce | Kelly Lise Murray | 2 |
| 2011 | Mediation Ethics | Spahn and McCammon | 2 |
| 2011 | Advanced Mediation Training | Virginia Mediation Network | 6 |
| 2010 | IACP 11th Annual Networking and Educational Forum | International Academy of Collaborative Professionals | 18 |
| 2009 | Advanced Mediation Training | Virginia Mediation Network | 8 |
| 2008 | Three Day Core Interdisciplinary Team Training | Collaborative Divorce Team Trainings | 20 |
| 2008 | Advanced Mediation Training | Community Mediation Center | 8 |
| 2005 | Mediation Training | Northern Virginia Mediation Service | 30 |
| 2004 | Mediation Training | Northern Virginia Mediation Service | 45 |