My Virginia-based law practice is 100% focused on family law including collaborative law, mediation and litigation services in all aspects of divorce, including spousal and child support, child custody and visitation issues, preparation of separation and property settlement agreements, drafting of premarital and post-marital agreements and division of retirement benefits for military and privately-funded 401(k) and IRA plans. My approach to all family law matters is to first try to resolve the family issues by the collaborative process, mediation and if both of those approaches fail, then by litigation. My trial work includes litigated family law matters in both the Circuit and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts throughout northern Virginia, including Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington Counties and Alexandria City. I handle contested divorce cases (support, custody and visitation cases and equitable distribution cases) and post-divorce modification. My approach when working with clients on these very personal family law matters is to become a trusted counselor and advisor in addition to providing the text book legal advice and in court representation. My undergraduate and graduate education and training in psychology enables me to empathize with my client's situation and to craft the best possible approach to resolving the client's case. Mediation and Collaboration: I am a trained family mediator and collaborative law attorney. I am rated "AV", the highest rating given by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ for my legal ability and high ethical standards. I have been fortunate to have been named among Virginia Business magazine's "Legal Elite" in 2009 and repeatedly listed among Northern Virginia Top Lawyers in The Northern Virginia Magazine. Since 2006 I have also repeatedly been nominated by my peers for inclusion in both the Virginia Super Lawyers - Family Law section and the Washington D.C. Super .Lawyers - Family Law section. Prior to joining Offit Kurman I was a partner in the family law section of a boutique family law firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Fairfax, Va.
Admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia ~Also admitted to New Hampshire (inactive) and Massachusetts (inactive) ,J.D.
CURRENT:
Fellow -The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2009 to Present
Past President of the Fairfax Bar Association, Fairfax, Virginia (2016-2017)
Director and Officer -Fairfax Bar Association, 2008 to 2018
Past Director of the Family Law Section of the Fairfax Bar Association
Member of the Virginia Collaborative Professionals and the Northern Virginia Collaborative Professionals.
Member of the Board of Governors of Senior Lawyers Conference, Virginia State Bar Assoc. - 3 yr. term -2019-2022
Bar Council, 19th Judicial Circuit, Virginia State Bar Assoc. (2017-2020)
Fairfax Bar Association Delegate to the American Bar Association (ABA) (2020-2022)
PRIOR:
Year | Course Title | Instructor | Hours |
---|---|---|---|
Basic/ Introductory Collaborative Law or Interdisciplinary Collaborative Team Training. | |||
2009 | Collaborative Divorce Team Training | Lonnie Broussard | 24 |
30-Hr Interest-Based Negotiation & Mediation Skills | |||
2005 | Mediation training - Northern Virginia Mediation and Conciliation Center | staff | 30 |
Additional 15 hours Intermediate/ Advanced interest-based negotiation, communication skills, collaborative, or basic professional coach training | |||
2012 | Roadblocks to Financial Resolutions in Collaborative Cases | Debora E. May, Gigi Robson & Lonnie Broussard | 1 |
2011 | Virginia Collaborative Professionals 4th Annual Meeting | Kelly Murray, Esq., Kate Scharaff, LCSW & Lisa Herrick, Ph.D | 5 |
2011 | Timing Issues in Collaborative Divorce | Smollar | 2 |
2011 | Exploring Bias within the Collaborative Team | Doherty, Fletcher & Pacetti | 2 |
2011 | Collaborative Practice: Practicing Zealous Advocacy by Using Effective Non-Adversarial Negotiation Skills | Morrison, Schenkel, Stickley & Yoder | 3 |
2009 | Jumpstart Your Collaborative Practice | Fauss, Robbins & Smoller | 2 |
2009 | Emotional Dynamics of Collaborative Divorce | D'Ari, Hembree & Herrick | 2 |
Annual 4 hours collaborative continuing education (basic, intermediate, or advanced) | |||
2021 | Hold Onto Your Hats: Strategies for Streamlining Collaborative Practice | Jennifer Bradley, J.D., Lynn Fletcher, J.D. & Natalie Goldberg, LCSW | 1.5 |
2020 | Yikes – My Client is recently sober: Integrating Substance Abuse Recovery into a Parenting Plan | Natalie Goldberg, LCSW and George Young, LCSW, MAC | 1.5 |
2020 | The New Normal | Introduced by Steven Goldman and Patrice Garver and hosted by Lisa Herrick and Natalie Goldberg | 1.5 |
2020 | Prenups, the Collaborative Way | Michael McHugh and Lynn Fletcher | 1.5 |
2020 | DCACP during COVID-19: Impacts and Opportunities | Lisa Herrick, Ph.D., Sue Soler, LCSW, Natalie Goldberg, LCSW, Grant Moher, J.D. and Jennifer Bradley, J.D. | 1.5 |
2020 | Addressing Full Disclosure of Ambiguous Adultery in Collaborative Divorce | Steve Goldman, Esq. and David Ginsburg, Esq. | 1.5 |
2019 | The Space Between | Paul Smollar, Esq.,Adele Dari, Ph.D. | 1 |
2019 | Parent Child Contact Problems and applying collaborative principles | Patrice Garver, Ph.D. and Lynn Hawkins | 1.5 |
2019 | Common pitfalls and best practice for drafting real estate provisions in marital settlement agreements | Molly Craig, Esquire/Realtor | 1.5 |
2019 | A Collaborative Case Study | Jennifer Bradley, Esq., Lynn Fletcher, Esq. and Lisa Herrick, Ph.D. | 1.5 |
2018 | Divorce Through the Developmental Lens | Lisa Herrick, Ph.D and Kate Scharff, Ph.D | 1 |
2018 | Creative | Debbie May, Sue Soler, Suzy Eckstein | 1.5 |
2018 | Avoiding Financial Errors in Divorce Settlement | Adam Morgan, CFP, CDFA, MBA | 1.5 |
2018 | And They Lived Happily Ever After | Carol Miller, Ph.D., J. Christopher Brown, Jr., CFP, Elizabeth L. Gray, Esq., & Steve Metzler, Business Coach | 2 |
2017 | Where are We Now in Collaborative Divorce: A Short Film and Discussion | Al Bonin, Phyllis Miller Palombi and Paul Smollar | 1.5 |
2017 | What Does Neutrality Look Like? | Lisa Herrick, PhD, and Natalie Goldberg, LCSW | 2 |
2016 | Motivational Interviewing and Collaborative Divorce | Natalie Goldberg, LCSW, LICSW, LICSW-C and Evan Mark, MSW LCSW-C, CPC-AD | 1.5 |
2015 | What are our Core Collaborative Principles? | Carol Miller and Lynn Fletcher | 1.5 |
2015 | My Daddy has a Special Friend and Mommy's Always Sad: Affairs and Divorce - From the Child's Point of View | Debra Nackman, Ph.D. | 1.5 |
2014 | The Balancing Act Between Tending and Moving, Parts I and II | Lisa Herrick, Ph.D, Kate Scharf, LCSW-‐C, LICSW &Barbara Burr, Esq. | 3.5 |
2014 | Decision Support in Negotiations | Kimberley J. Fauss, Esq. | 1.5 |
2014 | Building Your Collaborative Practice | Grant Moher, Esq. & Adele D'Ari, Ed.D. | 1.5 |
2013 | The Impact of Divorce on Young Children: Separating the Myths from the Truths | Lisa R. Herrick, Ph.D | 1.5 |
2013 | The Continuum of Parental Alignment, Estrangement and Alienation in Collaborative Cases | William B. Zuckerman, Ph.D. | 1 |
2013 | Collaborative Conversations about Support: A Model Between Fear and Fairness | Paul Smollar and Adele D'Ari | 1.5 |
2013 | Brandenburg, Keeling and their application to the division of hybrid property | Michael McHugh and Grant Moher | 1.5 |
2012 | Updates on Collaborative Protocols | Paul Smollar, Jan White & Susan M. Butler | 1.5 |
2012 | Updates on Collaborative Protocols | Paul R. Smollar, Esq., Anne W. White, Esq., & Susan M. Butler, Esq. | 1.5 |
2012 | Roadblocks to Financial Resolutions in Collaborative Cases | Deborah E. May, CDFA, CFP, CPA, Gigi Robson, CDFA,CPA & Lonnie Broussard, CDFA, CFP4 | 1 |
2012 | Challenges in the Collaborative Process | Dana Cogan, M.D., Viola Vaughan-Eden, PhD, LCSW & Marie Donlan, LMFT, CSAC | 2 |
2010 | Motions Conciliation Program CLE | FFX Bar Speakers & Panelists | 2 |
2009 | Collaborative Practice Training | Lisa Herrick, Ph.D | 30 |