About Me

My Background

I have been an attorney licensed in Washington State since 1979 and spent 35 years working in the family law field. I went to mediation training in the ‘90’s at the University of Washington School of Law and performed mediations for couples on property divisions, support issues, custody disputes, relocation, and same sex couples break ups. I am a past president of the King County Bar Association. I did mediations and practiced as a family law attorney until 2003 when I became the Executive Director of the non-profit Family Law Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program in King County. While at CASA I appeared in King County Superior Court on both the Family Law Motions Calendar and at contested custody trials representing advocates. During my 10 years there, I appeared in hundreds of court proceedings in both Seattle and Kent. In 2013, I retired from the CASA Program and chose to return to mediation.

Why Mediate?

Mediation allows the individuals involved in the dispute an opportunity to come to an agreement as opposed to having a judicial officer decide the matter. Mediation allows you to fully discuss a matter and to spend time on issues and details that matter most to you. Resolving issues surrounding families in an adversarial manner is hard on all family members. It takes a great deal of time and effort as well as money to properly prepare a case for trial and to litigate that case. The outcome is never guaranteed and can be frustrating. Mediation can remove the uncertainty, lessen the time required, and help bring down the emotional cost to all involved. Mediation can help you sort out what is most important long time to you and your family and determine what are the areas where you can compromise or let go.