Our Services

Mediation is a voluntary, non-binding, and confidential process that allows parties to resolve conflicts and disputes in a private setting with or without attorneys. It is often a better path than the traditional adversarial litigation approach. One of the most important aspects of mediation is that the parties, together with the neutral mediator, work together to consider and discuss all options and make decisions about property division, custody, and support.

Because you have control over your divorce, mediation allows individuals to customize solutions tailored to your family’s specific needs, rather than subscribe to traditional formulas that are applied when you step into the courtroom. A team approach in mediation is often needed to support clients and create durable agreements, particularly in financially complex cases involving privately held companies, family businesses, carried interest, treatment of management fees, valuation, and complex equity compensation. At BDR clients gain access to our trusted team of neutral professionals including forensic accountants, valuation experts, estate planners, wealth managers, child custody experts, therapists, and corporate counsel, who help make the process less daunting and serve to provide valuable expertise to structure solid agreements at our Newton or Boston office, as well as virtual mediation.

Through the mediation process, the painful experience of separation and divorce is often more amicable and less expensive allowing families and parties to move forward. Our firm creates an ideal environment in which disputes can be resolved either in person at our offices in Boston or Newton, as well as on-line mediation and hybrid mediation.

I am a trained and certified Mediator through the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

The arbitration process is similar to a trial in court, except it is handled by an arbitrator selected by the parties in a private forum. The parties present evidence to the arbitrator typically through documents and witness testimony. It is a fact-finding process, but compared to traditional trials, arbitration can usually be completed quickly and is less formal. The parties can agree to limit the issues and customize traditional legal rules of practices to best fit the case. After the hearing, the arbitrator issues a decision based on the information provided during the course of the hearing. Some awards simply include a “bare bones” decision, and others provide a more in-depth rationale in support of the award.

The arbitration process may be binding, or non-binding. More typically it is binding and therefore final. It can be enforced by a court and can only be appealed on very narrow grounds. When arbitration is non-binding, the arbitrator’s award is advisory and can be final only if accepted by the parties.

In Massachusetts, the Uniform Arbitration Act is followed. The Uniform Family Arbitration Act has been passed in only four (4) states, not Massachusetts. After many years of litigation, I am well versed in the rules, the law and the fact-finding process and am a trained arbitrator and Co-Chair of the National Arbitration Committee for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

If you are seeking to negotiate the terms of your divorce and settle outside of court, we offer direct legal services in the form of negotiated settlements. Trained at the Harvard. Negotiation Institute, we work closely with clients to establish realistic goals and priorities to structure asset division, child support and alimony, tax, estate and wealth planning, and, if children are involved, parenting plans for minor children. Throughout, we provide legal information, advice, and collaboration with top-notch trusted professionals so you understand your rights and responsibilities under the law as well as possible creative solutions in light of your specific priorities. Working together and collaboratively with your spouse’s counsel, we strive to develop viable and long-lasting resolutions to the terms of your divorce.

Neutral evaluation is a process that may take place soon after a case has been filed in court, or at some other point in the litigation process. The parties and counsel either submit written comments, proposals and/or memoranda followed by either an in-person or virtual meeting. I provide a balanced and unbiased evaluation of the dispute to aid the parties in settlement.

A Special Master is an independent third party often appointment by the court to oversee one or more aspects of litigation including pre-trial discovery and deadlines, fact finding, sale of real estate and facilitation of settlement. I am regularly appointed to by the court and selected by parties to assist in the orderly management of a case and post-judgment administration.

Couples entering into marriage may find themselves seeking to protect assets and preclude future protracted litigation. Whether a first-time marriage or one later in life, prenuptial agreements offer a secure way to allocate earnings, protect inherited wealth and ensure the distribution of one’s estate. Likewise, the prenuptial agreement may provide the non-moneyed spouse a stable standard of living, should the parties divorce. Regardless of the motivation, these agreements often become a source of premarital stress, as couples are negotiating a financial contract while they would prefer to be immersed in the joys of wedding plans. I am well versed in all aspects of prenuptial mediation and legal services and will help you every step of the way.