Attorney Profile Areas of Practice • Divorce • Dissolution • Spousal Support (Alimony) • Custody (Sole and Shared) • Child Support • Visitation • Modification of Prior Orders • Paternity • Grandparents (and Third-Party) Visitation • Prenuptial Agreements

Past Positions

• Former Referee, Summit County Domestic Relations Court
• Former Chair and Co-Chair, Family Law Committee, Akron Bar Association
• Former Assistant Ohio Attorney General for Mental Health

Honors

• Recipient, 1989 Chief Justice Warren E. Burger "Healer" award, for "strong advocacy for children's rights in the Ohio courts", National Council for Children's Rights, Washington, DC
• Recipient of the 1988 "In the Best interest of Children" award, Fathers for Equal Rights
• Recipient Summit County Legal Aid "Volunteer Attorney of the Year"

Education

• Juris Doctorate, University of Akron School of Law, 1976
• Bachelor of Arts, Secondary Education, University of Akron, 1971

Community Service

• Presently organizing "The Wise (and Loving) Divorce", consisting of free or low-cost workshops to educate individuals considering (or in the process of) Divorce (or Dissolution) about community resources to preserve the marriage, the divorce process (legal, emotional and financial), choosing and working with a divorce lawyer, and alternatives to the traditional litigation process (such as mediation and the collaborative divorce process)
• Organizing Attorney (Summit County) and Attorney Moderator (4 years) of the People's Law School, a collaborative venture of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers and the local educational community to provide adults with a basic understanding of various areas of the law which impact their daily lives; and lecturer on family law.
• Charter member, Women's Board of Akron Child Guidance
• Former advisor, University of Akron Clinic for Child Studies and Family Therapy

Professional and personal accomplishments

• Guest Lecturer in Family Law for the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Akron Bar Association, and the University of Akron
• Author of "Where Are All the Standard Children?", a survey of the standard visitation orders in Ohio's 88 counties
• Co-founder, with John Guidubaldi, Ph.D. (formerly of Kent State University), of Guardian Educators, organized to provide educational workshops about child custody for court personnel dealing with issues of family law and for professionals in allied fields.
• Volunteer attorney, Summit County Battered Women's Shelter
• Trained "Collaborative Divorce" attorney
• Trained Mediator (Basic and Family Law)
• Writer and Visual Artist
• Auctioneer

Biographical Data

• Born Akron, Ohio, 1945
• Single; two children, four grandchildren
• Member, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church; attendee, Akron Friends Meeting