My Philosophy

In 1982 - as a Sociology and English major at Brandeis University - I met one of the most influential people in my life who helped shape my philosophy and my visions of communication.

It was at that time I sat in class after class with Professor Morrie Schwartz who I later got to know on a personal basis both serving as his teaching assistant for an advanced group process class and spending evenings at dinner in his home or dancing in his hometown. It was his zest for life, his patience and compassion and his skill to not only listen but to really hear that resonated with me and stuck with me throughout my career, my life, in my relationships and in my own child rearing of three amazing now young adults.

While I strayed from the goals I originally set out to achieve (to change the world by making it a more compassionate place), by becoming a top litigator at several major law firms, I always remembered his philosophy and over time I came to realize that the passion I had for my career was grounded in my ability to have an impact on the young lawyers and staff that I mentored and the lives of the clients I touched along the way.

Sure, there was an adrenaline shot I achieved every time I argued a motion in court or achieved a big win, but the real excitement was seeing the results of the junior attorneys who I trained or the sense of accomplishment mediating a difficult case that allowed my clients to avoid litigation and get back to their true business endeavors.

So yes, I was a litigator, and yes I rarely lost a case, but my biggest wins were not in the courtroom but in the lives I touched along the way.

Over time I came to be disappointed by the length of time cases often took, the amount of money and resources that litigation expended and the toll it took on the lives and businesses I represented. I grew more and more passionate about finding ways to resolve conflict creatively and without judicial intervention.

I became passionate about mediation and about different forms of resolution. Having been both a litigator and a party to litigation as well as having been bullied and the victim of abuse, I grew weary of the aspects of litigation that delayed resolution as well as the red herrings along the way to a resolution. I knew I had to find a way to inspire others to have a voice and to bring more of themselves to what they did. I was troubled by the fact so many lawyers and business people come out of advanced degrees with exceptional knowledge and skill but minimal ability to effectively communicate.  And I grew more determined to find alternative dispute mechanisms as well as to avoid conflict.

As a student of Morrie Schwartz’s group process classes I always looked back to think about what would Morrie have done or said and how can I implement what I learned forty years ago into my current career.

So I launch this venture in an effort to change how the world feels about conflict and to impact positively the dispute resolution process as well as to help young lawyers, women and victims of abuse find their voice. What I’ve discovered after thirty-six years of litigating and mentoring and training young lawyers is that not everyone has the same style or means for dealing with conflict and that there’s not one way to mitigate or resolve a dispute.

Sadly I’ve watched many cases that should have been won, lost for reasons other than the underlying substance of the case. And I’ve seen many lawyers, business professionals and others lose their own self identity trying to operate in the legal or business world the way they were expected to act instead of by following their own heart or sense of style.

I hope with this endeavor I can share my insights with you on how to be authentic, how to bring your own style or creativity to your work, how to find purpose in what you do and how to address conflict compassionately.

I look forward to getting to know you and to really hearing you. While not all conflict can be resolved through my techniques, I do invite you to explore whether your dispute can be addressed creatively or whether you could benefit by my individual or group coaching, training or mediation services.