I've heard it many times already in my career: Choosing family law must have been easy for me. Well, there is some truth to that. I grew up with the law - it's been a part of me my whole life, since my father was a family law attorney before becoming a judge. Yes, I learned early that family law is an important and rewarding field of the law.

I'm proud of being a family lawyer - I knew from the beginning I had the right set of skills to be effective for my clients. I am a good counselor, negotiator, and communicator. I pride myself on my objectivity and being able to get to "yes." That's an important skill in our work, where emotions can cloud a client's judgment and disputes have to be resolved for the long-term.

I've always been a positive person, and I've always cared about the people I work with and the clients I work for. I've always felt it was my job to help keep morale up during the dark days of a client's family law case. For anyone going through it, this process is a journey, with high highs and low lows. I have always been sensitive to that. It comes down to this: I have always worked to get my clients from Point A to Point B with the least emotional pain possible.

I am their advocate, but I am not just their mouthpiece, I am also their counselor. It's simply never in a clients' best interest to just be their mouthpiece, as that does not settle cases. If a lawyer just parrots what a client wants you to say, everyone usually winds up in needless litigation. I've always focused on being objectively honest with my clients and communicating thoughtfully and effectively. As a result, most of my cases settle successfully.

My father was my original mentor, of course. Here at Obermayer Bob Whitelaw and Ann Verber have been great influences as well. I've been fortunate to have great mentors and guides. A great aspect of the Obermayer family law group is that we all share the same philosophy and approach in handling cases. Our firm is first-rate: We have large-firm resources, with broad expertise, and a small-firm personality and culture. That's unique. Our clients certainly know and appreciate that.

In some respects I feel as though I am a throwback to the old guard of family law - traditional litigators committed to best practices with the goal of settling the case first. I am a part of a legal community, and I want to help it improve. I think the system works reasonably well - but we can make it better. For me it's got nothing to do with ego gratification - I just like to help the practice of family law.

The way I practice family law I get to know my clients very well. I care about them and the people in their lives without losing my objectivity, and helping them reach positive outcomes. I think my clients know that, and that's very rewarding.