Growing up, my sisters and I saw the passion my father had for law.  All three of us ended up pursuing law as a career.  One of my sisters took a position as a public defender while my father was the prosecuting attorney (in different counties though), which made for very interesting dinner conversations.  My other sister chose to represent children who had been abused or neglected and she eventually became a Juvenile Court Magistrate.  Her love for this area of the law got me interested in pursuing a career in family law.  After switching over to family law full-time, I have loved every second of it and could not imagine working in any other area. 

I am lucky that I was able to work for Legal Aid in their domestic unit.  One of the greatest assets of working for Legal Aid is that attorneys are able to pursue what is best for their client without the restraint of dealing with billing the client.  Because I had that advantage for many years, I gained a great deal of experience in some of the nuances of domestic law that many attorneys do not have the luxury of pursuing.  I am able to take that experience and knowledge and apply it to my current clients. 

I have also taught criminal procedure, legal research methods, and legal writing at the University of Cincinnati. 

My sister, who is currently a Magistrate in Juvenile Court, told me that she thought it would suit my personality.  I started volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem even before I graduated from law school.  She was certainly correct.  Every time I pursued any other area of law, I found myself feeling empty.  Practicing family law full-time is my passion. 

Passion.  I founded this firm to help people.  Yes, I would like to make money, but my first and foremost goal is to help people going through a tough time.  I have always believed that if I follow my passion of helping people, then I would be able to make a living doing it.  This has been true so far. 

I want to help people going through bad situations.  It is difficult to have any kind of family law problem.  It is difficult to navigate the legal system.  It is difficult to find an attorney to trust.  It is difficult to figure out how to pay for the attorney.  I understand all of this.  I want to help families, not add to their worries.  That is why I do the following:

1. I listen to the client. 
2. I help the client understand the legal process.  
3. I help the client figure out how to afford going through the legal process.
4. I return phone calls, text messages, emails as soon as possible.  It is rare that it even takes 24 hours to get a response.
5. I typically work 7 days a week.  Client’s problems don’t pop up just from 9-5 Monday through Friday.  I am accessible. 
6. I fight hard for my clients to achieve a fair outcome.   

Honest and realistic. 

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be honest.  I cannot effectively represent someone who is not honest with me.  If someone misrepresents a situation to me, not only does it result in me giving the wrong advice, it can also mean that the advice that client gets will actually make their situation worse.   In addition, it almost always costs more money to try to fix the situation when the misrepresentation comes to light.  I understand the realities of divorce and custody law.  I do not sit in moral judgment of anyone who comes through my doors.   I only want the truth about the situation in order to effectively represent the client. 

In addition, if the client is not realistic about his/her situation and the likely outcome, this already difficult process will be even harder.   

I have a partner and two kids.  I try to spend as much time as I can with them, but it is never as much as I would like.

I love soccer.  I have played for almost forty years.  I have played goalie throughout that entire time.  There is nothing more exciting than having a team rely on your performance.  I try my best to support the Crew and the national teams (men and women) whenever I can. 

My family is full of animal lovers.  We have three dogs: a Newfoundland, a Boxer and an Irish Setter (yes, it sounds like the beginning of a joke).  We also have a bearded dragon. 

I try to jog as often as I can, or more accurately, as often as I can make myself.  I have completed 10 half marathons, even though it might not look like it.  My Irish Setter loves to run, so I take her out as often as possible.  Our favorite route is on the Olentangy bike path.

My family loves to travel.  My family has a place in Canada that I visit when I can.  I don't like to be away from work or my clients for very long, so I try to limit my vacations to long weekends.     

I do pro bono work for disabled veterans through Legal Aid.  

I participate in many free legal clinics throughout the city.