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ABA Section of Family Law

2009-10 Family Law Leadership: Biographies

Meet the leaders of the ABA Section of Family Law! Clicking on the contact link will take you to the leader's entry in the ABA Member Directory. (Please note that only ABA members will be allowed to access that information. Please view the Directory Usage Agreement here.)

We will continue to update this page. If you are a Family Law Officer or Council member, just send your photo and short bio (no more than 300 words) to glazerh@staff.abanet.org. (Return to Leadership page.)

Officers

Mitchell K. Karpf
Chair

Mitchell K. Karpf is a partner with the firm of Young, Berman, Karpf & Gonzalez, P.A. He has an AV Rating in Martindale-Hubbell and is certified by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education in Marital and Family Law. He was named as a Top Lawyer according to the South Florida Legal Guide and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He is admitted to the State Bar of Florida, U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida and U.S. District Court of Appeals.

He is a member of The Florida Bar, The North Dade Bar, The Dade County Bar, The Broward County Matrimonial Lawyers, ABA Family Law Section and AAML—the Florida Chapter. He has served on The Florida Bar Family Law Rules Committee, Family Law Section Litigation Support Committee (vice-chair), First Family Law American Inns of Court (secretary, treasurer and president). He served on the American Bar Association Section of Family Law's Trial Practice and Techniques Committee, Spring Host Committee (chair), Membership, Marketing and Public Relations Committee (vice-chair and chair); Scope and Correlation Committee (vice chair and chair); Long Range Planning Committee; Diversity Committee; Fundraising & Sponsorship Committee (vice-chair); and as Secretary and Vice-Chair for the Section, as well as co-moderator of the Hot Tips Program presented at the Section's Annual Meeting.

He has co-authored publications in The National Law Journal (Prenuptial Pacts Unite Pragmatic Romantics); Family Advocate ("Winning Trial Prep & Rainmaking in Transition—Pro Active Advice for Small Firms"; "The Death of a Lawyer"); and American Journal of Family Law ("Divorce is Over—What About the Kids?").

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Mitchell Karpf

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Debra H. Lehrmann
Chair-Elect

Hon. Debra H. Lehrmann has been a judge in Tarrant County for the past twenty years, and is currently serving her 8th year as the District Judge of the 360th Judicial District of Texas. She previously served as the Associate Judge of the 360th District Court and as the Title IV-D Associate Judge for all Tarrant County Family Courts.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Judge Lehrmann graduated with high honors from the University of Texas in 1979 and the University of Texas School of Law in 1982. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she practiced family law with the Fort Worth law firm of Law, Snakard & Gambill. She also worked as the lead attorney and director of the Enforcement Division of the Tarrant County Domestic Relations Office. In 1990, she was recognized as the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Tarrant County.

Judge Lehrmann currently serves as a commissioner on the National Commission on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), where she serves as the Chair of the drafting committee on the Uniform Relocation Act. Since 2003, she has served on the NCCUSL committee which is creating a uniform law on the court-appointed representation of children. She is a past president of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), is a past president of the Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association, is a master member of the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, serves on the Advisory Board of Tarrant County Dispute Resolution Services, is a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation, and is a charter member of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation.

An active member of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA/FLS), she serves as Secretary of the section and as the Judicial Liaison to the Judicial Section of the ABA. She is a past member of the Family Law Council, of the Continuing Legal Education Committee, of the Publications Board, and has served as chair of the child support committee. From 2000-2003, she was a member of the ABA/FLS Committee to Develop Standards for Representation of Children in Custody Litigation.

In 2005, Judge Lehrmann received the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Scott Moore Award. She speaks frequently at continuing legal education events throughout the state and country, and lectures on family law at Texas Wesleyan School of Law. The author of numerous published articles, in 2003 she received the Texas Bar Foundation's award for the best bar journal article of the year, for "The Child's Voice—An Analysis of the Methodology Used To Involve Children in Custody Litigation" (Texas Bar Journal, November 2002). She is the author of several legal treatises, including Texas Annotated Family Code (Lexis Nexis-Matthew Bender, 2007 Edition; 2006 Edition), and Court-Appointed Representation of Children in Texas Family Law Cases—A Practical Guide (Lexis Nexis-Matthew Bender, 1st Edition, 2004; 2nd Edition 2005-06; 3rd Edition 2006-07; 4th Edition, 2007-08).

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Hon. Debra Lehrmann

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Randall M. Kessler
Vice Chair

Born in Gainesville, Florida, raised in New Orleans and having attended college at Brandeis University near Boston, MA, Randall M. Kessler came to Georgia in 1985 to attend Emory Law School. He has over 20 years of experience in Domestic Relations and Family Law matters including divorce, custody, paternity, prenuptial agreements and child support. Mr. Kessler is known for representing and often opposing Celebrities and Athletes in Divorce, Custody and Support matters as well as for preparing their Prenuptial Agreements.

Mr. Kessler teaches trial techniques at Emory Law School's Trial Techniques Program and he teaches a course in Family Law at John Marshall Law School. He lectures frequently for the American Bar Association as well as for many State Bar Associations across the country (HW, NV, MI, AL, SC, TN, GA) and for organizations such as the National Football League Player's Association.

Mr. Kessler is the Editor of the Family Law Review for the State Bar of Georgia and is the current Chair of the Standing Committee on Substance Abuse and the former Chair of the Family Courts Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association and in 1997 served as Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association, Family Law Section.

Mr. Kessler is Founding Partner at Kessler, Schwarz & Solomiany, P.C. in Atlanta, GA.

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Randall Kessler

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Maryann E. Foley
Secretary

In 1978, this born-and-bred New Yorker accepted a VISTA-volunteer assignment in Anchorage, Alaska. After three winters attending law school at the State University of New York at Buffalo, this was not a difficult transition. Upon completing two years with VISTA, she opened her own solo practice in 1985.

Committee work for the Alaska Bar includes serving as a law examiner for 20 years. She currently represents the Alaska Bar in the ABA House of Delegates. Besides participating in the Alaska Pro Bono Project, she has spent nine years as a board member of Alaska Legal Services.

As an ABA Section of Family Law member, she has served on the CLE Committee (including as cochair for two years), Long Range Planning, Bylaws, Diversity, Trial Practice committees, and as a council member. She also is a member of Soroptimist International of Anchorage, the ATHENA Society, and is a life-long New York Giants and Yankee fan, aunt to four kids, a bicyclist, and a foodie.

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Scott N. Friedman
Financial Officer

Scott N. Friedman exclusively practices Family Relations Law with Friedman & Mirman Co., L.P.A. in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Friedman is also licensed to practice in the state of Florida. Mr. Friedman is an Ohio State Bar Association Family Relations Law Specialist.

Mr. Friedman received his Bachelor of Arts from Miami University and his Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School where he was honored with Order of the Curia.

Mr. Friedman is a member of the Columbus Bar Association's Family Law Committee, the Ohio State Bar Association Family Law Committee, and the American Bar Association Family Law Committee. Mr. Friedman is active with the Family Law Section of the ABA serving on Council, former Co-Chair of the CLE Committee, SCOPE Committee and a member of many other committees.

Mr. Friedman lectures frequently for the Ohio State Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Law Education Institute.

Mr. Friedman is a graduate of the American Bar Association's Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute.

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Scott Friedman

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Anita M. Ventrelli
Immediate Past Chair

Anita M. Ventrelli is a partner of Schiller DuCanto and Fleck LLP. She has a strong background in trial and settlement of complex matters, employing her extensive experience in computer analysis and litigation support techniques. A graduate of DePaul University School of Law, Ms. Ventrelli was named one of the "40 Under 40 Illinois Attorneys to Watch" in 2003 by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. She was named Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the Illinois State Bar Association in 2001, where she served on the Family Law Section Council, chaired the Minority and Women Participation Committee, was a member of the Special Committee on Women and the Law, and currently serves on the Judicial Evaluation Committee. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She is on the faculty of the American Bar Association's Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute and serves on the governing council, the Publications Board, the Continuing Legal Education Committee and the Long-Term Planning Committee, and formerly chaired the Domestic Violence/Family Abuse Committee and Ethics Committee. Ms. Ventrelli lectures frequently on family law topics for the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and community groups. She has published articles for the American Bar Association Family Advocate magazine and other periodicals.

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Anita Ventrelli

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Marshall J. Wolf
Section Delegate

Marshall J. Wolf of Cleveland, Ohio is a partner in the Family Law firm of Wolf and Akers. Mr. Wolf is a founding member of the Trial Advocacy Institute faculty and was involved in the creation of the Institute by the Family Law Section. He is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section and currently represents the Section as a Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. Mr. Wolf was the founding President of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Ohio Superlawyers.

Mr. Wolf is a frequent lecturer on Family Law Trial Techniques and Procedure. He served as keynoter and head of the U.S. Delegation to the First World Congress on Family Law and Rights of Children in Sydney, Australia and has appeared before legislative and executive branches of government, including both branches of Congress on Family Law matters.

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Marshall Wolf

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Timothy Walker
Section Delegate

Born Utica, New York, May 21, 1940; admitted to bar, 1968, Colorado; 1969, California; 1971, Indiana. Education: Princeton University (A.B., magna cum laude, 1962); University of Denver (M.A., 1969; J.D. magna cum laude, 1967). Phi Alpha Delta. Member, Order of St. Ives. Listed Best Lawyers in America, 1987-.

Author: "Annual Survey of Colorado Law," Family Law, 1978-80; "'Distribution of Property Upon Dissolution of Marriage," 9 Colorado Lawyer, 1531, August 1980; "Waiver of Maintenance: Is It Enforceable in Premarital Agreements?" 6 Family Advocate, 22, 1984; "Family Law in the Fifty States: An Overview," 18 Family Law Quarterly, 269, 1985; "Till Torts Do Us Part," 8 Family Advocate 4, 1985.

Professor of law, 1971-99, and professor emeritus, 1999-; University of Denver College of Law. Member: Family Law Quarterly Board of Editors, 1982-83, and editor in chief, 1983-92. Member: Denver, Colorado, and American (member, Section of Family Law, 1980-; Member, House of Delegates, 1999-; chair, Section of Family Law, 1995-96) Bar associations. Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (founding fellow); fellow, American Bar Foundation. Languages: Spanish, French, and Russian. Practice Areas: divorce, family law, interstate custody, premarital agreements.

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Timothy Walker

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Council Members

Melissa J. Avery
At-Large

Melissa Avery is a partner with the law firm Avery & Cheerva LLP, a Certified Family Law Specialist, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Melissa was chosen as one of Indiana's Top 25 Female Lawyers in 2007 by Law and Politics Magazine. Melissa is currently the Secretary of the Indiana State Bar Association Family Law Section, a council member and Committee Chair to the American Bar Association Family Law Section, and a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association Family Law Section Executive Committee. Melissa is a frequent presenter of Continuing Legal Education for both local and national organizations and also participates in pro bono activities by providing family law services to low income clients.

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Melissa Avery

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Roberta (Bobbie) Batley
At-Large

Bobbie Batley is a New Mexico Board Recognized Specialist in Divorce and Family Law. She is a partner in the Albuquerque firm of Little, Gilman-Tepper & Batley, P.A. The firm practice is devoted to litigation, collaboration and negotiation in all areas of complex divorce and family law.

Ms. Batley is listed in Best Lawyers in America and is an active member of the American Bar Association Family Law Section. She is currently Co-Chair of the Membership and Marketing Committee and Co-Chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee. Ms. Batley is a member of the ABA/APA Working Group on Psychological and Legal Interventions.

Ms. Batley is a member of the Albuquerque Collaborative Practice Group and sits on the New Mexico Collaborative Practice Board. She has written numerous articles and lectures frequently, both nationally and locally, in the area of family law. In May 2001, Ms. Batley graduated from the prestigious American Bar Association Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute.

Ms. Batley received her Bachelor's Degree and Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico. She is a member of the U.S. District Court Bar for the District of New Mexico, the New Mexico State Bar, the Albuquerque Bar Association and the New Mexico Women's Bar Association.

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Bobbie Batley

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Greg J. Ortiz
At-Large

Greg Ortiz practices family law exclusively and is a partner in the law firm Ham and Ortiz, LLC. Mr. Ortiz obtained his bachelor of arts in economics from University of Colorado and his juris doctorate degree from University of Denver. Over the last seven years he has worked in various capacities in the areas of juvenile and family law. He has published and spoken on many topics in the area of family law. Mr. Ortiz has been a member and leader on numerous committees with the American Bar Association Family Law Section including the CLE Planning Committee, Long Range Planning, Diversity Committee, Marital Property Committee, Nomination Committee, and has been a producer of numerous programs during the American Bar Associations Family Law Section's Spring and Fall CLE Conferences. Mr. Ortiz is a member of the Family Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association; Colorado Indian Bar Association; Colorado Hispanic Bar Association; and Metropolitan Denver Interdisciplinary Committee. In addition, Mr. Ortiz has volunteered his services to numerous legal aid and pro bono legal services in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area.

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Greg Ortiz

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Jean Crowe
At-Large

Jean Crowe, lead attorney, Family Law Section, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, is a 1981 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and has a diploma from the Institute on International and Comparative Law, Paris. She joined the Legal Aid Society in 1985, after private practice in Madison, Wisconsin. She is a frequent presenter at local, state, and national events on the issue of domestic violence. Currently she serves on the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, as a member and as liaison from the Section of Family Law. She is also section liaison to the ABA Commission on the Renaissance of Idealism in the Profession and to the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. She is a council member for the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division. She serves on the Family Law Quarterly Board of Editors. In Tennessee, she has served as the state chair of the Domestic Relations Section for the Tennessee Bar Association and is a member of the Domestic Relations Code Commission. She served on the original Tennessee Child Support Commission, the Child Support Advisory Task Force, and on the DHS Enhanced Child Support Enforcement Committee. She helped found the Nashville Coalition of Domestic Violence and is chair of its board of directors. She was instrumental in establishing the Davidson County Domestic Violence Death Review Team and is its current chair. She is a member of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court.

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Jean Crowe

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Karl Topor
At-Large

Karl W. Topor's practice is primarily focused on family law issues including divorce, litigation, mediation, and collaborative law. He is licensed throughout Massachusetts, in the United States District Court, and the United States Supreme Court, and has received advanced certification as a mediator and collaborative law attorney.

Mr. Topor is a member of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys Board of Delegates, fellow of the American Bar Foundation, founding member of the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts—New York Chapter, member of the American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, American Association for Justice, and sits on the board of directors of the Divorce Center in Newton, Massachusetts. He is also Public Education chair of the Divorce Center where he teaches, organizes, and coordinates seminars for the public on divorce and family-law issues. He is involved in several pro-bono groups, including the Senior Partners for Justice Volunteer Law Project of the Boston Bar Association, which is dedicated to promoting justice for all litigants in the family court system.

Mr. Topor is actively involved in the American Bar Association Section of Family Law in numerous capacities. He has been chairperson of the Bankruptcy Committee for several years. He also serves as an executive member of the Alimony, Child Support, and Law Practice Management/Technology committees of the Section of Family Law and is the liaison from the ABA Section of Family Law to the ABA Law Practice Management Section. Mr. Topor has written articles on a variety of topics covering family-law issues and frequently speaks, moderates, and produces various CLE programs at the local, state, and national level.

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Karl Topor

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Barton R. Resnicoff
At-Large

Barton R. Resnicoff's practice has been primarily limited to matrimonial and family law for almost 30 years. In 1996, he was designated a Family Law Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has been since recertified. He was also designated a "Superlawyer" in Family Law for the NY metro area in 2007. He was elected to the Council of the Section of Family of the American Bar Association in 2006 and is currently chair of the SCOPE and Correlations Committee and is a past co-chair and vice chair of the Child Support Committee and past-chair of the Marital Property Committee, and an executive member of its Alimony and Custody Committees. He is a member of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and its Substantive Law Relating to the Family Committee; and is a member of the Queens, Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations and their matrimonial and family law Committees. He is a past chair and vice chair of the committee in Queens, and past co-chair of the Custody Sub-Committee in Nassau.

He has written articles or chapters in publications in the area of matrimonial and family law for the American, New York State, Nassau and Queens Bar Associations; as well as lecturing to the American, Nassau and Queens Bar Associations on the subject. He has had extensive trial and appellate practice in this area throughout New York State.

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Barton Resnicoff

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Lisae C. Jordan
At-Large

Lisae C. Jordan is the founder and director of the Sexual Assault Legal Institute (SALI) and serves as Legislative Counsel for the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Maryland Children's Alliance. SALI provides legal services to survivors of sexual assault, and legal training and technical assistance for professionals working with survivors. It is one of the only legal services programs in the country working exclusively with survivors of sexual assault and abuse. Ms. Jordan has represented hundreds of battered women and survivors of sexual assault in divorce, custody, and protective order proceedings. In her legislative work, Ms. Jordan has helped create and pass many statutes to help prevent violence against women and children and bring abusers to justice. These include legislation expanding Maryland's rape shield statute, eliminating the martial rape exemption, and making child abuse and domestic violence grounds for an absolute divorce. She has trained attorneys across the country, with particular expertise in trial advocacy and evidence law.

Ms. Jordan is a member of Council of the ABA Section of Family Law (2004-present), former chair of the Section's Domestic Violence Committee (1996-2004), and a former member of the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence (2001-2004). She graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and was a law clerk for the Honorable André M. Davis.

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Jonathan R. Levine
At Large

Jonathan R. Levine is a member of the law firm of Levine & Smith, LLC, where he practices in the areas of domestic relations and family law in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Levine received his B.B.A. decree from the University of Texas, his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia and his LL.M. degree in litigation from Emory University. Mr. Levine is a frequent lecturer on family law issues. He was a contributing author for 101 Practical Solutions for the Family Lawyer, published in 2003. He is a former Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association, Family Law Section. Mr. Levine is a Council Member of the American Bar Association, Family Law Section. He is a barrister of The Georgia Family Law American Inn of Court and a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In May 2006, he was named to Ten Leaders of Matrimonial & Divorce Law of Greater Atlanta. Mr. Levine was also selected as one of Georgia's Legal Elite for 2006 and a Georgia Super Lawyer in 2007.

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Jonathan R. Levine

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Edward Newman
At Large

Edward H. Newman was appointed a Magistrate of the Rhode Island Family Court on December 17, 2002. He received his BA from Providence College in 1969 and his JD from Suffolk University Law School in 1972. He was admitted to practice before the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1972, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island in 1972, United States Tax Court in 1974 and the United States Supreme Court in 1978.

Magistrate Newman served as lecturer at Providence College from 1974 to 1986 and he presently lectures for the Rhode Island Bar Association and has lectured at Roger Williams University Law School.

He has served as a member of the American Bar Association's Family Law Section (on council); the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association (vice-president); the Rhode Island Bar Association, (Chair of the Superior Court Bench Bar Committee); member of the Family Law Bench Bar Committee; member of the House of Delegates, Rhode Island Bar Association; and the Rhode Island Family Law Inn of Court (president, 3 years).

Magistrate Newman has served as the Chair of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel, Supreme Court Permanent Advisory Committee on Women and Minorities in the Court, and Chair of the Education Subcommittee for the Rhode Island Supreme Court Permanent Advisory Committee for Women and Minorities.

He has served as Town Solicitor for the Town of Richmond, Rhode Island, and was Probate Judge from 1988 to 2002 for the Town of Richmond, Rhode Island. He was also a Bail Commission authorized to issue judicial warrants statewide and set bail for the Rhode Island Family Court and Rhode Island District Court. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

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Hon. Edward H. Newman

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Linda Ravdin
Region II

Linda J. Ravdin practices family law exclusively with the Bethesda, Maryland, law firm, Pasternak & Fidis, P.C. She is admitted to practice in Virginia (1974), Maryland (1984), and the District of Columbia (1974). From 2003 to 2008 she was chair of the ABA Section of Family Law Publications Development Board; she continues on the board as a member. Linda has written for the Family Law Quarterly as well as the Advocate. She has participated in numerous section CLE programs at ABA Annual Meetings and at the section Fall and Spring CLE conferences. Linda is the author of three treatises, TM849 Marital Agreements (Tax Management Inc., 2003), Domestic Relations Manual for the District of Columbia (LexisNexis, 2002) (with coauthor, Hon. Diane Brenneman), and with Pasternak & Fidis partner Marcia Fidis, Premarital and Domestic Partnership Agreements in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia (Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers, expected publication, April 2009). Washingtonian magazine named her one of the metro area's best divorce lawyers in 1995, 2000, 2004, and 2009.

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Linda Ravdin

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Deborah Akers-Parry
Region III

Deborah Akers-Parry has served as ABA Family Law Section financial officer from 2004 to 2008, as a member of the Publications Board, since 2000; Trial Advocacy Institute faculty 1992-1994, 1997; and is a member of the Litigation Section. She is a fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and member of American Bar Foundation. Ms. Akers-Parry is active in the Ohio Bar as a delegate to Council of Delegates since 1990; Family Law Committee since 1984 (chair 1994-96); Family Law Certification Board 1999-2000; Specialization Committee (chair, 2001-03). Cuyahoga County Bar Association: Family Law Section since 1985 (chair 1992-93); Trial Advocacy Institute chair 1990-91, 1993; Certified Grievance Committee 1986-96. Cleveland Bar Association: Family Law Section 1987 to present (chair 1989-90); Professional Ethics Committee 1987-93. Life Member, Eighth Ohio Appellate District Judicial Conference. Frequent Lecturer and Author on Family Law. Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 1987-present; Martindale Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers since 1993; Ohio Super Lawyers, 2004-08, Top 100 Lawyers in Ohio (2006) and Top 50 Women Lawyers in Ohio (2004-07), Law and Politics/Cincinnati Magazine.

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Deborah Akers-Parry

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Noel Tucker
Region IV

Noel K. Tucker is a member of The Tucker Law Firm with her husband Phillip J. Tucker, in Edmond, Oklahoma. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1996. She is a past chair of the Family Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association and continues to serve as its legislative chair. She is a member of the Oklahoma County Bar Association, Phi Alpha Delta, and OTLA/ATLA. She has been published and regularly presents in the areas of adoption, paternity and guardian ad litem representation, as well as a contributing editor for the OBA/Family Law Section Practice Manual. She currently sits on the OBA Guardian Ad Litem Project and Adoption Statutory Review Committee. Noel has been an active member of the ABA Section of Family Law since 1995. She currently serves on the Adoption, Law Office Management & Technology and Reproductive Genetic Technologies committees. She is also a member of the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association and served as president of the Oklahoma CASA Executive Board. Noel and her husband Phil have the distinguished honor of having an annual award for outstanding guardian ad litem representation named after them. The Tucker Award was established in 2004.

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Noel Tucker

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Lori Nelson
Region V

Lori W. Nelson focuses her practice primarily in the area of domestic and family law. Lori's case load consists of family law cases representing individuals of all sexes, ages and economic backgrounds, in trials, evidentiary hearings, mediation, and every other phase of domestic practice. Her cases have covered every aspect of family, including, but not limited to: divorce; modifications; adoptions; child support; and, complicated custody cases involving mental health issues. They have also involved, among other things: contract interpretation; probate law; intellectual property; real property law; water law; and, criminal activities intersecting in a family case. Lori has also conducted extensive legal research and writing including writing appellate briefs and trial memoranda.

She is the co-chair of the Utah State Bar Governmental Relations committee and the legislative liaison for the Family Law Section, past chair of the Family Law Section Executive Committee and has served as a member of the Judicial Council Standing Committee on Children and Family Law since its inception in April 2000. She was named Family Law Lawyer of the year 2001-2002 and is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" 2003-2006 editions and in the 2007 "Super Lawyers" edition for family law. Lori served as an adjunct professor of legal writing at Westminster College from 1994-2000.

Lori is a trained mediator with extensive mediation experience. Lori received her JD from the University of Utah in 1992, during which time she was a member of the National Moot Court Team, and a regional semi finalist. As a third-year representative of the Women's Law Caucus, Lori organized the first Women's Law Caucus scholarship lecture with a panel who presented the Gender and Justice Task Force Report. Lori received her Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy from the University of Utah in 1987.

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Lori Nelson

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Dianna Gould-Saltman
Region VI

Ms. Gould-Saltman's practice emphasizes traditional client representation and litigation. She practices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Ventura County in California.

Her affiliations and positions include: American Bar Association, Family Law Section, Chair of Ethical Practice and Procedures Committee; AFCC: National Board Member; Previous Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association—Family Law Section. She is also a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is Former Vice President of Programs and Former Counsel of the Southern California Chapter.

Ms. Gould-Saltman is a frequent presenter and panelist at various CLE conferences and programs across the country. Recent presentations have included: AFCC: "Prosecuting and Defending the Domestic Violence Case", 2007, "Workshop: Mental Health -v- Legal Ethics: When Worlds Collide"; APA, "Workshop: New Models of Interventions", 2007, Legal Psychological Ethics", 2007; AFCC-CA: "Should Children Have Attorneys in Family Court", 2007, "Workshop: Perspectives of Intervention in High Conflict Custody", 2007; ABA: "Legal Ethics in Family Law", 2007; LEI: "Court-Ordered Therapy", 2007; AFCC "Child Custody Evaluation Guidelines", 2006, "Workshop on Cross-Examining the Mental Health Expert", 2006, "Cross-Examination of Mental Heatlh Professionals and Psychometric Testing" 2006, "Post-Decree Workwith High Conflict Families", 2006; ABA: "Parenting Coordination", 2006, "Ethical Issues in Family Law Billing", 2006.

She is the author of: "Move Away" Chapter, CEB, Litigating the Child Custody Case, Feb. 2006. "The Problem with Presumptions," Journal of Child Custody, Spring 2006. "One, Two, Three Testing: The Attorney Perspective on Psychometric Testing in Child Custody Evaluations," Journal of Child Custody, Spring 2005; "Ethical Issues in Child Custody and Dependency Cases," Journal of Child Custody, Spring 2004; Co-Author: "Is the Child's Therapist Part of the Problem?" Family Law Quarterly, Summer, 2003; "Effective Intervention with High Conflict Families," Journal of the Ctr. For Children Families and the Court, Vol. 4, 2003.

Ms. Gould-Saltman's awards and recognition include Los Angeles Superlawyer 2004-2006; and Top 50 Women Lawyers in Southern California 2004 and 2005.

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Dianna Gould-Saltman

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Linda D. Elrod
Editor, Family Law Quarterly

Linda D. Elrod is the Richard S. Righter Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Washburn University Law School Children and Family Law Center. She has been certified as a mediator for domestic relations cases since 1999. She is past chair of the American Bar Association Family Law Section; has been co-chair of the ABA Child Custody Pro Bono Advisory Board since 2001; has been Editor of the Family Law Quarterly since 1992; was the Reporter for the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA) which was adopted in 2006 and has now been enacted in six states, and a member of the Joint Editorial Board on Family Law for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. She served on the ABA Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children from 2002-2005. She is author of Child Custody Practice and Procedure and coauthor of a law school textbook, Family Law, with Harry Krause, Tom Oldham and Marsha Garrison. In 2000 she coordinated an international, interdisciplinary think tank on "High Conflict Custody Cases—Reforming the System for Children."

Linda has served on the Kansas Advisory Committee on Child Support since 1984, was founder and first chair of the Family Law Section of the Kansas Bar Association, was the first woman president of the Topeka Bar Association; and is author of Kansas Family Law. She has written dozens of law review articles and is a frequent CLE speaker.

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Linda Elrod

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Henry M. DeWoskin
Young Lawyers Division Liaison

Henry M. DeWoskin is a partner at the law firm of Alan E. DeWoskin, P.C. in St. Louis, Missouri. His practice consists of family law, military law, wills, estate planning, probate, social security and general civil litigation. Henry is admitted to practice law in Missouri, Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Further, he is a Major in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in the United States Army Reserve.

Henry holds multiple leadership positions in the Section of Family Law, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division and the Young Lawyers' Division of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Currently, he serves on the ABA Section of Family Law Council, Chair of the Section's Young Lawyer Committee and is the ABA Young Lawyers Division Liaison to the Section of Family Law. In addition, he serves on the Board of Governors of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis.

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Henry DeWoskin

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Douglas Curella
Law Student Division Liaison

Douglas Curella is a third-year law student at Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a 2002 Graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo State with a major in Broadcast Journalism and a double Minor in Health and Wellness and Sports Administration. Prior to Hamline Law, he worked for the New York State Attorney Generals Office under Attorney General Elliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo in the Consumer Fraud Division. Curella also worked for WB 49 News at 10 and BSC-TV as a news reporter and was an NCAA-Division III Assistant Men's Soccer Coach for Hilbert College located in Hamburg, NY.

At Hamline, Curella was elected ABA Student Representative, appointed Lieutenant Governor and Regional Affairs Coordinator for the Eighth Circuit, and serves as a student ambassador for the school. He is also the 2009 recipient of the SBA Educational Trust Fun Civic and Community Service Scholarship. Curella is a certified neutral under Minnesota Rule 114 and has also competed on Hamline's National Moot Court Team. He recently wrote his seminar paper, "Is Mediation the Best Way to Solve Child-Protection Disputes? Or Should the Parties Still Defer to Litigation?"

Currently, Doug Curella works for the law firm of John G. Hoeschler, PA, and handles real estate, tax, corporate and family law matters. This semester he also has a practicum with Health Partners, a Minnesota based not-for-profit HMO in their Litigation Department.

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Howard Lipsey
Parliamentarian

Howard I. Lipsey is an Associate Justice for the Rhode Island Family Court. He received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and is admitted to practice before the Rhode Island Supreme Court, the United States District Court of Rhode Island, and the United States Supreme Court.

Positions held: ABA Family Law Section (Chair); Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Board of Governors); Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association (Chair), Rhode Island Bar Association (Chair, Family Law Section), Rhode Island Family Law, American Inn of Court (Founder and First Counselor). He is Past Chair of the ABA Family Law Section Trial Advocacy Institute.

Committee service includes: Supreme Court Permanent Advisory Committee on Women and Minorities in the Court (Chair); National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; and Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Code of Judicial Conduct (Chair).

He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Who's Who in American Law.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers, and served as a Captain in the USAR-JAGC.

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Hon. Howard Lipsey

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