Excellence In Family Law
Education
- West Virginia University College of Law, Morgantown, West Virginia
- J.D. - 1982
- Honors: Order of the Barristers
- Honors: Named to Moot Court Board
- Honors: Selected as "Outstanding Trial Advocate"
- Salem College, Salem, West Virginia
- B.S. - 1974
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Harvard Law Negotiation Course with Professor Roger Fisher (2002)
- Mediation Family Law Course West Virginia (1998)
- Mediation Family Law Course Florida 2001
Practice Areas
- Family Law 100%
- Adoption
- Child Support
- Custody & Visitation
- Divorce
- Mediation for Family Law
Bar Admission
- West Virginia, 1982
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1982
Professional Associations
- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fellow
- American Bar Association, Family Law Section, Council and CLE-Co-Chair
- West Virginia State Bar, Family Law Committee, Chair
- Kanawha County Family Law Bench-Bar Committee, Chair
- AAML, Board of Governors
- AAML, Chair, Chapter Leaders
- AAML, Vice Chair, Membership Committee
- ABA, Family Law Section, Chair Elect
- ABA, Family Law Section, Former CLE Co-Chair
- ABA, Family Law Section, Former Council member
- ABA, Family Law Section, Former Chair, Alimony Committee
- ABA, Family Law Section, Former Chair, Marital Property Committee
- ABA, Family Law Section, Former Finance Committee
- ABA, Family Law Section, Former Nominating Committee
- ABA, Family Law Section, Trial Advocacy Institute Instructor
- West Virginia State Family Law Bar, Chair, 2010 to Present
- Kanawha County Family Law Bench-Bar Committee, Chair, 2011 to Present
Continuing Legal Education Presentations
- Family Law Institute (Morgantown, WV), "New trends in alimony" (September 2005)
- ABA Family Law CLE (Scottsdale, AZ) , "Top 5 Tips" (Oct. 2007)
- WVU College of Law CLE family law (Morgantown) , "Building an Alimony Case from Scratch" (August 2008)
- NBI — Family Law Program (Charleston, WV) , "Navigating Complex Asset Cases" (January 2009)
- NBI -- Family Law (Charleston, WV), "Determining an Equitable Outcome" (July 2009)
- ABA CLE (Montreal, Canada) , "Taking the family out of the Family Business" (October 2009)
- WV Trial Lawyers Association (Charleston, WV), "What happens when your personal injury client files for divorce" (February 2010)
- NBI Family Law Program (Charleston, WV), "Dissipation of Marital Property" (September 2011)
- National CLE Conference LEI (Colorado) — Family Law CLE , "5 Ways to attack a Prenuptial Agreement" (January 2012)
- WV State Bar Bridge the Gap presentation on Family Law , (Feb 2019)
- WV State Bar presentation on “Mediation in Family Law” , (July 2019)
- Colorado LEI presentation on “Toxic Clients” , (January 2020)
- Trial Advocacy Skills Course Instructor, West Virginia College of Law, (from beginning of summer Trial Ad course until it ceased)
- University of Charleston, Paralegal Instructor, 1988 to Present
Honors
- Special Achievement Award, U.S. Department of Justice
- Super Lawyers
- Top Family Law Attorneys
Fraternities or Sororities
- Phi Delta Phi