Growing up, I was surrounded by books, art, and music. Over dinners, I often heard lawyer relatives mention wills, trusts, and foundations as a way to secure the future of family, art, and business.
Before graduating from high school, I had won a photography contest, studied classical guitar, and learned from Shakespeare that the arts were compatible with financial success. In college, I majored in English, minored in economics, wrote and directed a one-act play that was produced in New York City, and invested my savings to pay for law school.
My passion for the arts stayed with me throughout law school. When I started my own firm right out of law school over twenty years ago, I also began teaching college courses in Literature and Law. Continuing to produce plays and publishing also brought together my creative, business, and legal skills. In my law practice, I consistently found the common ground between personal self-expression through art and intention in a will or living trust.
And then I became a parent. Instantly, my passion for the arts joined with my deepest desire to protect and provide for my children.
Securing their emotional and financial well-being became my top priority. I drew on my legal skills and experience as an estate planner to preserve family harmony and provide the best protection for my children, especially if I couldn't be there.
Bringing together my love for the arts with my love for my family has made me both a better lawyer and a better parent. I help my clients do their best to protect and provide for the future of their life's work and the well-being of their families.
I hold an LL.M in taxation from the New York University School of Law and am an award-winning adjunct assistant professor of humanities at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. I served as co-chair of the American Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section Mediation Committee from 2011 to 2015, and am a full member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Professionals (STEP).
Selected speaking engagements:
| Presentation Name | Conference | Date |
|---|---|---|
|
Mediation Advocacy in the Transformative Model Estate Planning for Authors & Artists |
ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference Artmeme: Creatively Structure Your Business 2014 |
2015 2014 |
| Estate & Tax Planning for Artists | Sotheby's Institute of Art - Guest Lecture | 2014 |
|
Diligence and Distraction: How to Deal with the Drama in Our Own Minds |
Contemplative Lawyers Group | 2014 |
| Fearlessness in Contemplative Practice and Legal Practice | Contemplative Lawyers Group | 2013 |
| Literary Intelligence for Mediators | ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference | 2013 |
| Stretch and Protect Your IRA | Queens Library Enrich Your Life | 2012 |
| Life Insurance for Estate Planning Purposes | Queens Library Enrich Your Life | 2012 |
| Mediating the Gift: Learning from Lear | New York Philanthropic Planning Symposium | 2012 |
| Estate Planning with Life Insurance & A Lesson from King Lear | Estate Planning with Life Insurance | 2012 |
| Mediation and Meditation | Contemplative Lawyers Group | 2012 |
| Teaching With Open Source Video | ABA Dispute Resolution Section's Annual Spring Conference, Legal Educators' Colloquium | 2012 |
| How to Read and Prepare Your Will | Queens Library Enrich Your Life | 2011 |
| Lessons in Estate Planning | Queens Library Enrich Your Life | 2011 |
| From Revenge to Reconciliation: Literature & Dispute Resolution | Annual Conference | 2011 |
| Life or Death But Nobody Dies: Lawyers, Literature, and the Empathic Imagination | Annual Conference | 2011 |
| Overcoming the Lawyer's Plague of "What Ifs" | Contemplative Lawyers Group | 2010 |
