“Thank you for meeting with me today and spending so much time with me. I was encouraged by your warmth and understanding and easy to follow explanations. I feel very comfortable going forward with you”.
L. M.
“This is a long overdue Thank You for all of the support and guidance you provided leading up to my divorce. K. and I get along better now than we have in ages, have retained our friendship and are happily transitioning to new phases in our lives. In fact, he joined me and the kids on our annual trip to visit my parents and we shared Match.com stories last night! My top two goals for exiting the marriage were: 1) make sure the kids were impacted as little as possible, and 2) preserve/rebuild the strong underlying friendship K and I shared. Both of those goals appear to have been met. I’m sure there will be setbacks and bumps, but I’m immensely relieved so far. My friends and family remark about how much happier and relaxed I am. It’s true! I’m so grateful for all your advice and counsel. You struck a perfect balance of making sure that my rights were protected but making the dissolution of the marriage feel amicable and collaborative.”
E. L.
“Thank you for helping us through this awful process, your kindness and compassion and professionalism were greatly appreciated”
M.D.
“It’s really a good agreement all in all. I really appreciate your efforts on behalf of [my son] and me. Without your help, the agreement would be J’s agreement. Now I can look at it and be pretty satisfied”.
D.G.
“You are a credit to your profession as you handle us not only in an impartial manner but in a way that keeps us on our best behavior”.
P.C.
“I want to thank you for all you have done to make this painful experience a little less painful. I’m always in awe of those who are really suited for what they do, do it so well, and treat those they deal with respect. I’m sure there were many times when we didn’t deserve that respect, so thank you for that”.
J.S.
“B. and I emerged from the meeting very grateful for both of you---your professionalism and humanity. Our communications since we left the meeting have been supportive, even tender. I feel enormous sadness and exhaustion, yet hopeful as well”.
P.C.
“Thank you for your efforts, professionalism and all around gentle manner. You did much to make the process bearable”.
M.G.
“Thank you for the time and meeting today. The combination of your professionalism, compassion and easy manner is just what I need”.
P.M.
“We settled last Monday. I don’t know how to describe my experience with the litigation…Essentially both sides get to act out their issues, magnified by aggressive counsel. In addition, tactics by counsel also add to the misery and stress each person is experiencing. It’s a game of exacting pressure, leverage on the other side until you get what you want….it was awful. I am mentioning this because I see so clearly now the value of the collaborative approach. Sides are each represented by counsel but there is an attempt I think by all to try and appreciate the greater picture and issues each person might be experiencing. As well as of course negotiation versus hitting the other side over the head. If there is ever a situation where it might help someone to hear just how miserable the litigation process is, from someone who has experienced both approaches, I am your person!”
C.R.
“Thank you for making what could have been a terrible process quite manageable!”
R. F.
“I must include a final word about your talent. Clearly, your skill at what you do in mediation is exceptional, and a genuine treat to watch”.
J.R.
"The big feeling that washed over me after reading that the divorce was declared was that I had been in good hands…yours. Wise and caring. Smart. Knowing how to change the recipe with each situation. Thank you."
A. S.
"I want you to know that the divorce, as painful as it was, has worked out beautifully. Our comprehensive agreement has ensured that all key issues were resolved before we divorced - as it should be - and [ex-husband] and I get along great and keep our son at the forefront of our lives. We have a very amicable relationship, and [ex-husband] even comes over for Passover and Thanksgiving, and sometimes for dinner. We are working together to deal with [son's] teenage years, which is also as it should be. I am so very happy to be divorced, and our relationship has improved considerably! So, thanks again to you and the team!"
M.H.
"I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating, I feel I couldn't have been in better hands. With your kind patient wisdom... I am stronger than ever(!)"
J.C.
"Thank you Mary Ellen- I could NOT have done this w/o your personal and professional wisdom(!) and I am ETERNALLY grateful."
T.W.
"I have taken your counsel very seriously on these last few details so that we can reach the point of signing an agreement. It is important that I get on with my life."
K.B.
"I'm grateful for the seriousness and thoughtfulness you have brought to bear on this process."
B. L.
"I am delighted it will end & I'll need to experience a different grief then- one that I can process to move on instead of being in a quasi- holding pattern. But it has been agonizingly hard and sad and I have come very close to my limits. But then I think of how grateful I am to you, in so many ways and I know I will carry on. Thank you Mary Ellen, for your wise counsel- and your caring."
M.R.
"I am very grateful to you for our conversation yesterday. I feel like I've been a wind up toy who got herself stuck in a corner, facing it. You picked me up and turned me around back to facing the open spaces. I really needed that. Thank you. I feel better already."
K.T.
"Mary Ellen, besides being the best, most ethical and caring lawyer I have ever known or seen-- you have done more for me emotionally/psychologically through all this than anyone(!). And I am so very very very grateful for YOU."
N.A.
"From the bottom of my heart I wanted to thank you again for so brilliantly making it happen-- from your strategy advice to recommendations. I am so grateful for your wise counsel..."
N.C.
"You have been the model for a fair and decent advocate who still goes beyond all measure to protect her client."
A.P.
"Thanks for everything! You are the best. So happy you were my lawyer and friend. Maybe you will come to my next wedding!"
E.R.
"You will always be so much in my heart for this second life (not just chapter) you gave me—I couldn’t have done it without you!"
K.R.
"I am so glad we decided to mediate our divorce with you. Your conference room was a safe place for me and my husband in the awful storm we were enduring. Your calm, thoughtful way of handling our discussions, and especially our disagreements, kept us on track. You told us that we would stay focused on what was most important to us, and through it all, we somehow did. And we’re ok now—all of us, the kids especially. Thank you very much."
R.B.
"Thank you, MaryEllen. I have so much respect and regard for you and your conduct-- not to mention liking and enjoying you!"
J.D.