Joy S. Rosenthal

My former wife and I worked with Joy after we decided to take the Mediation path for our separation. Our situation was simple in some areas, but remarkably complex in others. Joy helped us navigate the difficult parts with grace and wisdom, and actually helped us get through the easy parts with a mea...sure of happiness that I'm sure is uncommon in these situations. I know mediation isn't for everyone, but I think if more people took this route before going to lawyers, and specifically to Joy, they would save a mountain of heartache.

My ex-wife and I chose collaborative lawyering, but the "collaboration" turned out to be extremely challenging. Joy brought first rate lawyering skills as well as emotional intelligence and wise judgment. She also demonstrated a ton of patience and an ability to address the human-side of conflicts in... equal measure with the legal and material aspects, a rare quality in a lawyer (or any other human being). I don't know how I would have gotten through it without her.

Me and my wife worked with Joy on our second-parent adoption. As confusing as these processes can be, Joy patiently went over all of the requirements, explained all the steps and then patiently waited while we took our time collecting all of our documentation. Her assistant Andy kept tab on us as wel...l, gently reminding us on what was still left to gather and making sure we are on track with the process. Being that we just had a baby, it was much appreciated and needed. Both were so understanding and Joy was very kind, welcoming and took the time to talk over all of our million questions and scenarios. At no point did we feel we did not receive adequate attention, Joy was available to us through the whole process. When it finally came time for court appearances, everything went as smooth as can be. We are looking forward to working with Joy on our next second-parent adoption with baby number 2 later this year.

Cheesy caption, I know, but it's true. I spoke to several divorce lawyers before meeting Joy, and I almost lost hope that the positive transition I had envisioned was at all realistic. But I am so relieved that my co-parent and I gave Joy a chance to mediate an otherwise miserable process. She unders...tood that although divorce is a sad event, the transition from marriage to single-and-co-parenting could be healthy, healing, and fair from all perspectives. I feel lucky. Thank you, Joy.