Mary Beth Reinecker

A cum laude graduate of Temple University and a graduate of Widener University School of Law. I have been practicing law for over 25 years, serving my first six years as an Assistant Public Defender in the Philadelphia criminal courts. I am admitted to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and was admitted to practice law in Maryland in 1997; District of Columbia in 1998 and New Jersey in 2001.

After getting married I moved to the state of Maryland. Due to certain life circumstances my marriage ended and I returned home to the Philadelphia area. I left Maryland a single mother of two very young children, and like most separated parents, I was fearful of the prospects ahead of me.

I am fully aware of the range of emotions associated with a divorce. Denial, shock, spite, fear and some desperation. These are normal emotions, but in time they do go away. If you truly know that your marriage is over, I am a firm believer in not staying in the marriage for the sake of the children. Children are very observant; they see and hear everything. You need to raise your children in a peaceful and loving home. You deserve to be happy and your children cannot be happy if you are not happy. Usually young children adjust to a divorce much better than the adults do. It's important to remember that two peaceful homes are better than one stressful home.

Be assured, there is life after divorce. However, until you can get to this level of understanding, you need an experienced attorney who can relate to your individual situation and guide you through this emotional and trying process. Although understanding your situation, I will not let you use it as an excuse or crutch. I will not permit my men clients to withhold support monies as a means of revenge and I will not let my female clients use the children as bargaining chips. The goal is to get through this process as painlessly as possible and to protect your long-term interests, your children and your finances.

Being happily divorced myself, I understand the need go to work every day since there is no longer two paycheck contributing to the family finances. I further understand that you cannot continuously take off from work to go to an appointment and that there may be child care issues for those stay at home parents during the weekday work hours. To accommodate your schedule or situation, I will provide evening and weekend appointments. As our professional relationship progresses, personal meetings may not be necessary and video conferencing (where you can remain in the convenience of your own home or office) may be a viable alternative.

I am meticulous about my work and I enjoy the respect of the judges and my colleagues. I practice aggressive advocacy and am dedication to my clients. I represent an equal amount of both men and women. My client base is largely from referrals of prior clients and on many occasions I have had an opposing party refer me to family members and friends.