Marina S Barannik

I told Marina my ex- was mentally ill, but she mostly seemed to not believe me, and to the extent she did, she either didn’t care or believe it was a matter worth pursuing. Instead, she urged me to sign a settlement with joint custody which I did. It’s been only a few months since settlement, and... my ex- now not only regularly ignores the agreement (everything from refusing to raise my daughter in our religion to refusing to make joint decisions with me). And she is now hurting my daughter to get back at me (such as cancelling my daughter’s activities while admitting she’s saving for a cruise). I no longer have money to hire an attorney so now I must go back to court by myself to seek sole custody.

I knew going into my divorce that there would be some twists and turns, and I wanted someone who could help me work my way through this experience. Marina was recommended to me by a friend I trust, and I couldn't have been happier with the selection. Marina provided me with assistance when I needed... it but let me handle things on my own when I wanted to. She provided excellent strategic advice throughout the process. One thing I particularly appreciated was her ability to help me weigh all the options when I had to make a decision. She also weighed the value of her time by pointing out to me areas where she *could* help but where the likelihood of prevailing was low or the return-on-investment was negative. Since I was operating on a limited budget I really appreciated her input along these lines. At the end of the day I feel that Marina helped me through a difficult time in my life. I don't think she would be offended if I say that I hope I never have to work with her again! :-)

Marina was calm, composed and results focused in a case high on emotions. This trait, in addition to her legal competence was important not only to resolve the legal matter of multiple revisions of child support and separation agreement, but also in dealing with an unpredictable and often irrational... opponent. Marina has the ability to calm things down, while at the same time being clear, resolute and assertive.

Marina did a great job getting me through a very difficult divorce. I'm not going to lay out her strategic sense here, but it's excellent: she helped me avert some nasty potential pitfalls that could have been very costly, and she got me much of what I wanted in my settlement. Equally importantly, s...he kept me focused on the goal, which was to get negotiations done fairly and fast without getting swept into the emotional and legal morass that so many people drown in. She was always there to save me from myself. Marina was the reverse of the divorce lawyer caricature: she was always looking for ways to keep my legal bills down and she was incredibly efficient. Her strong relationship with opposing counsel really helped as well in minimizing the adversarial aspects of these negotiations. She is honest and blunt and incredibly responsive, returning my phone calls and emails fast and turning around documents in just a day or two. Even though her firm is one of the biggest in DC with much more wealthy clients, I never felt like I was a second-class citizen.