Timothy D. Martin

After we had each practiced as sole practitioners (in another San Mateo location) for more than 20 years, my wife Margaret and I formed our own law firm in January 2010 and moved to our current location.

I continue to practice family law primarily, and have recently expanded into trust administration.  In the family law area, I strongly prefer to serve as mediator or as collaborative counsel.  I also serve as a private judge, both for those who have attorneys and those who are representiong themselves. 

While I will serve as a litigator in select cases, I commonly see that both parties  - - and their children - -   fare much better in a cooperative setting rather than the traditional adversarial setting of litigation.  By choosing ADR, the parties are much better able to control the pace of the divorcing process, and to control their fees and costs.  Mediation and Collaborative Practice can help with divorces, judgment modifications, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, and, in short, all areas of family law.

My commitment to ADR (Appropriate Dispute Resolution) is such that in 1996 I created a program in family law, initially run by the San Mateo County Bar Association, that later morphed into the County's MAP Program.  Today, this is an award-winning and precedent-setting program that offers mediation and arbitration in family law, probate, and civil cases.  Similarly, in 2000 I was one of three co-founders of the group known today as Collaborative Practice San Mateo County.  (Only one of the other co-founders is also active in this professional association.)  This group was initially limited to family law, and today offers collaborative practice in civil and probate cases.

For her part, Margaret primarily practices conservatorship law, which is a specialized area where she assists those who are losing or have lost their ability to care for themselves and their property or estate, or their ability to resist undue influence.  She also represents a number of private fiduciaries, who are licensed and bonded professional conservators.

If you would like to discuss the processes of mediation or collaborative practice, or the possibility of private judging, I invite you to call me:  .