Susan E. Herzog Bio Emily S. Jonas Bio

EMILY S. JONAS Emily Jonas' work as a mediator has spanned over 25 years. As a family and matrimonial lawyer, she has also represented husbands, wives and children in divorce cases. Emily is adept at understanding diverse points of view and in helping families to reach agreements, which meet the needs of each member. Emily began her mediation career as a community mediator. She then served as the pilot director of the first high school mediation program in New York City and was instrumental in designing and implementing the first custody and visitation mediation program in Manhattan Family Court.* Before becoming a divorce mediator, Emily served as a court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem ('GAL') on hundreds of divorce cases. As a GAL, she interviewed children and parents and made custody and visitation recommendations to the court. The judges would then decide each family's fate, taking into account "the best interests of the children." Through her GAL work, Emily saw, first hand, how dissatisfied families were with the outcome of the traditional court-imposed resolutions. More often than not, the cases escalated and the families remained in turmoil even after the judgment of divorce was signed. Through her work in both mediation and collaborative law, Emily assists couples to have a voice in the divorce process and to make all the important decisions for themselves without the emotional and financial strain of litigation. She helps them develop creative agreements uniquely tailored to meet the needs of their families. As a result, the couples tend to be satisfied with the terms of their divorce and more likely to abide by them. * The first custody and visitation mediation program in Manhattan Family Court was a joint effort of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Victim Services Agency (now Safe Horizon) and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (now New York City Bar). MEDIATION TRAINING Basic Mediation Training, Brooklyn Mediation Center, Brooklyn, New York Divorce Mediation Training, The Center for Family and Divorce Mediation, New York, New York Advanced Divorce Mediation Training, The Center for Mediation in Law, New York, New York Advanced Training, Mediation and the Law, The Center for Mediation in Law, New York, New York COLLABORATIVE LAW TRAINING Basic Collaborative Law Training, The Center for Mediation in Law, New York, New York EDUCATION Northeastern University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1988 University of Pennsylvania, B.A., magna cum laude, 1982 AFFILIATIONS New York State Council on Divorce Mediation The Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York (Board Member for 7 years.) New York Association of Collaborative Professionals American Bar Association Westchester Bar Association AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION Divorce Mediation Matrimonial Law Family Law Collaborative Law Guardian Ad Litem for Children in Divorce Cases Parenting through Divorce Classes Fluent in Spanish

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