SPECIALTIES

Blended Family Issues, Business Management, Career, Communication Problems, Conflict Management, Control Issues, Couples/Marital Issues, Divorce/Divorce Prevention, Family Support, Financial Planning & Wealth Management, Financial Stress, Financial Well Being, Happiness, Marriage, Mediator, Relationships

Credentials

JD

Additional Expertise

Mediator

About Laurie Israel

I am an attorney, mediator and collaborative lawyer practicing in Brookline, Massachusetts. I use mediation to help people preserve and improve their marriages. I also use mediation to help people create a balanced and fair prenup, if one is needed. I also am a divorce lawyer and mediator, concerned that each divorce is equitable and civilized.

I am a national leader in two fields: mediation of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and marital mediation. I am the author of the forthcoming book on prenups entitled “Do We Actually Need a Prenup? A Leading Expert Answers Your Questions About Prenuptial Agreements.” The book talks about the dangers of prenups and the corrosive process, especially for first marriages. It presents ways to make the result and the experience better if one is needed.

I chose to be a lawyer at age 38. When I graduated college, law school was not on my radar screen as a young woman in the mid-1960s. I have now been in the profession for 30 years, starting out as a tax lawyer in a large firm. Gradually, I began to focus my practice on individuals, families and small business owners. I found that I enjoyed helping people through divorces in a fair and civilized way. I practice Collaborative Law, mediation, and plain old garden variety negotiation. I also do something which I call “surgical divorce.”

To learn more about me, visit my firm, Israel, Van Kooy & Days’ website. To visit my website devoted to marital mediation click here. In addition to practicing law, I have written for various publications, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and am a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post.

Laurie Israel Articles