Brian has eagerly embraced the emergence of Collaborative Family Law (also called Collaborative Practice) as a meaningful alternative to the traditional, adversarial litigation process. If your answer to any of the following questions is in the affirmative, then Collaborative Family Law may be right for you:

• Do you wish to minimize the impact of a divorce or other family crisis upon your children?
• Do you wish to protect your privacy by avoiding public disclosures of private business matters in the courtroom?
• Do you wish to obtain a divorce (or a resolution of any other family law matter, such as custody) with your dignity intact?
• Do you value preserving your ability to communicate with your former spouse?

Brian is able to provide his guidance by drawing upon over thirty years of family law experience since his 1979 admission to the practice of law in Ohio. He has been a Certified Specialist in family relations law in Ohio since the inception of that specialization certification in 2001. Martindale Hubbell’s™ Law Directory has awarded its top AV rating to both Brian and his firm.*

Brian is proud to be a founding member of the Cleveland Academy of Collaborative Professionals and a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Brian has held a leadership role in the Collaborative Law community in Ohio. In addition to being a speaker about Collaborative Law, Brian served upon the Collaborative Law Task Force on behalf of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Subcommittee on Additional ADR Options. The work of that task force resulted in the adoption of the Ohio Collaborative Family Law Act, which now governs all collaborative family law matters in Ohio.

Brian earned his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from John Carroll University and J.D. degree, cum laude, from Cleveland State University. He appears in the Martindale Hubbell™ Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, has been selected by Inside Business periodical as one of the Leading Lawyers™ in Northeastern Ohio annually since 2000, and has been selected by Law & Politics periodical as one of Ohio’s Super Lawyers™ annually since 2004. Brian has been a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan, the Cuyahoga County (past chairman, Family Law Section), the Ohio State, and the American Bar Associations, and has been admitted to the bars of both the State of Ohio and the United States Supreme Court.

For additional information concerning both Brian and his law firm, please visit www.urbanfamilylaw.com.

*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell™ certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell™ Ratings fall into two categories: legal ability and general ethical standards. Information concerning the Peer Review Ratings can be found at www.martindale.com/ratings.