Excellence in Mediation is Not an Accident: Benefits of a Reflective Practice Group

As an attorney for over 24 years, I know how important a positive resolution to a legal matter can be! As an experienced Family Law practitioner, my practice is focused on reaching out of court resolutions! I have spent hundreds of hours mediating cases for people who want an out of court resolution but need assistance in reaching their agreement. Family law may be legal, but your case is much more than a lawsuit! While the law guides the resolutions, the issues you have effect your life, your children's well-being and your lifestyle. Whether going through a divorce or dealing with parenting issues in a paternity matter (where parents were never married), the transitions and conflicts which may come up in your family are issues which need to be dealt with care and knowledge to ensure that the legal process itself does not cause your family more damage. I am dedicated to practicing only Family law because I am dedicated to helping people through the kind of family conflicts that cause a family to need the legal system.

A former assistant United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Ava J. Abramowitz has been serving as a mediator for the federal courts for the District of Columbia since the late eighties, mediating a diverse assortment of civil cases from international and domestic corporate cases to those involving intellectual property and employment discrimination, all of which have placed a premium on negotiation skills. Since leaving her position as a vice president of Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, Inc., the underwriting manager of the CNA Insurance Companies’ architects and engineers professional liability insurance program, Ms. Abramowitz has mediated insurance disputes and has also served as an owner’s representative on residential construction projects.

Formerly the deputy general counsel of The American Institute of Architects, Ms. Abramowitz is the author of The Architect’s Essentials of Contract Negotiation (John Wiley & Sons 2002). A senior fellow of the Design Futures Council, she is also a founding fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers and is currently serving on its Board of Governors. Additionally, she is serving as the first public member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. A former member of the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry, Ms. Abramowitz is the 2008 recipient of the Forum’s Cornerstone Award, the highest award the Forum gives for long-term, exceptional service to the construction industry, the public, and the legal Profession. Previously she served on the boards of directors of The National Museum of Women in the Arts and the National Architectural Accrediting Board.

Ms. Abramowitz is a graduate of Brandeis University and the George Washington University Law School.

Michael Lang has been mediating family, commercial, public policy and organizational disputes since 1978. He is the founding director of the Master of Arts Program in Conflict Resolution, a former President and Board member of the Academy of Family Mediators, and former Editor-in-Chief of Mediation Quarterly.