For fourteen years I served as confidential law clerk to New York State Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Lunn. For several years during that time Justice Lunn was assigned to the Matrimonial Part and I acted as a matrimonial referee. In that capacity, I saw firsthand how the court based system is ill equipped to fairly and expeditiously resolve the issues commonplace in divorce actions without further driving the parties apart. I longed for a process that would help to foster real communication between the parties, which I believe is key to resolving the many issues that arise in every divorce. I found that process in collaborative law. Now that I am back in private practice, I see collaborative law as the best way for couples to resolve family issues justly and equitably without the negative consequences inherent in the court based litigation system.