Lori understands that, whether simple or complex, family law matters are some of the most personal and difficult legal matters an individual may encounter. Her knowledge and experience allows her to guide clients through the legal process effectively and with sensitivity toward the ways in which legal issues touch upon other aspects of a client’s life.
Her cases range from challenging child custody and placement disputes to family law matters involving the division of family businesses, farms and other complex assets. She recognizes there are many cases in which the best resolution is one negotiated cooperatively between the parties. However, when a cooperative resolution is not possible, her trial experience allows her to effectively present any disputed issues to the Court.
Lori’s guardianship work includes petitions for guardianship of minors as well as incompetent adults. The guardianship cases that she has handled to-date range from straightforward requests for the appointment of a guardian to more complex guardianship issues, including requests to review the conduct of an existing guardian, requests to transfer an out-of-state guardianship to Wisconsin, requests for protective placement and requests for protective services, such as the involuntary administration of psychotropic medications.
While her primary practice is in Dane County, she regularly represents clients in surrounding counties, including Rock, Columbia, Green and Sauk counties.
Lori has represented clients on a wide range of family law issues including:
- Divorce
- Paternity
- Child support
- Maintenance / spousal support
- Child custody and placement
- Guardianship / protective placement / protective services
- Adoption
- Domestic violence / harassment restraining orders and injunctions
- Prenuptial agreements
- Cotenancy agreements and terminations of cotenancy
- Appeals of family court decisions
Lori is also trained in family law mediation and is available to assist parties reaching a cooperative resolution to family court disputes.
Clients
Lori’s current and past clients include professionals, business owners, academics, students, farmers, stay-at-home parents and a variety of others.
Notable Representations
- She successfully litigated a child placement matter involving a request to transfer primary placement from the other parent, who had primary placement of the parties’ child for several years, to her client. After a trial to the Court, the judge determined that it was in the child’s best interest to award primary placement to Lori’s client.
- Lori successfully tried a divorce matter involving her client’s request to divide the marital estate unequally, due to a significant disparity in the parties’ respective contributions to the marriage. Following a trial to the Court, the judge agreed that her client’s contributions to the divisible marital estate were so significant as to warrant a substantially unequal division of the marital estate.
- She successfully navigated complex jurisdictional issues in a matter involving the transfer and subsequent modification of a divorce judgment entered outside of the United States. Following mediation and negotiations through counsel, the parties reached an agreement for modification that both believed was in the best interest of their child.