Boston Family Law Attorney & Divorce Mediator

 

 

Attorney Jonathan Fields has more than 20 years experience representing clients with a high level of personal care and professionalism. His approach to the complex area of family law is innovative, compassionate and geared to the best interests of his clients.

 

Mr. Fields believes that while the law is always critical in a family law case, his experience has taught him that most of the time it is the psychodynamics of the parties and counsel that determine whether and how a case settles.  That is why process is so critical to resolution — and why choosing the right “container” is vital.  Put another way: “getting there” is important but the way you get there is just as important.  Mediation may work for some clients.  Collaborative Law may work for others.  Sometimes, a more traditional representation or litigation is appropriate.  Often, there may be a creative combination of processes that will suit a certain dynamic.

 

Mr. Fields is the president of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation (MCFM) and the co-chair of the MCFM Nominating Committee.

 

Mr. Fields also serves on the Education Committee of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. He also co-chairs the annual introductory training for new collaborative practitioners.  In addition, Mr. Fields sits on the Conference Committee of the Massachusetts chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

 

Mr. Fields has significant experience as a neutral. He has successfully mediated many family law disputes between couples. Additionally, as a panel member who serves on the Fee Arbitration Board of the Massachusetts Bar Association, he arbitrates fee disputes between attorneys and clients. Mr. Fields has been appointed as a member of the Hearing Committee of the Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court. Judges also frequently appoint Mr. Fields as a conciliator — to assist litigants and their attorneys in resolving cases that are headed for contested trials. Mr. Fields has been trained as a divorce arbitrator by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

 

He has been a panelist for the Divorce Center where he has spoken about certain aspects of divorce law such as property division, alimony and custody and has spoken to numerous other groups on various divorce-related issues.

 

In addition, he was an Institute Faculty Member and featured speaker at a recent statewide conference of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation.  There, he spoke on the subject of  “Prenuptial Agreements: Prohibited Subjects, Enforceability and Mediation” along with partner Sheryl Dennis.  At that Conference, he also presented a new paper, “A Brief History of the Enforcement of Prenuptial Agreements in Massachusetts.”

 

Mr. Fields was recently honored by the prestigious Journal of the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers for his “exceptional” article about prenuptial agreements:  “Forbidden Provisions in Prenuptial Agreements: Legal and Practical Considerations for the Matrimonial Lawyer,” Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (Spring 2008).

 

Since 2008, Mr. Fields has written a well-regarded regular column for the Family Law Quarterly about recent developments in Massachusetts family law as it affects the practice of divorce mediation.

 

Mr. Fields was the director of labor relations for a large New York City municipal agency. His legal expertise has also been employed as a script consultant for a major television network program dealing with family law issues.

 

Appointments

 

Mr. Fields recently completed his sixth and final year of service as a Hearing Committee Member of the Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court.  He is a Member of the Fee Arbitration Board Panel of the Massachusetts Bar Association, an Executive Board Member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, a Member of the Collaborative Law Council, and a Panel Member of the Children and Family Law Trial Committee for Public Counsel Services.

 

Committees

 

Education Committee, Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council — he co-chairs the Introductory Training for New Collaborative Practitioners to be held in September.

 

Conference Committee, Massachusetts AFCC — he assists in organizing the AFCC Annual Conference held every April.

 

Nominating Committee, Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation

 

MCLC – MCFM Joint Committee

 

Certified Mediator

 

Mr. Fields was recently honored as a Certified Mediator by the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation. Certification, according to MCFM, “is reserved for MCFM members with significant mediation experience, advanced training, and education” and is a distinction held by fewer than 10% of the membership.

 

Experience as a Neutral

 

Family Law Mediator — he has successfully mediated many cases over his career

 

Hearing Committee Member, Board of Bar Overseers — he has acted as a hearing officer in disciplinary actions against attorneys

 

Fee Arbitration Panel, Massachusetts Bar Association — he has arbitrated many fee disputes between attorneys and clients

 

Family Law Conciliator — he has successfully settled many cases as a court-appointed conciliator

 

Divorce Arbitration — he has received the highly regarded training in divorce arbitration by AAML

 

Marital Mediation — he has completed the “Mediation to Stay Married” training

 

Recent Publications

 

Prohibited Subject Matter in Prenuptial Agreements, 2006 Family Law Update (Aspen Publishers 2006)

 

Family Team Decision Making, Family Mediation Quarterly (Fall 2005) (co-author with Hugh F. Ferguson, Ph.D., Esq.)

 

A Brief History of the Enforcement of Prenuptial Agreements in Massachusetts, submitted at MCFM Fall Conference (October 2007)

 

Family Law Year in Review, Family Mediation Quarterly (Winter 2008)

 

Forbidden Provisions in Prenuptial Agreements: Legal and Practical Considerations for the Matrimonial Lawyer, Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (Spring 2008) (Honored by AAML as “exceptional”)

 

Mediating Prenuptial Agreements in Massachusetts and the Problem of the 23C Disqualification, Family Mediation Quarterly (Spring 2008)

 

Family Law Case Updates, Family Mediation Quarterly (Regular Column from Winter 2008 – present)

 

The Psychodynamics of Mediation: Overcoming Ego to Resolve Conflict, Family Mediation Quarterly (Winter 2011)

 

Education

 

Mr. Fields received a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and holds a B.A., cum laude, from Amherst College.

 

Contact Attorney Jonathan Fields for a confidential consultation.