Lawyer Profile
Pauline H. Tesler

Pauline H. Tesler is a specialist in family law, certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, since 1984. A fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 1985, Pauline's Martindale-Hubbell rating has been "A-V" since the early 1980's. In August, 2002, Pauline was co-recipient (with Stu Webb, founder of the collaborative law movement) of the first American Bar Association. "Lawyer as Problem Solver" award.

Pauline began her legal career doing test case litigation on behalf of children as staff counsel with the National Center for Youth Law, handling a docket including cases decided by the California and U.S. Supreme Courts. After conducting a vigorous family law litigation and appellate practice for twenty years, in the mid-1990's she became a pioneer in developing and extending the practice of collaborative law in California and internationally. Since 1996 she has limited her practice with clients to collaborative representation and consultation. In addition to speaking widely and writing about collaborative law, Pauline trains lawyers (as well as mental health and financial professionals) in how to become more skilled at collaborative practice. She also provides mentoring, coaching, and case consultation to lawyers across North America and in Europe who are learning how to practice collaboratively or whose cases are in difficulty. Pauline co-founded the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals , and served as its first President and chair of its Standards Committee. She is co-editor (with Jennifer Jackson, J.D., also a member of San Francisco Bay Area Collaborative Practice Group) of the IACP's journal, The Collaborative Review.

Pauline earned her B.A. from Harvard University, her M.A. from the Victoria University of Manchester, England, and her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) Law School, where she graduated first in her class. Her publications include: "Collaborative Law: A New Approach to Family Law Alternate Dispute Resolution," Conflict Management Newsletter (American Bar Association, 1996); "Collaborative Law: What It Is and Why Lawyers Need to Know About It," 13 American Journal of Family Law 215-225 (Winter 1999); "Collaborative Law: A New Paradigm for Divorce Lawyers," 5 Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 967 (December 1999); and numerous articles and columns in The Collaborative Review. Her critically-acclaimed treatise and practice manual for collaborative lawyers, entitled Collaborative Law: Achieving Effective Resolution in Divorce Without Litigation, published by the American Bar Association in September 2001, was the first book-length manual for collaborative lawyers.

Pauline has trained lawyers and other professionals in techniques and theory of collaborative law practice since 1996 across the U.S., and in Canada, Ireland, and the U.K., and has presented on the subject at numerous national and international conferences and workshops. Her complete curriculum vitae (including education, employment, publications, presentations, and organizational affiliations), her speaking schedule, and participant evaluations of her trainings can all be found on this website.

In her work with clients, Pauline not only offers the skills of a seasoned family law specialist and expert collaborative practitioner, but also can draw on the skills of her law firm partners experienced in investment, real estate and commercial matters, whose knowledge can be helpful in creative resolution of divorce-related issues. She places particularly high value on her membership in the San Francisco Bay Area Collaborative Law Group, www.collaborativepracticesfbay.com, because of the very high quality of collaborative representation that its members can provide to spouses of her clients.

Pauline Tesler,
Collaborative lawyer

"Collaborative law is today's best answer to family law disputes, especially where custody of children is involved."

Pauline Tesler's Curriculum Vitae

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Collaborative Law