Philosophy

PhilosophyObjectives

Attorney Smith’s objectives are for clients to:

Receive competent legal advice and understand their options,

Save money,

Preserve Relationships and

Obtain an acceptable conclusion within a reasonable period of time.

Attorney Smith believes that her clients are best served by attempting at the onset of a case to seek resolution of a matter as a high majority of civil cases ultimately are resolved without going to trial. She has been successful in reaching an amicable settlement in many disputes in 41 years of law practice.  In all cases, Fee Agreements must be signed.

Family and Juvenile Law Cases

Attorney Debra L. Smith provides personalized legal services with a concentration in family and juvenile law, including divorce (on issues such as alimony, child support, parenting plans and division of marital assets), paternity and other child out of wedlock matters, adoption, guardianship of children, modification, and care and protection matters.  Attorney Smith does not handle cases involving guardianship of adults.  Ms. Smith’s focus is to save clients money by resolving matters cooperatively whenever possible. Her preferred approach is to act as a collaborative attorney using a team approach with a collaborative coach, a financial professional and if needed, other professionals such as a child specialist.

Anita Wyzanski Robboy, in her book entitled “Aftermarriage: The Myth of Divorce”, states that 95% of divorce cases settle out of court. In family law cases, Ms. Smith attempts to resolve the case early in the process where the other party and his or her attorney are amenable to settlement.

Options for Resolving Civil Cases

Attorney Smith participates in the following:

  • Collaborative Law Process,*
  • Negotiation with counsel and parties to attempt settlement,
  • Mediation** and
  • Limited Representation of Counsel.

*For more information about Collaborative Law in Massachusetts, please visit: https://massclc.org

**For more information about Mediation in Massachusetts, please visit: https://mcfm.org

(c) Copyright 2025. Debra L. Smith. All Rights Reserved.