Collaborative Divorce Attorneys
Paulette J. Hartman ("PJ" Hartman, L.L.C.)
Paulette J. Hartman is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist. She works only in the area of family law. Ms. Hartman graduated from the University of New Mexico with a law degree, where she was a member of Law Review after completing a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Speech Pathology.
Although Ms. Hartman litigates many family law cases, she is a trained mediator and trained collaborative attorney. Her years of professional experiences and leadership service to families and children in New Mexico qualify her to be a strong but empathetic practitioner. Ms. Hartman has always practiced law according to her personal and professional code, which is to achieve resolution of difficult situations through "integrity and civility". Ms. Hartman believes that collaborative law specifically achieves that goal.
Twila B. Larkin
Twila B. Larkin is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist. She is also a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She is past chair of the New Mexico Family Law Section and a past chair of the CLE Committee of the Family Law Section for several Annual Family Law Institutes. She has served as a Board of Bar Commissioner for the State Bar of Mexico and as a board member of the New Mexico Collaborative Practice Group. She is a member of various state and local bar committees, including the state-wide Alimony Guidelines Committee, and a past member of the NM Legal Specialization Committee. She served three years of service on the ABA Committee on Legal Specialization. She was the Region V Representative to the Council of the American Bar Association Family Law Section for 7 years. She has been involved in collaborative divorce work since 2000. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, cooking, and is passionately committed to the endeavor of learning how to golf now that her son has gone away to college. She is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Albuquerque.
Emma L. Whitley
Emma L. Whitley practices statewide solely in the area of family law with a primary focus on mediation and collaborative divorce.
A native New Mexican, Ms. Whitley has been working with families for more than a decade to help resolve disputes respectfully, outside of the expensive, protracted and frequently destructive litigation process.
Ms. Whitley graduated summa cum laude with her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico (UNM) and is a proud alumni of the University of New Mexico School of Law. Go Lobos!
Ms. Whitley is a member of the Family Law Section of the New Mexico State Bar and a proud member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) as well as the Albuquerque Collaborative Practice Group (ACPG).
Trained in advanced mediation and advanced collaborative divorce, Ms. Whitley brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to her clients and the family law community in New Mexico. Ms. Whitley is a strong advocate for early intervention—getting families on the right path so that they will be able to co-parent and reach agreements outside of litigation in the future.
When not helping families, Ms. Whitley enjoys time with her Husband, Dan, most of which is spent running after their young son, James.
Kathryn M. Wissel
Kathryn Wissel, a shareholder of Geer Wissel Levy & Hartwell, PA, received her law degree from the University of New Mexico in 1979 after teaching English in the Albuquerque Public Schools for seven years. She started practice in a general civil law firm and later worked for Protection and Advocacy representing persons with disabilities before joining attorneys Maria Garcia Geer and Robert Levy in 1986. She is currently the president of the board of Law Access New Mexico, a legal helpline which provides services for low income persons throughout the state. She is also a trained mediator.
Ms. Wissel sees collaborative divorce as a valuable option for clients. It brings together professionals with legal, financial and mental health expertise to address the difficult choices in a divorce. It also allows couples more dignity and privacy in the process and more control over the outcome.
Ms. Wissel is a parent of two grown children and is a step
parent and step grandparent. She is married to collaborative clinical psychologist Robert Goodkind.
Maria Montoya Chavez
Maria Montoya Chavez has been practicing law since 2000 and is a Family Law Specialist board certified by the State Bar of New Mexico. She practices exclusively in the area of family law, including divorce, child custody and time sharing, child support, alimony, and the valuation and division of complex assets (professional practices, businesses) in the divorce context.
Ms. Montoya Chavez understands that going through a divorce is one of the most difficult times of a person’s life on many levels. She approaches each case by providing the client with an understanding of the legal issues, provides knowledge about available options and attempts to first resolve the matter amicably. If it appears being reasonable is not possible, Ms. Montoya Chavez has the experience to be a court advocate. She is dedicated to helping clients be the best they can be both during and after the divorce. Ms. Montoya Chavez’s commitment to family law is further shown by her involvement with the “Divorce Options Workshop” in which she educates the public on divorce and custody, and her volunteer work with the Second Judicial District’s “Family Law Clinic” where unrepresented people inquire into domestic relations matters.
Ms. Montoya Chavez has had several collaborative divorce cases in which the parties remained in control of the divorce outcome and out of court. She is a member of the New Mexico and Albuquerque Collaborative Practice Groups, where she serves on several committees. She has been a presenter at various family law and collaborative law seminars, so as to train attorneys in domestic relations matters.
Collaborative Financial Specialists
Ed Street , CPA/ABV/CFF, CVA, ASA
Ed Street is a principal with REDW LLC, the Rogoff Firm. He has practiced accounting in Albuquerque since 1980, after graduating from South Dakota State University and completing his accounting studies at the University of New Mexico. Ed's primary areas of practice are business valuation and dispute resolution, with experience in all financial divorce areas. He is accredited in business valuation and trained in general mediation and the collaborative process.
Renée Gwyther, MBA, CFP®
Renée specializes in holistic wealth management and financial planning solutions customized for clients of all ages experiencing life-changing transition. She recognizes that whatever happens in her clients’ lives, there will be some degree of financial implication. As such, she diligently reviews all the pieces of a client’s financial puzzle and brings it all together, providing clarity and confidence for clients.
Renée holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation. The CFP® coursework and continuing education requirements broaden Renée’s abilities to offer clients a high degree of knowledge and experience as she creates customized financial planning solutions for them. Her active participation in the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and New Mexico Collaborative Practice Group offers unique insights into the financial impact divorce plays in peoples’ lives.
During her spare time, Renée enjoys outdoor activity with her husband, Brad, and son, Quinlan.
Renée earned a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Christian University and her MBA from the University of New Mexico.
Collaborative Communication Specialists
Ken Gilman, PhD
Ken Gilman is a licensed clinical psychologist who has practiced in Maine, Belgium, and New Mexico. He has done a combination of clinical practice and organization development/consulting. His current practice is primarily collaborative practice and mediation. In collaborative cases, he acts as a divorce coach. In addition to psychology, he has worked as an educator and as a musician.
Robert Goodkind, PhD
Bob is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice and has been since 1979. In his practice he works with individuals; adults and adolescents, as well as with couples and families. He began working with collaborative divorces in 2004 and has served as a divorce coach and child specialist for adolescents. He is married to collaborative divorce attorney Kathryn Wissel and has four grown children.
