Volume I | Spring 2019
RUNGE FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
I am writing to update you with some news about my practice and what has been going on at Runge Family Law.

As many of you know, in addition to being a family law lawyer and mediator, I began teaching yoga in 2001. For many years I kept these two disciplines separate, not discussing my yoga practice with my law colleagues not discussing my law practice with my yoga associates. From an analytical perspective, I never thought it made sense to integrate the two.

However, despite my initial reservations, over the years I have found that my yoga practice has been a huge help to me as a family law attorney and mediator. In addition, I discovered that these two practices, law and yoga, may actually have more in common than not. Talk about using your yoga off of the mat!

What I learned from my experiences in yoga and in law is that using mindfulness practices helps me to bring better perspective to the challenges of my clients’ family law cases. Because mindfulness practices have helped me in my legal and mediation practice, I wanted to share some of these tips with friends and colleagues (see Mindfulness Matters section below).
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What's Been Happening

In addition to providing high-quality services in family mediation, collaborative law and in Court-involved cases, I have been speaking and writing about family law more than ever! Since my last blog post, I have been a panelist at two Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Conferences (in March and May 2018). This has included presenting about divorce at a Lawyer for the Day Training, as well as presenting about probate and family law cases that are impacted by the Department of Children & Families {at the MCLE Family Law Conference}. I was also a speaker at the 2018 Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council’s “How to Be An Authentic Leader” panel. I rounded out 2018 by writing an article about mediation for the Massachusetts Bar Association Section Council in fall 2018. See: 

https://www.massbar.org/publications/section-review/section-review-article/section-review-2018-november-december-2018/divorce-mediation-101-musings-and-meditations 

           In early 2019, I was invited to present at the Massachusetts Bar Association’s “Practicing with Professionalism,” a course for newly minted lawyers concerning the use of Dispute Resolution. This coming June, I will be presenting at MCLE with Karen Levitt, Esq., and Karen Van Kooy, Esq., on “Representing Moderate Income Families Efficiently.” In February 2019, my article “Using Mindfulness Practices for Personal and Professional Growth” was published in the American Bar Association. See:

https://www.lawpracticetoday.org/article/lawyers-use-mindfulness-personal-professional-growth/

           In March 2019, Zoe Martin, a second-year law student from New England School of Law, began clerking at Runge Family Law. Zoe’s background includes working as an intern in the Worcester District Court assisting with trial preparation and legal research. Zoe also has a strong background helping families who have been involved with the Department of Children & Families, domestic violence, divorce and/or custody issues. Welcome, Zoe!

           Runge Family Law continues to grow and to effectively guide our clients through the difficulties of divorce and/or with their other family law needs. 
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Question of the Quarter

Although every case is different, there are usually some questions I hear from clients more than others. For example, because of my background as both a mediator and a lawyer, many of my new clients ask about the interplay between mediation and litigation.
 
           Question:  “Can divorcing parties still mediate if a Complaint for Divorce has already been filed?”   

            Answer:  Absolutely! There is no single way to get divorced. I always remind my clients that if they are able to communicate with their spouse, there is usually no down side to trying to keep the lines of communication open between them. Of course, if the other side’s attorney says communications have to go through him or her, then that is another matter. In most cases however, the parties need to communicate during the divorce process, particularly if there are kids involved.  Using mediation can help the parties sort out the terms of their Separation Agreement and can help them keep their overall divorce costs down. There is no rule preventing parties from mediating their dispute even if their divorce case has already been filed.
Mindfulness Matters
Meditation
When going through a divorce or another highly emotional situation, it is important to find a healthy way to manage stress. One way some practitioners and folks who have gone through the process deal with that stress is through meditation.  When you are first getting started, 5 or 10 minutes of breath work and/or meditation can cause a noticeable release of tension in your body. Once you get comfortable with sitting for 5 or 10 minutes, you might find that you even look forward to “sitting” and begin to stay a little longer. Mini tip: Try sitting first thing in the morning before the rest of your day takes over. If mornings aren’t the best time for you, see what time works for you.