the adventures of a girl, her dog, and two cats.

curriculum vitae

Professional background. I am a trained mediator, with a focus on divorce mediation. I am admitted to the Florida and New York bars. During law school I interned with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and with Judge Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. I began my legal career in Washington, DC at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. I practiced in Miami for over a decade, obtaining a wealth of experience. (Please note that I am not admitted to practice law in, and do not practice law in, Maryland or the District of Columbia.)

Substantive legal areas of my practice have included financial services, (e.g., securities, banking, offshore banking, regulation), white collar issues (e.g., money laundering, foreign corrupt practices act), appeals, commercial real estate, bankruptcy, family law, foreclosure, unfair trade practices claims, constitutional law, contracts, ERISA, employment discrimination, employment contracts, insurance, health law, HIPAA, corporate, and intellectual property litigation. I have a strong background in complex commercial litigation, with experience in state and federal court including: court appearances, arbitration, and mediation; drafting pleadings, briefs, memoranda, and discovery requests and responses; research; document management; and hiring and management of outside, local, and specialty counsel, experts, and consultants in the U.S. and abroad.

I served as in-house counsel for two hedge funds and two broker-dealers. My duties included managing all litigation matters and all U.S. transactions for the hedge funds, (including deals in telecom, hospitality, factoring, gaming, and real estate), as well as regulatory and commercial matters affecting the broker-dealers and general corporate and human resources matters. I also served on the business process committee evaluating new products and platforms, assessing organizational impact, and addressing issues such as business continuity and contingency planning.

Education. I have, for better or worse, been something of a professional student and have studied a variety of fields. Being highly self-competitive, I was a "grade-junkie," but am truly driven by an insatiable intellectual curiosity about the world and ourselves. (Thus, perhaps, the name of the blog.)

University of Miami School of Business Administration
Coral Gables, FL
Master of Business Administration (specialization in Finance)
Beta Gamma Sigma

University of Miami School of Law
Coral Gables, FL
Juris Doctor, magna cum laude

University of Redlands
Redlands, CA
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, History and Philosophy (double major)
Phi Beta Kappa

In addition to the degrees I completed, I pursued various other studies including doctoral studies in philosophy at Boston University and doctoral studies in marketing at the University of Oregon.

Graduate coursework: philosophy, marketing theory and research, social psychology, and data analysis (statistics).

Other undergraduate coursework:

- social sciences (public administration, social psychology, sociology, psychology, psychology of personal effectiveness, abnormal psychology, human growth and development, dynamics of behavior)

- natural sciences (biology, marine biology, oceanography, nutrition)

- hospitality management and marketing

- foreign languages (Spanish and Portuguese)

- statistics

Civic activity. I consider volunteerism important. Whether I am on top of the world or down and out, there is always something I can give to make my community or our planet a better place. While living in Miami I was elected to and chaired the Coconut Grove Village Council and served on the City of Miami Waterfront Advisory Board and Bond Oversight Board. As a member of Miami's Coral Reef Yacht Club I volunteered with club events and regattas. When I transplanted to Annapolis I joined the Annapolis Striders running club and organized the club's monthly social mixers for two-and-a-half years.

Here's where I've donated my time:

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, DC Chapter
Board of Directors (Sept 2012 - Sept 2013)
Corporate Governance & Strategic Planning Project (Dec 2011 - Apr 2012)

Annapolis Striders
Social director (Oct 2011 - March 2014)

Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center
Volunteer mediator (May - Nov 2012)

Woman's Cancer Association of the University of Miami
Member and volunteer (2005 - 2006)

City of Miami Waterfront Advisory Board
Member (2004 - 2006)

City of Miami District Two Roundtable
Member (2002 - 2005)

City of Miami Neighborhood Improvement Bond Oversight Board
Member (2003 - 2004)

Coconut Grove Village Council
Chair (2002 - 2004)