One of the great things about practicing in Napa and Sonoma is that there's a wonderfully constructive legal culture here. In big cities there are armies of lawyers trying to play "gotcha" on technicalities and slick legal maneuvering. Here, beginning with the courts themselves, there is a real effort to seek fair and equitable outcomes. Judges are accommodating. The court staff is friendly, and extremely respectful of lawyers. Here you can argue what is right and what is fair. In that respect the court system is very different here. I don't mean this negatively at all: We have our own kind of "Frontier Justice" here - and it works.

Of course the system is flooded and court dockets are backed up. Alternative methods to dispute resolution are important and necessary. I feel that problem solving is what led me to family law, and I hope to be active as a private judge to help achieve good results outside of a congested court system with a shrinking public budget.

At the same time, I am more selective these days with the cases, the direct advocacy and representation that I take on. I no longer take every case that comes to me.

I think some clients can have a "Pollyanna-ish" view of the law. Some are convinced their position is absolutely right -- and they expect the judge or the court to automatically do the right thing for them. Of course it doesn't work that way.

But overall I love my clients. If you practice divorce law long enough, you have clients of every ilk. One of the best parts of what I do. Most are local people, from executives to owners of the largest wineries, to hometown schoolteachers and waiters. I love that about my work.

I practiced with some great lawyers down in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills - it's a high-energy place, and a great training ground for a young lawyer. In fact, the quality of mentoring experience is very important for any young person starting a career. As I tell young lawyers today, your first job doesn't have to be the highest paying or with the most prestigious firm. You just need to learn - and keep learning - from the best.

Today I'm very proud to have a truly community-based practice. In a place like LA lawyers may never see a client again - here we're coaching each others' kids, and running into one another at the grocery store.

Of course sometimes people tell me I'm not like "most people" from LA, and I remind them I'm from Seattle. And they like that. People from Seattle are nice.

Like a lot of people who settle here in Napa, the life change really is amazing. Home is a five-minute drive from my office. The courthouse is across the street.

I am more and more passionate about the need to settle. Yes, I can be tough and overbearing, but I always work to be a constructive force in creative solutions. Lengthy litigation is too expensive and takes too big a toll on all parties. It can be too unpredictable. I believe this more fervently than ever: Settlement is better than trial.

I wouldn't call my career in family law part of some life plan. To some extent I fell into it. But I was drawn to it for a reason, and I suppose it became a calling for me. I'm a good problem solver. As a lawyer that's an essential quality, especially when clients are at stressful crossroads in their lives. I hope I help make things better than when I found them.