With her dual-degrees in law and clinical social work, Attorney Shemin is distinctively well-suited to offer clients an array of dispute resolution options including mediation, collaborative law, settlement negotiations, parenting coordination, divorce consultation and coaching, guardian ad litem evaluative opinions, premarital and postnuptial agreements – and she even has a sub-specialization in handling marital mediation cases for those interested in working on “agreements to stay married.”

Attorney Shemin’s combined 38 years of clinical and domestic relations expertise offers clients a “best of both worlds” approach to case resolution. With her extensive background in child development and her knowledge and understanding of the psychodynamics of divorce and the reconstitution of the nuclear family, she is exceptionally well-equipped to assist transitioning families with developing optimal co-parenting plans, telling children about divorce, and handling inevitable disagreements that parents will face long after the ink is dry on their divorce agreements. Attorney Shemin is noted for her ability to handle the most challenging high-conflict cases and to “think outside the box” (even where domestic violence has been part of the family history) by developing creative solutions uniquely crafted to each client’s particular circumstances.

Having been retained as a domestic relations practitioner in hundreds of cases involving complex financial, legal, and emotional issues, Attorney Shemin’s practice areas encompass all aspects of divorce and family law, including alimony, child support, custody and co-parenting plans, removal, division of marital assets, inheritances, trusts and estates, post-divorce modifications, same-sex partnerships, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and agreements to stay married.

Attorney Shemin is a family law attorney who is  first and foremost, devoted to alternative dispute resolution to address problem-solving and conflict resolution while also acknowledging that court involvement may sometimes be required. She relies on a 360° philosophy which recognizes that clients need a careful and experienced assessment of their family law concerns. Founded on her 38+ years of professional experience, she believes that – just as the triage process is mission critical if there is a medical concern, so too must the family lawyer be able to guide the client in the most cost-effective, least damaging alternatives. She knows that virtually nothing can derail a case faster than opting for the wrong type of conflict resolution process or selecting an attorney whose philosophy and values are not attuned to the client’s needs. Consistent with the oft-quoted adage – “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail,” Attorney Shemin recognizes that a domestic relations firm must offer excellence in a multiplicity of legal areas as client needs are multifaceted and every client deserves tailored services.

Throughout the course of her impressive career, Attorney Shemin has established herself as a distinguished and trustworthy expert in the domestic relations field. Since 1999, she has been continuously awarded the highest achievable Peer Review “AV Preeminent” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which represents recognition of the most stringent standards in ethical behavior and quality of legal work.

In addition to her law, mediation, collaborative law and parenting coordination practice, Attorney Shemin’s interest in “paying it forward” is evidenced both in the writing and publication of her scholarly articles.  She frequently teaches introductory and advanced courses to professional colleagues and the lay public alike on topics related to ADR and family law and she literally “shows” mediators-in-training the way as she coaches them in the nuances of effective practice.

Attorney Shemin has been a guest lecturer on mediation, collaborative law, diversity, domestic violence and power imbalance issues in family law cases, post-divorce financial planning, and co-parenting topics for the American Bar Association, American Psychological Association, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council and Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation. On the university level, she has been an adjunct professor teaching “Negotiation” at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business as well as an adjunct instructor in “Family Law,” “Ethics,” and “Mental Health Law” at Boston University School of Social Work.

Fields and Dennis LLP fits the ideal prototype of a dispute resolution firm that enables clients and counsel to collaborate as a team to ascertain what process best fits the client’s initial (and sometimes changing) needs. It is rare to have the breadth and depth of legal talent under one roof for multidisciplinary “one-stop shopping.” From the initial email or telephone inquiry, the prospective client will find that Fields and Dennis LLP offers its clients an expansive range of support and legal services. The firm is comprised of professionals with deep expertise spanning the full spectrum of multidisciplinary areas that may well impact the divorcing client – from every form of ADR (such alternatives to the traditional and adversarial method of dispute resolution include mediation, collaborative law, settlement negotiations, conciliation, arbitration and case evaluation), to litigation, to estate planning, real estate, business advice and psychology (recognizing that the process often causes emotional upheaval to family members). Every firm member is devoted to being circumspect about preserving precious resources for clients, recognizing that time away from work and home is taxing, that finances should be preserved for the reconstituted family and that emotional conflagrations should not be flamed by the legal process.