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Deborah Sandler has been practicing family law since 1985. Her practice has included divorce, custody and visitation, Court-appointed representation of minors, property division, prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, domestic partnerships, and support. She has served as a Judge Pro Tem in the Family Law Division in Contra Costa County, and as Court-appointed minor’s counsel in numerous cases. She has presented at Court-sponsored minor’s counsel trainings and at the Contra Costa County Family Law Section’s Custody Issues Committee on minor’s counsel issues, as well as mentoring newly trained minor’s counsel attorneys. Deborah was recognized by STAND for Pro Bono representation of a domestic violence victim at trial, and by the Contra Costa County Family Law Division for her work on behalf of minors. She has also provided Pro Bono mediation at Court. After extensive litigation experience, Deborah began to look for different options to help families resolve their disputes with mutual respect, and to better protect children. Her practice expanded to include mediation in 1992, collaborative law in 2009, and integrative mediation in 2016. Deborah finds alternative dispute resolution to be some of the most rewarding and creative work she has ever done in family law, and she is committed to increasing its use to resolve family law disputes. She currently serves on the Steering and Divorce Options Committees of Collaborative Practice East Bay, and the Divorce Options Committee of Collaborative Practice California. She is a regular presenter of the Divorce Options seminars presented statewide by collaborative practice groups, with local presentations taking place in Lafayette and Oakland each month. Deborah is a member of the State Bar of California, the State Bar’s Family Law Section and Solo Practice Sections, the Contra Costa County Bar Association, the Contra Costa County Bar Association’s Family Law, Solo Practice and Senior Lawyers Sections, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and Integrative Mediation Bay Area. She received her Bachelors degree from Pitzer College, and her JD from Golden Gate University.