Abby Wittlin Tolchinsky

Abby began her career in 1991 as a litigation associate at the law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore.  She worked on cases with clients ranging from the FDIC to IBM.  From there, she went on to volunteer with the Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights where she evaluated cases and interviewed immigrants from around the world who wished to apply for asylum in the United States.  Abby then worked at the Pace Women’s Justice Center at Pace Law School in White Plains.  There, she provided legal advice to victims of domestic violence.  Abby is an active board member of WRAIN, a Westchester County community organization concerned with growth and development in the county.  In April 2004, Abby received her mediation training through the Center for Mediation in Law and has done coursework in matrimonial law through the Center.  Recently, Abby completed an apprenticeship and is a volunteer mediator with the Westchester Mediation Center, CLUSTER, where she continues to participate in custody and visitation mediations. She is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York and the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, and is a certified mediator in the New York City Family Courts.  Abby received her BA from Barnard College of Columbia University and her JD from the New York University School of Law.

Ellie Wertheim

Ellie began her legal career advocating on behalf of children in abuse, neglect and juvenile delinquency cases at the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society.  Subsequently, she represented indigent clients in custody, child support, matrimonial and family violence cases at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG).  As part of her work at NYLAG, she also supervised law students who assisted domestic violence victims in Family Court and conducted family law trainings at law schools and social service agencies throughout New York City.  Using her family law background, Ellie is now committed to the practice of mediation to assist families in resolving their conflicts.  She received her mediation training at the Queens Mediation Network and completed the divorce mediation practicum at the Ackerman Institute for the Family.  Ellie is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York and the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, and is a certified mediator in the New York City Courts. She received her BA from Northwestern University and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.