About Lisa M. Mills
Lisa’s practice is primarily focused upon matrimonial and family court matters including litigation, mediation and collaborative divorce. In her litigation practice, Lisa handles a wide range of complex matters including trial counsel in divorce litigation matters, prenuptial agreements, contested and uncontested divorces, child and spousal support proceedings, separation agreements, qualified domestic relations orders and adoptions.
Lisa is a trained divorce mediator and assists clients with alternative dispute resolution through mediation. Lisa is also a trained collaborative divorce practitioner, and she is one of the first attorneys to offer this new non-adversarial approach to divorce in Columbia County. Collaborative divorce is also an alternative dispute resolution process in which the divorcing participants commit to resolve their differences through negotiation without Court intervention.
In July, 2008, Lisa was selected by the Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department to be a member of the Committee on Professional Standards, a panel which oversees Attorney disciplinary matters. In May, 2010, Lisa was appointed to the executive committee of the Committee on Professional Standards. Lisa served on the Committee on Professional Standards from July, 2008 through March, 2015. Additionally, she served as the Third Department law guardian liaison for Columbia County from 2007 through 2012.
Currently, Lisa serves as the Town Justice in the Town of Kinderhook, a position that she has held since first elected in 2010.
Lisa has also previously served as an Assistant County Attorney for Columbia County responsible for prosecuting youth as persons in need of supervision and juvenile delinquency matters before the Family Court.
During her career, Lisa has been on the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York and has volunteered with the Legal Project, offering pro bono representation. She represented victims of domestic violence, clients unable to afford representation in bankruptcy and family court proceedings and also volunteered in Legal Project clinics offering free legal assistance to indigent clients. Lisa currently serves on the Legal Aid Private Attorney Involvement Committee. In October, 2014, Lisa was honored by the New York State Bar Association for her pro bono service. In 2020 Lisa received the Distinguished Service Award from the Legal Aid Society.
Lisa M. Mills is a 1998 graduate of Albany Law School of Union University, and a 1993 graduate of the State University of New York at Oneonta. Lisa has been a member at various times of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Otsego, Delaware, Albany, and Columbia County Bar Associations as well as the Capital District Women’s Bar Association.
Our Practice Areas
Matrimonial & Family
Matrimonial & Family
Matrimonial & Family
Our matrimonial and family law practice includes representation of clients in litigated and negotiated matters involving divorce, separation, child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, equitable distribution, paternity, guardianship, domestic violence, adoption, pre-nuptial, post-nuptial, cohabitation and domestic partnership agreements, post-judgment enforcement and modification.
We have extensive experience in both Supreme Court and Family Court in resolving all issues that arise in divorce and family court practice either through litigation or negotiation. We are able to provide individualized, full-service and cost-effective representation to each of our clients regardless of the simplicity or complexity of their case.
Divorce Mediation
Matrimonial & Family
Matrimonial & Family
Divorce mediation is a process in which the parties, with the assistance of a mediator, directly negotiate a settlement of all issues. A Mediator is a trained, neutral third party who will assist you and your spouse in communicating with one another, working out issues, and ultimately reaching an agreement that each of you can support. Mediation can be used to settle matrimonial matters as well as to develop a custody and parenting plan.
Mediation is less costly than traditional litigation. Since the parties are paying only one neutral mediator instead of two litigators, the cost is reduced. Also, the time involved in mediation is usually a fraction of the time necessary to complete traditional litigation. Mediation is less stressful. There are no tense court appearances, no waiting for a Judge to decide the outcome of a motion or waiting for a decision after a divorce trial. Instead, the parties sit together and make a parenting plan, support and asset and debt distribution plan. Mediation allows couples to resolve issues without the need to become involved in costly, time consuming and stressful litigation.
Collaborative Divorce
Matrimonial & Family
Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative Divorce is an alternative dispute resolution process in which both parties, with the assistance of a team of professionals, including an attorney, a coach and if needed a child specialist and/or financial specialist, directly negotiate a settlement of all issues. Collaborative Divorce Attorneys have attended special training in alternative methods of dispute resolution including Collaborative Divorce. The divorcing parties commit to use the collaborative process of negotiation and resolution and instead of traditional adversarial litigation, thereby avoiding stressful expensive court proceedings. Each participant in the collaborative process has been specially trained and educated in assisting couples who wish to divorce in a more civilized, respectful and cooperative manner. The Collaborative Divorce process leads to a resolution which is incorporated into the final divorce.
The Collaborative process involves you working with your attorney to determine your legal rights and the type of resolution which you desire. You, your attorney, your spouse, your spouse’s attorney, together with a collaborative coach meet to negotiate an acceptable agreement. In some cases, other professionals are brought in to assist with issues which require negotiation, such as child custody and financial issues. The participants work together to gather all necessary information, discuss and negotiate the best possible resolution. Once an agreement on all issues is reached, final divorce documents will be prepared for you and submitted to a Judge who will execute a final Judgment of Divorce. Through the collaborative process the need for Court appearances is avoided.