Mounted on the wall of Attorney Lisa Browning’s law office is a framed quote by President Abe Lincoln, which sums up her appreciation for a Collaborative approach to divorce and other legal proceedings.

“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough,” Lincoln said.

This approach, which Lisa says encourages cooperation between legal parties, is the basis for her career in family law, which promotes Collaborative divorce and other alternative divorce resolutions, such as mediation, as a better option than going to trial.

She saw the benefit of this firsthand, when, as a child of 12, her own parents divorced. She said that they had one of the earlier mediated cases. Looking back, she says that her parents did her a service by remaining civil and keeping the kids out of the process largely because of the non-confrontational nature of their divorce.

Ms. Browning has been practicing family law for 15 years, most recently hanging her own shingle at Lisa Browning Law when the pandemic hit.

“Collaborative law allows both parties to resolve matters out of court through negotiation while still having their own advocate by their side.” she says. “It avoids the uncertain outcomes of court, where the judge has control over the decisions being made. No one knows your family as well as you do.”

Browning is a collaboratively trained attorney as well as a trained mediator. Her goal is to help people through one of the most difficult times of their lives, with kindness, compassion, and expertise.

A graduate of both Rutgers undergrad and Rutgers Law School, she has been practicing law since 2005.

She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jessica R. Mayer, family judge for the Superior Court Middlesex County, who now sits on the NJ Appellate Division. 

The Details

• Member Hunterdon County Family Practice Committee

• Panelist Hunterdon and Warren County Early Settlement Panel

• Treasurer, Hunterdon County Bar Association

• Active in the Hunterdon County legal community; also practices in Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Somerset and Warren counties

Prior to starting her own law firm, Lisa worked for other local firms assisting clients with divorce, collaborative divorce, divorce mediation, and all other areas of family law practice.

Her Mantra: Divorce is not one-size-fits-all. A Collaborative divorce is the 21st Century version of mediation. It protects you and curtails conflict as you have your own lawyer advocating for you.

When she is not practicing law, she enjoys spending time with her husband, young son, and daughter. Before the pandemic, she found a weekly pottery class to be a great stress reliever, and now is happy to be cheering from the sidelines at her son’s flag football games.