Attorney Karpf joins the Massachusetts Council of Family Mediation.

I have joined the Massachusetts Council of Family Mediation (http://www.mcfm.org/).  2013 will be an exciting year in which mediation becomes a full part of my practice, especially family law.

For those curious about family mediation, basic questions can be answered at the FAQ page of the Council.

New Years - Office Closed

The office will be closed on December 31, 2012 and January 1, 2013.

Happy New Year to everyone!  May the coming year be a season of embracing peace when we can, fighting for justice when we can not, and being wise enough to recognize the difference.*

--Stephen Karpf

* My apologies to Reinhold Niebuhr, the original author of the Serenity Prayer, which was later adopted by AA.  It's not just for alcoholics!

Thanksgiving Holidays

Photo by Stephen Karpf.
All rights reserved.

The Thanksgiving holidays are frequently a difficult time.  On a personal level, family members come together from both a place of love and of obligation.  For separated and divorced families, the incorporation of Thanksgiving into a parenting schedule can be a particularly complicated issue.  On a political level, the American principles of immigration and assimilation crash directly into the historical origins of the holiday in European colonization and cultural violence.  It can be a very rough time, indeed.

Personally, I like to hang up my thinking cap for the weekend and eat some spectacularly good food.  The office will be closed for Thursday and Friday - Thursday for dinner, Friday for digestion - but I will be checking email and texts (which can be sent to the office phone number, 617-564-3823) on Friday and over the weekend in case any emergencies arise.  I hope that my readers can be push aside their stressors emphasize the enjoyment of the positive aspects of your lives.  Happy Thanksgiving!