Valerie Kanouse Balsama, esq., click here for an attorney profile.

Born Washington, D.C., January 30, 1950; admitted to bar, 1975, New York, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York and U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; 1978, Florida.

Education: State University of New York at Buffalo (B.S., summa cum laude, 1971); University of Notre Dame (J.D; cum laude, 1974). Beta Gamma Sigma; Alpha Gamma Delta.

Areas of Practice: Marital and Family Law, Amicable Divorces, Cooperative Divorces, Collaborative Divorces, Mediations; Family Law Adviser.

Awards/Credentials:

• Recipient; Notre Dame Women’s Achievement in Law Award, 1996
  Hon. Roger Kiley Scholar
• Member, Notre Dame Law Review, 1972-1973
• Award for Dedication to the Preservation of Families through Amicable Resolution of Disputes, Family Law Section, The Florida Bar
• Assistant Professor of Law, Nova University School of Law, 1978-1990
• Certified Family Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Board Certified
• Marital and Family Lawyer, 1993-1999
• Assistant Leader, Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS)
• Assistant District Attorney, Erie County, New York, 1975-1977
• Member: Florida Bar Parent Education Task Force
• Special Task Force for Families Committees
• Founder and President Emeritus of Council for Preservation and Divorce Resolution - a non-profit Interdisciplinary Think Tank

Professional Affiliations:

• South Palm Beach County Bar Association (Member, Past President)
• Collaborative Divorce Lawyers Association of Palm Beach, Inc. Co-Founder
• The Florida Bar (Member, Family Law Section)
• Guild of Catholic Lawyers of Palm Beach (Member, Board of Directors)
• Women For Excellence, Boca Raton, FL

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Steven M. Pesso

Born Hartford, CT, July 27, 1959; admitted to Florida Bar 1991, admitted to U.S. Supreme Court, 1994.

Education: J.D. Western New England College School of Law 1988, University of Connecticut B.A., 1983

Awards/Credentials: Recipient of Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach Family Law Award 1996.

Areas of Practice: Contested or Adversarial Dissolutions, Custody Litigation, Criminal Litigation.

Cheryl R. Eisen

Born Miami, FL, February 7, 1949; admitted to bar, 1974, Florida; U.S. Supreme Court; 1981, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida.

Education: University of Florida (B.A.E., 1970; J.D., 1974).

Areas of Practice: Adoption, Juvenile, Dependency, Family Law.

Awards/Credentials:

• Member of the Board, University of Florida Law Review, 1973-74.
• Recipient of JAFCO, it takes a Village award for pro bono legal services to abused and neglected childre, 1998.
• Author: Using a Brief Case Plan Method to Reconcile Kinship Rights and the Best Interest of the Child When an Unwed Father Contests a
• Mother's Decision to Place an infant for Adoption, 22 Nova Law Review, 1999.
• Assistant Professor of Law, 1975-1977.
• Associate Professor of Law, 1977-1982 and Adjunct Professor of Law, 1982-1986, Nova University Law Center.
• Visiting Associate Professor of Law, 1989-1991, St. Thomas University Law School.
• Member and Chairman, City of Boca Raton, Florida, Civil Service Board, 1982-1990.
• Founding Director and Treasurer, Council for Marriage Preservation and
• Divorce Resolution, non-profit, 1992-1997.
• Member: The Florida Bar (Member, Family Law Section, Adoption Committee, 1993-present)
• Task Force on Adoption, 1996-1998.

Professional Affiliations: Member of American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.

Louis J. Alfonso

Born Highland Park, NJ; admitted New Jersey Bar, 1968; admitted to Florida Bar, 1978; admitted to practice before U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. District Court.

Education: B.S. from Rutgers University; J.D. from Seton Hall University; post graduate philosophy courses at North Carolina State and post graduate legal courses at New York University Law School.

Awards/Credentials:

• Former Township Attorney; Assistant County Counsel.
• Board of Health Attorney.
• Planning Board Attorney.
• Prosecutor and elected member Board of Education, state of New Jersey.
• Former Officer, United States Army.

Professional Affiliations: Member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity; member of Palm Beach County Bar Association.

Areas of Practice: Marital and Family Law, Contested or Adversarial Dissolution; Wills, Trusts and Estates, Real Estate and Business Matters.