Jacalyn F. Barnett

Abstract

This is the credo of Jacalyn F. Barnett, a.k.a. The Love Lawyer. Across three decades of representing unhappy spouses in New York City, Barnett has looked steadily on the bright side of marital dissolution. She champions the view that divorce is a wonderful exception to the rule that life rarely gives you a second (much less a third) chance to get things right. Divorce is the portal to a radical do-over, and crossing that threshold to a new beginning requires courage, composure, smarts, and sound legal advice. Barnett tested and refined this heart-and-head approach in her family law practice through two brilliantly happy and successful divorces of her own.

“All marriages end. Either someone walks out or is carried out. The good ones are when you’re carried out. That’s a successful marriage.”