AMS - Key Persons
Allan graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1978 after receiving his B.A. degree summa cum laude from Cornell, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Lambda Phi. In more than 40 years as an attorney, Allan has had extensive trial experience, including successfully trying to conclusion some of the largest equitable distribution cases in New York.
Allan is a past President of the New York Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and served as counsel to the AAML. He is also a member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York State Bar Association (Executive Committee of the Family Law Section) and the American Bar Association. He also is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Foundation and served as counsel to the Foundation as well. Allan served as a member of the Matrimonial Commission that was appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to study matrimonial law reform. The Commission's findings were reported in February 2006 and were the basis for improving litigation in both Family Court and the Supreme Court. Allan has lectured and written on numerous topics in the area of family law.
Allan has also been appointed on several occasions by the New York State Supreme Court to conduct neutral evaluations of cases in an effort to reach settlement and he has conducted mediations for that purpose at the request of litigants. He has also been appointed to act as discovery master in complex financial cases. Allan and his wife, Debra live in Battery Park City in Manhattan.
In addition to being the managing partner of the firm, Allan also serves as the firm's General Counsel.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Master
- Social Worker
Allison Richman graduated summa cum laude and Order of the Coif from Fordham University School of Law in 2018.
Prior to joining the firm, Allison worked at the intersection of family and immigration law. She has represented both high net worth clients and New York City youth, and has extensive courtroom experience, having litigated in both Family and Immigration Courts across New York City.
Allison's practice focuses on high-conflict custody disputes. Allison is passionate about guiding families through the sensitive and painful challenges inherent to divorce proceedings, particularly when children are involved.
In addition to her law degree, Allison is a licensed Master Social Worker. She has worked with children and families in various capacities, representing children and adolescents in contentious legal proceedings, as well as serving as a trauma-focused therapist in both the public and private sector.
Allison's multidisciplinary training and expertise make her uniquely suited for counseling individuals in crisis, and inform her compassionate, client-centered approach to legal advocacy.
Allison is fluent in Spanish.
Caitlin has a unique blend of warmth and courtroom prowess, equally suited for creative negotiation and strategic litigation. Originally from Seattle, Caitlin Connolly attended Barnard College, where she graduated summa cum laude, and received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2012.
While attending Harvard, Caitlin was a teaching assistant for Professor Robert Mnookin, a leading scholar in the field of conflict resolution. She was also an Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.
Caitlin has extensive trial experience. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office for six and a half years, where she tried twenty-five cases to verdict as a first chair, including People v. Jasson Melo, a case closely followed by national and international media outlets. Caitlin was appointed to the Homicide Chart and handled some of the office's most sensitive and challenging cases as a member of the Sex Crimes Unit and the Human Trafficking Unit. Caitlin specialized in domestic violence cases and was appointed bureau-wide supervisor for domestic violence. Caitlin will also handle criminal defense or victim advocacy for select clients.
Prior to joining AM&S, Caitlin practiced matrimonial and family law exclusively for three and a half years at a highly esteemed boutique firm in Manhattan. She is the treasurer of the Matrimonial Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, a member of the Family Law and International Law sections of the American Bar Association, and the Family Law section of the New York State Bar Association.
Caitlin lives in SoHo with her husband and two young sons.
Daniel handles complex and contentious domestic and international disputes in family law matters pertaining to divorce, custody, division of assets, child and espousal support, paternity and business valuations. He is an experienced litigator, highly regarded for his financial and accounting acumen and diverse understanding of divorce law, as well as his ability to negotiate substantial divorce and family law matters.
While a skilled divorce and family law litigator, Daniel's primary goal is to assist his clients in resolving difficult family matters and helping them move forward with their lives in a dignified and respectful manner. Recognizing that not every situation requires a courtroom, Daniel resolves some cases through negotiation, as warranted by the particular circumstances of a case and the client's individual needs.
In recognition for his excellence in divorce and family law practice, Daniel has been honored by Super Lawyers Magazine. He is a frequent speaker and writer on family law, valuations, trial procedure, and the law.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Partner
- Guest Lecturer
- Member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Mr. Aronson has also lectured on the following topics:
David is widely recognized, and has repeatedly been named in peer review surveys, as one of the top matrimonial attorneys in New York.
"Best Lawyers in America" has just named David its "Lawyer of the Year" in the New York Metro Area for the third time (2011, 2018, 2024). David is the only lawyer to have achieved that honor more than twice.
For more than thirty years David has received the highest peer rating for competence and ethics (‘AV') by the well-respected Martindale-Hubbell directory of attorneys.
David has repeatedly been selected by "Super Lawyers" as among the "Top 100 Lawyers" in New York (including lawyers in all specialties).
Chambers and Partners, and Chambers USA, the respected British legal ratings publication, has repeatedly rated David as "Band 1" the highest rating they provide, an honor they extended to only three matrimonial lawyers in New York in 2024, including David's partner, Pamela Sloan.
David was admitted to the bar in 1975 after graduating cum laude from Brooklyn Law School, where he was an Editor of the Law Review. Following his graduation, he served as the Law Clerk to a United States District Judge in Manhattan before joining the litigation department at one of New York City's most prestigious law firms. Since 1983, David has applied the skills he acquired working in the court system and as a commercial litigator to the practice of matrimonial law.
Although an experienced and respected trial lawyer, David is proud of his reputation as a creative settlor of cases, who recognizes that whenever possible, disputes should be resolved through negotiation and that trials should be viewed as a last resort. For that reason, other lawyers frequently turn to David to act as a mediator or arbitrator when their efforts to settle cases for their clients deadlock.
David is a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the American College of Family Trial Lawyers: David is a diplomate of the prestigious American College of Family Trial Lawyers, membership in which is by invitation only, and limited to only 100 lawyers from across the United States. the American Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (and sat as a member of that Association's Council on Judicial Administration), and the New York State Bar Association. He is a former Adjunct Assistant Professor at Brooklyn Law School. He has served as Vice President and on the Board of Managers of the New York Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, and as a member of the Office of Court Administration's Matrimonial Practice Advisory Committee and its predecessor, the New York State Courts Committee on Matrimonial Practice. As a committee member, David helped organize seminars, draft legislation, and lectured to the sitting matrimonial judges, referees, and their staffs on such issues as valuation, equitable distribution, maintenance, and custody.
David has lectured at scores of professional and continuing legal education seminars. Among the organizations that have asked him to appear are the New York State Office of Court Administration, the New York State Judicial Institute, the Women's Bar Association, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the American Society of Appraisers, the Association of Divorce Financial Planners, the Appellate Division, First Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the New York City Family Court Summit, the Practicing Law Institute and the New York City, County, and State Bar Associations.
David has been married to Inette Fox Aronson since 1978. They have a daughter, who is a theatrical director, and a son, who is a partner at Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, LLP.
David Aronson has been named Lawyer of the Year 2018
David Aronson, partner at Aronson, Mayefksy & Sloan,LLP, has been named Lawyer of the Year in Family Law for New York City by U.S. News - "Best Lawyers in America"©. Best Lawyers In America is a U.S. News publication.
This is the second time David has been awarded this distinction by the legal practitioner rating service. He was first awarded in 2011.
David Aronson has been named Lawyer of the Year 2011
David Aronson, partner at Aronson, Mayefksy & Sloan,LLP, has been named Lawyer of the Year in Family Law for New York City by: U.S. News - "Best Lawyers in America"© Best Lawyers In America a U.S. News publication 2011.
This is the first time Aronson has been awarded this distinction by the legal practitioner rating service.
Elizabeth is an associate with Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, where she represents clients in all aspects of matrimonial and family law.
Elizabeth received her Juris Doctor from New York Law School where she was a Global Fellow Scholar on a full-tuition scholarship, an Editor on the Law Review, and Vice Chair of the Moot Court Association. Underscoring her commitment to matrimonial law and academic excellence in related coursework, Elizabeth's Law Review Note, which focused entirely on the New York Domestic Relations Law, was selected for national publication. She received the Ernst C. Steifel Writing Award for Excellence in Comparative-Common Civil Law as well as the Alexander D. Forger Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession.
While in law school, Elizabeth served as an intern for the Honorable Lori S. Sattler, who sat in a dedicated matrimonial part in the New York County Supreme Court. She also completed a matrimonial course, taught by the Honorable Matthew F. Cooper (ret.) and the Honorable Laura E. Drager (ret.), which focused exclusively on divorce in New York state. These experiences provided her with a rare perspective and understanding of how matrimonial judges evaluate and adjudicate topics such as child custody disputes and the equitable distribution of assets.
Elizabeth was elected to serve as a liaison on the Young Lawyer Section Committee to the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She was named to the 2023 Super Lawyers New York Metro Rising Stars list.
Elizabeth earned her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University where she graduated with honors and distinction in English and Philosophy. Outside of her practice, she is a passionate and avid follower of sports and enjoys golf, reading, and traveling.
Through her varied experiences in all facets of family law practice and matrimonial litigation, Ms. Erickson has developed a sophisticated approach to marital disputes.
Elle has practiced exclusively in the field of matrimonial and family law since prior to her graduation from law school, beginning her tenure with a firm of solicitors in London, England. She began her career serving as the Judicial Law Clerk to Hon. Ronald L. Reisner in the New Jersey Superior Court - Family Part, where she assisted with drafting decisions and orders on all issues before that court, including pendente lite relief, child support, custody, equitable distribution, maintenance, and post-judgment enforcement and modification. With more than fifteen years of experience, Elle has represented clients in all stages of complex and high net worth matrimonial and family law matters, including pre-judgment and appellate proceedings on Long Island, in Westchester County, and New York City.
Elle is an active member of the New York State Bar Association. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section as Co-Chair of the Legislation Committee. She is also a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on membership.
Elle has lectured for the New York State Bar Association in the area of Family Court Practice. She co-authored the article, "Fields v. Fields : The ‘Town house Stoop-Sweeping' Case 10 Years Later", which was published in the New York Law Journal in July 2020. Her article "What Custody Arrangements Miss: The Mental Load", featured by a well-known wellness coach, touches on Elle's special area of interest.
Elodie E. de Bethmann is a graduate of Emory University School of Law ('21) and Wellesley College ('15). In law school, Elodie tailored her coursework to matrimonial and family law and interned at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center.
Elodie was admitted to the First Judicial Department of the New York Bar in February 2022. She is a member of the Matrimonial Law Section of the New York County Lawyers' Association, the Family Law Section and the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, as well as the Matrimonial & Family Law Committee, Children's Rights & Issues Committee, and Reproductive Rights & Women's Health Committee of the New York Women's Bar Association. Elodie is a native speaker of French and English.
Jennifer Lombardo has been practicing matrimonial and family law for approximately 20 years, most notably representing plaintiffs and defendants in divorce.
Jennifer has also regularly appeared in court for status conferences and motion practice, and engaged in all stages of appellate practice, from writing briefs to arguing before the appellate court.
Jennifer is also well-versed in structured finance matters, previously representing certificate insurers in the modification of contracts relating to the issuance of mortgage-backed securities, as well as representing clients engaged in asset purchase transactions and in contracts for the extension of credit to small businesses.
Karen has spent more than thirty-five years practicing exclusively in the area of matrimonial law. Karen joined the firm in 2007 after stints at her own law firm and as a partner in the matrimonial department of Squadron Ellenoff Plesent & Sheinfeld, LLP.
Karen is known for her expertise regarding marital and prenuptial agreements, advises high net worth clients and family offices, and has been quoted in an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Millennials Embrace Prenuptial Agreements - But Through a Very Different Lens."
She has served on the Matrimonial Law Committee at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and was Chair of the Sub-Committee on Legislation.
Karen is rated "AV Pre-eminent" by Martindale Hubbell in both legal ability and ethical standards, has appeared in Best Lawyers in America for the past several years, has been featured in the Bar Register of Prominent Women Lawyers, and is regularly honored by her peers as a "Super Lawyer" in the New York City metro area.
Karen is an accomplished pianist and has served on the board of the American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival.
Karen L. Robarge has Received Tenth Consecutive Top Rated in Family Law by Superlawyers
Karen L. Robarge has earned recognition by Superlawyers® receiving Top Rated classification in Family Law.
Karen L. Robarge has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America
Karen L. Robarge has been recognized in Family Law for New York City by: U.S. News - "Best Lawyers in America".
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Saw Mill River Audubon Society
- Member of the New York State Bar Association
Larry is a member of the New York State Bar Association (Family Law Section) and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Recognized as a skilled writer, Larry has a hand in drafting all the firm's appellate briefs. He maintains the highest peer rating for ethics and competence ('AV') by the Martindale-Hubbell national directory of attorneys. Larry has contributed to the Matthew Bender and Co. publication Practical Solutions for New York Lawyers. He supervises the firm's pro bono cases.
Larry is a member of the Board of Directors of the Saw Mill River Audubon Society and also voluntarily maintains several miles of a hiking trail in Fahnestock State Park under the auspices of the NY/NJ Trail Conference. Larry is a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School
- Associate With Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan
- Fellow of the Asociación De Juristas De Derecho De Familia
Lidio is an Associate with Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan where he represents clients in all aspects of Family Law.
Lidio specializes in complex high net worth cases involving substantial business assets and professional partnerships, alternative investments, deferred compensation, forensic accounting, among other assets and issues. In addition to his experience with difficult financial cases, he has lead numerous cases involving contentious custody disputes and relocation. He also has vast experience in negotiating and drafting intricate prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.
Lidio received his LL.M from Fordham University School of Law, magna cum laude, ranked in the top five of his class, and served as a member of the Student Advisory Board. Before joining the firm, Lidio gained extensive experience dealing with matrimonial matters while serving as an intern for a judge in a matrimonial part in New York County Supreme Court.
He received his LL.B from Universidad Iberoamericana in the Dominican Republic, where he graduated summa cum laude and first in his class. He then joined a prestigious firm in the Dominican Republic, where he counseled clients in matrimonial matters, and was recognized as a rising star and recommended lawyer in Chamber's Legal 500 Latin America.
Lidio is a fellow of the Asociación de Juristas de Derecho de Familia (AIJUDEFA), an international organization of family law and trust and estates specialists, with fellows in more than 30 countries, where he is a lecturer and serves as the Co-President of the Young Lawyers Section. In addition, Lidio is the chair of the Young Lawyer Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), matrimonial section. He is also a lecturer for the Scales of Justice, an organization that works with young women from diverse backgrounds seeking mentorship and guidance in the legal field.
Lidio is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and the Dominican Republic. In addition to NYSBA and AIJUDEFA, he is a member of the Dominican Bar Association of New York and the LGBT Bar Association of New York. Lidio has been recognized by his peers as a Rising Star in the New York Metro Area in Super Lawyers.
Outside his practice of law, Lidio is an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School. Lidio lives in Queens with his husband and their dog. Lidio is fluent in Spanish and reads/writes advanced French.
Nina Gross began her legal career at the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society, representing children in various family and legal situations. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Since leaving Legal Aid in late 1998, her private practice has been exclusively in the area of matrimonial and family law, dealing with complex custody matters and divorces with significant financial issues. Prior to joining Aronson, Mayefsky & Sloan LLP, Ms. Gross was at a highly regarded New York matrimonial firm for 24 years, where she was a named partner, and acquired a reputation for her psychological insight, and being tough but fair. Ms. Gross is recognized for her expertise in handling high-net worth cases in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Westchester courts.
Ms. Gross is an active and distinguished member of the matrimonial bar in New York City, and has served on the Family Law Committee, Matrimonial Law Committee, and the Council on Children of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is also a member of the New York State Women's Bar Association, where she co-chaired the Matrimonial Law Committee, and the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She has been a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 2008 and is a Vice Present of its New York Chapter. Ms. Gross was selected as one of U.S. News & World Reports' Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers in New York and has been recognized by Super Lawyers since 2010. She is also a member of the American Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, an international organization whose membership includes judges, lawyers and mental health professionals who are the foremost experts in child development and custody.
Ms. Gross has written for the Family Law Review and has lectured for the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the Practising Law Institute, and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers on child custody related issues.
A native New Yorker, Ms. Gross resides in Manhattan with her husband, two children and their wheaten terrier, Clover.
Pam is an active member of several prominent bar associations, in which she has held various leadership roles. She is a former Chair of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and a former Chair of the Matrimonial Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. Pam served three terms on the Judiciary Committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York, which screens judicial candidates for Federal and State courts. She is a fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (currently serving on its LGBTQ Committee). She is a member of the Family Law Committee of the American Bar Association's International Law Section. Pam has also served the legal community for many years by frequently lecturing to the bench and bar on family law issues.
Pamela M. Sloan has been named Lawyer of the Year 2020
Pamela M. Sloan, Partner at Aronson, Mayefsky & Sloan LLP, has been named Lawyer of the Year in Family Law for New York City by: U.S. News - "Best Lawyers in America"© for 2020.
This is the second time Sloan has been awarded this distinction, also having been named in 2017.
Pamela M. Sloan has been named Lawyer of the Year 2017
Pamela M. Sloan, Partner at Aronson, Mayefsky & Sloan LLP, has been named Lawyer of the Year in Family Law for New York City by: U.S. News - "Best Lawyers in America" © 2017
Pamela M. Sloan has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America
Pamela M. Sloan, Partner at Aronson, Mayefsky and Sloan LLP, has been recognized in Family Law for New York City for 2003 by U.S. News - "Best Lawyers in America"©. Best Lawyers in America magazine is a U.S. News publication.
Unrelated to her professional practice, Pam is a committed volunteer who, over the course of many decades, has served on the boards of several local and city-wide community service organizations and schools. At present, she sits on the Board of Directors of the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corp. ("WHEDCo") in the Bronx and on the Board of The Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School Foundation.
Pam is a life-long New Yorker. She was born and raised in East Flat bush, Brooklyn. She and her husband live with the youngest of their four children in Pelham, New York.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law
For the past 27 years, Patricia Hennessey has earned the respect of her clients, adversaries, colleagues and matrimonial judges as one of the pre‑eminent matrimonial trial and appellate lawyers in the New York metropolitan area.
Since 1987, she has tried and argued appeals in numerous cases involving complex equitable distribution and support issues and emotional and delicate issues involving child custody. She is particularly respected for the calm and wise counsel that permits her to settle the large majority of her matters without extensive court involvement.
A 1979 New York University Law School graduate, where she achieved the rare and doubly prestigious honors as both a Root‑Tilden Scholar and Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow, Ms. Hennessey began her career as federal court antitrust litigator at Kaye Scholar Fierman Hays & Handler, before turning her full attention to matrimonial and family law in 1987. She is a 1976 graduate of Hampshire College and was the first director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program at Hampshire in the early 1980s. She has several publications in matrimonial law, including as the co‑author of "Is The Law Male?", Chicago‑Kent L. Rev. (1994) with NYU Law Professor Sylvia Law and "Valuation of Property in Marital Dissolutions," 23 ABA Family Law Quarterly 339.
Ms. Hennessey has been an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, Columbia University Law School and Cardozo Law School. She has lectured at widely bar associations, (including at the annual meeting of the American Bar Association) and at law schools, including Yale, Columbia and New York University. She has served as Co‑Chair of the Matrimonial Committee of the Westchester Women's Bar Association. She has achieved an "AV Preeminent" rating from Martindale Hubell, the highest possible rating in legal ability and ethical standards every year for more than 11 years.
A lifelong New Yorker, Reid attended both college and law school in the Midwest. In 2006, he graduated (with honors) from the College at the University of Chicago, with a degree in economics. In 2009, he was awarded both a JD (cum laude) and an MA in Sports Management by the University of Michigan.
Reid is an active member in the matrimonial bar. He serves on the Matrimonial Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and is a member of both the New York State Bar Association Family Law Section and the American Bar Association.
Before joining AM&S, Reid spent five years specializing in complex commercial litigation at the prestigious national law firms Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Jenner & Block. Reid's education and experience (which includes having grown up in the home of a matrimonial lawyer) will serve him well when he is called upon to analyze the finances of families and large business enterprises, while at the same time being sensitive to the unique problems and challenges that confront family lawyers.
Reid also has his creative side. At the University of Chicago, in addition to Economics, Reid also majored in Theatre Arts. During his senior year, he served as the Committee Chair of the U of C's well-respected University Theatre program. Reid continues to pursue his passion of theatre by serving on the board of directors of Arc Stages, a Westchester-based non-profit educational and regional theatre group, and occasionally appearing as an actor in Arc's stage productions.
That background serves him well in his professional life as a litigator, both in formulating and presenting his client's positions when standing before a judge and when drafting briefs. Reid co-authored the amicus brief in the US Supreme Court police brutality case Tolan v. Cotton, 134 S. Ct. 1861 (2014), where the Court summarily reversed a lower court decision dismissing the claims of a police shooting survivor against the officer who shot him. Justice Sotomayor's opinion, which closely mirrored the arguments made by Reid and his co-authors, garnered voluminous media attention and has been cited in hundreds of reported decisions since. Reid brings that same ingenuity, reasoning, and emotional sensitivity to every case he handles.
Reid lives in New York City with his wife, Vanessa, and their son.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member and Former Co - Chair of the Book Council of the National Book Foundation
In connection with his work as a family law attorney, Tom has been featured in journalism and programming from The New York Times, Town & Country, New York Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, The Guardian, The New York Post, The Awl, Artnet, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and other publications and institutions. He has also served as a divorce law consultant to multiple television shows.
Tom has served as a CLE lecturer for the New York State Bar Association's Family Law Section, and is a member of its executive committee and co-chair of its social media committee.
Outside of his law practice, Tom is a member and former co-chair of the Book Council of the National Book Foundation, a board member of Housing Works Bookstore, a committee member of the Friends of Citymeals, and a trustee and the former treasurer of the Philomathean Endowment Trust.