Henry S. Gornbein | Cronin Law

Mr. Gornbein has dedicated his career to matrimonial law, focusing on areas such as divorce, child custody, pre-and postnuptial agreements, and paternity. He is also committed to collaborative law and often serves as a mediator and arbitrator in domestic relations matters.

Throughout his career, Mr. Gornbein has been honored to serve in various roles, including as chair of the Family Law Section and as a member of the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and has had the privilege of leading the Michigan chapter of the AAML and contributing as chair of its national Long-Range Planning Committee.

Mr. Gornbein values collaboration with professionals across disciplines and has served as president of the Michigan Inter-Professional Association on Marriage, Divorce, and the Family (MIPA). He is also an active member of the Family Law Sections of the American and Oakland County Bar Associations.

In addition to his legal work, Mr. Gornbein enjoys writing and speaking. He is the author of Divorce Demystified: Everything You Need to Know Before You File for Divorce and coauthor of Child Custody: A Complete Guide for Parents with Dr. Jack Haynes, PhD, published in the spring of 2020. The book aims to provide a clear understanding of child custody from both legal and psychological perspectives.

He has created and contributed to various resources, including the websites familylawformichigan.com and gracefullygreying.com. As the creator of the video podcast series Gracefully Greying, he explores the challenges and opportunities of aging, offering insights on legal, economic, medical, social, and psychological issues. The series is available on the Henry Gornbein YouTube Channel and Bloomfieldcable.org.

Mr. Gornbein also hosts the award-winning cable television show Practical Law, which has received three Philo Awards. He writes a regular column, “Case of the Issue,” for the Michigan Family Law Journal and has contributed to platforms like the Huffington Post and Divorce Magazine.

Grateful for the recognition he has received, Mr. Gornbein was honored with the Oakland County Bar Association Professionalism Award. He has also served on the boards of Catholic Social Services of Oakland County and Jewish Family Services of Oakland County. One of the founding members and a past president of The Sanctuary, he is proud to have supported its mission, which continues today as part of Common Ground.

Wendy Potts, Retired Judge | Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court

Joins JAMS in Michigan after over 20 years of distinguished service to the Oakland County judiciary, including terms as a trial judge on both the Probate Court and Circuit Court, where she served as chief judge for six years. She also served as a magistrate in the 48th District Court (Birmingham, Bloomfield and West Bloomfield).

Judge Potts served on the Oakland County Business Court since its inception in 2013 and contributed to making that court one of the best in the state for business/commercial disputes. From the founding of the business court to her retirement, Judge Potts engaged with Michigan business leaders about how her court could best respond to the challenges of complex litigation. Along the way, she garnered a reputation as a determined and resilient problem solver in the Tri-County legal community.

A past president of the Oakland County Bar Association, Judge Potts has lent her expertise and support to community dispute resolution organizations and has been active in the areas of domestic violence and juvenile justice. She is a founder of The RESTORE Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring funding for Oakland County’s drug courts and was a 2010 State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice. Judge Potts presided over hundreds of cases in the Probate Court, the Family Division of the Circuit Court and on her civil and criminal dockets. She routinely held early-intervention conferences to manage her cases and was able to help parties effect early settlement in many matters. She has significant experience in tort law and is able to evaluate claims realistically and with credibility.

Judge Potts facilitated auto supplier-related matters, covenants not to compete and business dissolutions. She has experience in will contests and in guardianships/conservatorships. She is a strategist in managing complex litigation among various arms of the court or several courts.

Jason R. Abel | Abel Law PLLC

Jason is an experienced advocate and trial lawyer. He represents both individuals and businesses in a wide variety of matters, including complex litigation before juries, judges, and arbitrators throughout the United States and the world.

He also serves as outside general counsel for several companies, and he helped ‘write-the-book’ on legal procedure as a co-author of the ICLE Michigan Civil Procedure treatise.

Jason started his legal career at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City. Moving back to Michigan in 2007, Jason joined Honigman LLP, where he was a Litigation partner and co-chair of the Family Law Department.

Jack P. Haynes | Jack P. Haynes, Ph. D.

Dr, Haynes is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice. He has been Director of Research, Training, and Clinical Services for a Family Court. Dr. Haynes has performed hundreds of Court Ordered child custody and parenting time evaluations as well as many other evaluations, both civil and criminal, both adult and juvenile. He is Past President of his state psychological association and also his state forensic psychology association. He served on his state Licensing Board for Psychology, including as Chair. He has served as Chair of the American Psychological Association Ethics Committee. Dr. Haynes is co-author with James Windell of an upcoming book on ethics for mental health professionals.

I. Managing Expectations at the Initial Consultation | 1:00pm– 1:10pm

II. The Role of the Attorney as a Quarterback with Experts Including Psychologists, Parenting Coordinators, Accountants and Forensic Evaluators for Businesses as Well As Real Estate and Other Appraisers | 1:10pm– 1:25pm

III. The Role of a Mediator, Arbitrator and/or Judge | 1:25pm – 1:35pm

IV. What a Psychologist Looks for During the Interview-Areas to Inquire About Re: High Conflict and Understand the Dynamics of The Situation | 1:35pm – 1:50pm

V. Looking at the Underlying Issues Including Domestic Violence, Infidelity, Parental Alienation and Severe Mental Illness | 1:50pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

VI. Trial Preparation | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

VII. Psychological Testing in High Conflict Divorces—Findings, is Alienation Documentable by Test Results? | 2:20pm – 2:30pm

VIII. Who are your Witnesses? | 2:30pm – 2:40pm

IX. The Realities of What to Expect Regarding Financial Division of Assets | 2:40pm – 2:50pm

X. How Much Does Fault Matter? | 2:50pm – 2:55pm

XI. Child Custody Issues | 2:55pm – 3:00pm

XII. Variables – Your Client, the Other Spouse, the Opposing Counsel, and Who the Judge is | 3:00pm – 3:05pm

XIII. The Never-Ending Divorce | 3:05pm – 3:08pm

XIV. How Important is the Law in a Given Case? | 3:08pm – 3:10pm