Michelle Exline Minovi is a highly skilled divorce and family mediator with 12+ years family law experience. 

As Managing Attorney at the legal services non-profit Ayuda in Washington, D.C., Michelle represented low-income and Spanish-speaking immigrant clients in complex matrimonial cases in the context of domestic violence. After moving to Brooklyn, Michelle litigated and won sole custody on behalf of a mother of two children who was forced to leave the ultra-orthodox community because she identified as queer. After three years of intense litigation, Michelle wondered if there was an alternative way to divorce. Michelle knew she had to pivot from litigation to mediation when she took her first mediation training at the Center for Understanding Conflict. 

Informed by her experience representing underserved individuals, Michelle brings a deep understanding of trauma, family conflict, child development, and family law litigation to mediation. 

As a mediator, Michelle values the process as well as the outcome. Michelle is a board member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York, a member of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, and serves as a Committee Member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Family Law Sections for the Brooklyn Bar Association. Michelle speaks proficient Spanish.

New York Courts Mediation Panels

• Mediator, New York City Family Court, Custody and Visitation Panel (2019 - Present)

• Mediator, New York County, Supreme Court, Matrimonial Panel March (2020 - Present)

Mediation Training

Approved under Part 146 of the NYS Unified Court System’s Office of ADR Programs

• Center for Understanding in Conflict, 40-Hour Basic Mediation Training (2018)

• Stadler Mediation, 16 hr. Advanced Matrimonial Mediation (2019)                        

• Child Permanency Mediation, Office of Court Administration (2019)

Additional Trainings

• Mediating Online Family and Divorce Mediation, Mediate.com, Jim Fowler, Coline Rule, Clare Fowler, and Michael Aurit (2020)

• Domestic Violence 2019, Skills and Key Considerations in Custody and Visitation Cases, Practicing Law Institute (2019)

• Domestic Violence for Mediators, Family & Divorce Mediation Council (2019)

• Divorce Mediation Training for Legal Services Attorneys and Court Staff by Antoinette Delruelle and Glen Parker, sponsored by the Office of Court Administration (2018)

• Center for Understanding in Conflict Teacher Training under Gary Friedman, Katherine Miller, and Catherine Connor (2022-Present)

Community Work

• Volunteer Attorney Mediator, New York Legal Assistance Group

  • Co-mediate cases with Antoinette Delruelle for NYLAG clients.

  • Provide legal advice and counsel as a consulting attorney to NYLAG's low-income clients on their matrimonial cases.

Education

• The University of Iowa College of Law, J.D. with Distinction

• The University of Iowa, B.A., Honors with Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa

• Proyecto Lingüistico Francisco Marroquin Spanish School Antigua Guatemala

Language - Proficient Spanish

Active Bar & Professional Affiliations

• New York (1998) & District of Columbia (2000)

• Brooklyn Bar Association - Member

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee Member

  • Family Law Section Committee Member

• Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York - Member

• New York State Council on Divorce Mediation - Member

• Center for Understanding in Conflict - Member