Ani Mason, Associate
Divorce isn't only a legal concern. To the person going through it, divorce is a financial, emotional, parental, and practical concern, as well. Ani Mason understands what a complex and difficult experience divorce can be, and how it affects individuals on multiple levels. Her objective is to help clients clarify their goals for the future so they can make the best decisions possible for themselves and their family during an especially challenging time.
An experienced family lawyer, Ani serves clients who are seeking less destructive options for divorcing, including collaborative law and mediation. Family conflict is comprised of many elements—legal, financial, psychological—and Ani is committed to providing her clients with divorce options that address the full spectrum of their goals and concerns, as holistically as possible. Her approach is to demystify the law and explain legal concepts in understandable terms so that families, who are the true experts in how best to resolve their conflict, have all the information and tools they need to make the right decisions about their future.
In her previous practice as a divorce litigator, Ani developed expertise in managing high-conflict, high-emotion cases, and helping spouses relate productively where communication was particularly strained. She has assisted clients in acute crises and those facing time-sensitive needs relating to their divorce. Ani is bilingual in Spanish and has experience working internationally as well as with foreign-born populations in New York. A year of psychoanalytic training and social work classes in addition to her law degree give Ani unique insights into how legal, financial, emotional and practical considerations intermingle in clients’ actual experience of divorce. Ani approaches her work with clients cognizant of that reality and equipped to process her clients' concerns, goals and options through multiple lenses.
Ani graduated cum laude from Princeton University and New York University School of Law, where she was a Sinsheimer Scholar within the Root-Tilden-Kern program. Ani has held a Fulbright Fellowship and a Skadden Fellowship.
Prior to joining the Collaborative Law and Mediation Offices of Katherine Eisold Miller, Ani practiced at Legal Services NYC as a divorce litigator. Throughout her tenure there, she worked to design and develop a Family & Divorce Mediation Project. Ani helped to arrange mediation and collaborative trainings for divorce litigators at non-profit organizations around NYC, and she co-chaired and facilitated a panel focusing on the potential use of mediation and collaborative law in cases with some history of domestic violence. Ani currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Family & Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York.
A resident of Brooklyn, Ani practices yoga regularly and loves being on the water, skiing and playing tennis. Growing interests of hers include dog training and the relationship between food, nutrition and health. In addition to being fluent in Spanish, Ani is proficient in French and conversant in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.
General Education
- Princeton University, B.A., cum laude, 2000
- New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2007
- Bar Admission: New York State
Trainings & Certifications
- Basic Mediation Training, New York University School of Law, 2006
- Intensive Mediation Training, Center for Mediation in Law, 2009
- Divorce Mediation Training, Ackerman Institute for the Family, 2010
- Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice Training, New York Association of Collaborative Professionals, 2010
Memberships & Affiliations
- Family & Divorce Mediation Council, Board of Directors
- New York Association of Collaborative Professionals
