FIRM NEWS:
LESLIE G. BILLMAN

has achieved the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
FAMILY LAW ARBITRATION CERTIFICATION

This certification is awarded only after completion of rigorous and specific training in the application of arbitration procedures to family law issues.

Especially today, with so many courts across the country closed or dealing with large backlogs of cases, clients and their lawyers may be best served through an alternative dispute resolution process such as arbitration.

Advantages of Arbitration include:

• The process provides a convenient and reliable timetable.
• The process is private as compared to the courthouse.
• The parties can choose an arbitrator with knowledge and skills appropriate to the issues in the particular case.
• Arbitrators may craft a decision that is specifically tailored to your case.

This new certification offers one more way that our firm can serve your needs. Contact our office to discuss the options and benefits arbitration might suit your case.
410-280-1700

With more than forty years of experience as a practicing lawyer, Leslie Billman has always limited her practice nearly exclusively to Family Law matters, representing men, women and children alike. The scope of her client representation has extended to nearly every facet of family law issues and has provided her with extensive perspective and insight into the emotional and legal concerns of every party to a divorce. That broad perspective and insight provide the basis for strong strategizing and helping clients to understand the long and short term impact of decisions made in the divorce process.

Leslie’s approach with clients is honest, practical, and down to earth. She doesn’t sugar-coat or make false promises; rather, her goal is to realistically assess the case and to help each client achieve the result most consistent with that client’s personal goals. She appreciates the emotional drain of child-related issues, yet savors the intellectual calisthenics of the complexities in high-asset cases. Leslie is passionate about assuring that her clients understand each step of the process of separation and divorce so that they can make good decisions that will address their priorities in the outcome.

Helping Affluent Clients Make Informed Decisions Through Education

In working with Leslie, clients will be fully educated on relevant family law in Maryland: the process, the risks, the leverage points, the emotional fallout, and the advantages and disadvantages of taking the case through litigation or entering into a settlement.

Philosophically, she believes that agreements reached between the parties, no matter how difficult or complex, are more likely to serve the interests of both parties and the children; that said, she was once described by a Maryland judge as “the best cross-examiner in the courthouse”, and she relishes the challenges of litigation for which she and her clients are always fastidiously prepared and organized for a smooth and focused courtroom presentation.

Leslie has successfully represented affluent clients in divorce and family law cases involving marital estates valued in the millions of dollars, involving disposition of marital business interests, expensive real estate, extensive investment portfolios, retirement plans, stocks and stock options, marital trusts, and spousal support. She has similarly prevailed in complex child relocation, custody, and child support cases.

Leslie Billman’s Community Contributions and Awards

Leslie is a recipient of the coveted Beverly Groner Award, the state bar association Family Law Section’s most prestigious award. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, which maintains rigorous admission standards. Currently, fewer than forty fellows are admitted to the Academy from the entire state of Maryland. She is past-president of the Maryland Chapter and has served on Academy’s Board of Governors.  She has been awarded certification as an Academy trained Family Law Arbitrator, which opens an alternative dispute resolution option for family law cases.

Leslie is also past chair of the Maryland State Bar Association Family Law Section Council, which directs Family Law policies and practices statewide, and served on that Council for three years prior to ascending to the chair.

Additionally, she has presented lectures on Family Law topics for judges and lawyers across the state. Leslie has served on the Family Law Committees of the Prince George’s and Anne Arundel County Bar Associations.

Listed in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Pre-Eminent Lawyers, Leslie is among select lawyers who have earned the AV Peer Review Rating, which indicates the highest level of professional excellence.

In recognition of her achievements in family law, Leslie has been named in Best Lawyers of America, in Maryland Super Lawyers, and has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Women Attorneys in Maryland, Best Lawyer In Annapolis, Top 100 Lawyers in Maryland, Top 50 Lawyers in Maryland. She maintains a perfect “10” rating with Avvo, a lawyer rating organization.  She was recently named among 25 family lawyers statewide to the 2023 Family Law Power Lawyers list.  

Leslie served on the drafting committee for the Family Law volume of the Maryland Judge’s Benchbook, a reference book setting out a combination of statutory and common law principles organized for quick reference and use by the Court during trials.

Leslie served on the University of Baltimore’s law school workgroup that designed and implemented the nation’s first post-JD family law certificate curriculum;  she serves as adjunct faculty for that program,  instructing the capstone class which guides law school graduates through a simulated family law case,  from its very first client intake meeting through a two day courtroom trial.

Leslie Billman’s Personal Interests

Beyond the bar, Leslie combines passions for photography and sports and spends her spare time photographing professional tennis for a wire service. Her photographs have appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, Tennis Magazine, and other publications, as well as appearing online on numerous sports websites. She has recently expanded her photography specialization to landscape and wildlife.

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