Our Team

Mary Pollock’s work experience for more than 20 years has focused exclusively on Family Law.  As a paralegal, mediator and now as an attorney, Mary has developed a genuine passion for acting as an advocate for people working through various adverse circumstances in their lives.  She is upbeat, positive and brings compassion and empathy to clients that are experiencing the life transition of a divorce or other family law issue. Perhaps one of her greatest skills is educating clients by explaining to them how the law applies to the facts of their individual case and helping them understand their options. Mary believes that knowledge is power and encourages all clients to pursue a complete understanding of the issues in their case and the options available to them.

Allison is a highly experienced collaborative law attorney and mediator specializing in Domestic Partnerships/Same-sex marriage, QDROs, and the special challenges facing families of addiction. She conducts between 100-150 divorce mediations a year throughout California, and presents quarterly educational seminars to self-represented litigants. She is a skilled contract negotiator (including Union CBAs), and draws on her professional background in mental health services to help clients work on solutions to major problems or issues in a collaborative manner. Allison also provides pro bono mediation services through a non-profit organization serving low income clients.

Our Founders

The idea for Divorce Helpline started with Ed Sherman, founder of Nolo Press and author of books and software programs that help people going through divorce. In 1990, he opened Divorce Helpline in California with attorneys Anne Lober and Peggy Williams, and together they redesigned the way lawyers work to deliver a service that is economical and effective for people doing their own divorces.