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Best Lawyers announced that peers have selected David C. Sarnacki for inclusion in the 32nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since 2008, Grand Rapids attorneys and judges have regularly recognized him for professional excellence in three areas: Collaborative Law: Family Law Family Law Family Law Mediation “Tammy and I work hard to deliver…
Read More Another Year of Helping Divorce Clients—Another Super Lawyer Rating for David C. Sarnacki
Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers selected David C. Sarnacki for its 2025 Michigan Super Lawyers list. He has been honored to earn this recognition regularly since my first Super Lawyers award in 2008. This distinction is reserved for lawyers who exhibit Top-5% excellence as validated by a confidential peer-review process of attorneys and judges in the…
Read More “Mediating Divorce Cases Involving Business Owners”
David C. Sarnacki and Michelle F. Gallagher, CPA/ABV/CFF, are joining forces again to help mediator navigate complex asset divisions and spousal support under Michigan law. On August 26, 2025 (11:10 a.m. ET), this dynamic duo—an experienced attorney-mediator and an insightful financial expert/business valuator—will conduct a lively, interactive presentation at the State Bar of Michigan’s ADR…
Read More Excellence in Family Law Advocacy & Mediation: Litigating and Mediating High-Asset Estates and High-Conflict Custody Disputes
PRS (Professional Research Services) announced that Grand Rapids attorneys and judges have selected David C. Sarnacki as one of Grand Rapids’ Top Lawyers. Local judges and attorneys made the confidential selection for excellence in both Family Law and Mediation, especially in litigating and mediating high-asset estates and high-conflict custody disputes. This honor will appear in…
Read More The Decision-Maker’s Attention: Grabbing It, Keeping It & Winning with It
The Decision-Maker’s Attention: Grabbing It, Keeping It & Winning with It It’s worth revisiting Trey Cox’s “Winning the Jury’s Attention: Presenting Evidence from Voir Dire to Closing.” In less than 200 pages, Cox covers 7 key principles of communication and persuasion in the courtroom. “We must realize,” Cox says, “that a juror’s attention is a…
Read More “Wait, What?” Moments in Trial: Here’s Our Home Base
“Wait, What?” Moments in Trial: Here’s Our Home Base Problem. It is easy to be confused in the courtroom. We are juggling a lot of balls in the air, building our client’s case and dismantling the adversary’s case. There are multiple variables hitting us at each moment: the testimony, the emotional atmosphere, objections, evidentiary foundations,…
Read More Up and Down The Ladder of Abstraction
Up and Down The Ladder of Abstraction “The rungs of a ladder are not a place to make one’s home; they are for passing by. Fortunate are those who learn this. The long road becomes short for them, and they do not waste their lives upon the steps.”—Rumi David C. Sarnacki With a regular ladder,…
Read More Persuasive Writing: A Few Big Ideas to Use Today
Persuasive Writing: A Few Big Ideas to Use Today Effective briefs start and end with persuasion. Simply put, the key elements for developing core messages and for drafting briefs include Messenger, Messaging, Melody Makers, Mapping, and Quality Standards. Messenger: To be persuasive in brief writing, we promote our case as remarkable and worthy of attention…
Read More PERCEPTIONS OF FAIRNESS: MEDIATING THROUGH DIVORCE CONFLICT
PERCEPTIONS OF FAIRNESS: MEDIATING THROUGH DIVORCE CONFLICT A good mediation process is a path through the pain of the past and the conflict of the present so each person can embrace a future filled with possibilities. To help move everyone along this path, we strive to bring gifts of fairness. “Perception is Reality,” right? So…
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