David Hoffman

Vital Statistics

Born: January 3, 1947 in Baltimore, MD

Work experience: Member, The New Law Center, LLC (2002-03); Hill & Barlow, P.C. (Associate 1985-92, Member 1992-2002); Owner, Danby Hardwoods, Inc. (1974-81)

Education: B.A., Princeton, 1970 (summa cum laude); M.A., Cornell, 1974; J.D., Harvard, 1984 (magna cum laude)

Honors: AV-rated attorney (Martindale-Hubbell - highest rating); Phi Beta Kappa; Harvard Law Review editor; listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Who's Who in American Law”; top 5% of Massachusetts lawyers, as listed in ‘SuperLawyers’ directory published in Boston Magazine

David Hoffman is a mediator, arbitrator, and attorney. Before founding Boston Law Collaborative, LLC, he was a partner at Hill & Barlow where he practiced for seventeen years. David's practice is focused on resolving conflict in family, business, and employment cases. He is the co-author of Massachusetts Alternative Dispute Resolution (with Prof. David Matz) (Butterworth Legal Publishers 1994, 2d ed. 1996) and co-editor of Bringing Peace into the Room: How the Personal Qualities of the Mediator Impact the Process of Conflict Resolution (with Daniel Bowling) (Jossey-Bass 2003). David is the past chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution.  In November 2004, David was chosen as one of the "Top 100 Lawyers" in Massachusetts in Boston Magazine's SuperLawyers Directory.  David will be teaching the Mediation course at Harvard Law School in Spring 2008.

David's resume

David's publications and articles

Law firms that have hired David for mediation and/or arbitration.

Representative cases: 

• Has served as mediator and arbitrator in more than one thousand commercial, employment, construction, personal injury, insurance, and other business cases.

• Has served as settlement counsel for officers and management-level employees seeking severance from Fortune 500 companies.

• Serves as Collaborative Law counsel for individuals seeking amicable divorce and amicable resolution of other legal matters.

• Mediates separations and divorces, in cases involving complex financial issues, high-conflict family issues, and other family matters.

• Represents individuals in drafting prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements.

• Serves as "settlement counsel" in business and employment cases - i.e., representing the client solely for purposes of negotiation.

• Served as arbitrator in 180 Dalkon Shield class-action cases.

• Represented large non-profit in design of dispute resolution system for managing 210 claims asserted against the organization.