Empowering People Who Parent Apart
Meet Your Coach
I am a retired family court and state Supreme Court judge. Before I became a judge, I represented people in divorced custody and other litigation. I am a New York-licensed attorney, but I have chosen to stay out of the courtroom because there are better ways of resolving disputes. During my eighteen years on the bench—fourteen in family court and four in supreme court handling matrimonial cases—I witnessed firsthand how court proceedings can inflict irreparable damage on both children and adults. More importantly, I learned that this suffering is often preventable. I observed what people did that improved their co-parenting situations and also what they did that made things worse. In court I could issue orders to direct people to do or stop doing certain things but there was a clear pattern: parents who could come to an agreement with each other were better off and so were their children. So, I sought to avoid using the gavel so to speak. Instead, I helped thousands of parents who thought they would never see eye to eye to work out arrangements that served both of them and their kids. To see my professional bio, click below.
If you hire me, I will help you through any divorce or custody proceedings you’re going through, explaining processes and procedures. But I won’t act as your attorney.
I will also help you with the following, if you need it
- your parenting schedule
- travel
- extended family issues
- who makes decisions about what - such as health care, education, and activities (sports, music and so forth) and
- expectations around communication with the other parent
Professional Bio
Margaret Walsh was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2018, having served as a family court judge for fourteen years.
She has retired from the bench and just recently stepped down as the senior Co-Chair of the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, a panel of twenty- seven judges that decides matters of judicial ethics for New York State's judges. Throughout her judicial career, she served as a member, appointed by the Chief Judge of New York State, of many court system committees and commissions. She has most recently served as a member of the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, the New York State Commission on Parental Legal Representation, the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the New York Courts, and the Gender Fairness Committee of the Third Judicial District.
Margaret Walsh, past Vice President of the National Association of Women Judges’ New York Chapter and past Vice President of the New York State Family Court Judges’ Association, served as the judicial lead in New York State's System Improvement Program, a federal government project that sought to redesign state courts' child welfare practices relative to alcohol and drug addiction cases. She was the lead judge in Albany County for the New York State Child Welfare Court Improvement Project and a member of the Statewide Multidisciplinary Child Welfare Collaborative, the steering committee that provided guidance to local Court Improvement Projects. In these roles Judge Walsh ascertained and advanced the implementation of practices that reduce the time children spend in foster care.
Judge Walsh formed and chaired the Court/Community Partnership to ensure communication among courts, schools, police, and other agencies regarding children and youth who are the subject of family court proceedings. Practices developed through this Committee's work promote better outcomes for court-involved youth, people who come to the court having experienced extreme adverse childhood events.
Albany Law School presented Judge Walsh with its prestigious Kate Stoneman Day Award. She also received the Capital District Women’s Bar Association’s Hon. Judith S. Kaye Distinguished Attorney Member Award, and her high school inducted her into their alumni Hall of Fame. On the occasion of her retirement in March, 2023, public officials (the Mayor of Albany, the Albany County Executive, her New York State Senator, and two New York State Assembly members) issued proclamations or citations. Most recently, her judicial career was celebrated with an award from the Albany Children’s Center.
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