Debra R. Schoenberg

Debra R. Schoenberg is a director of the firm and chair of DRM Schoenberg Family Law Group. Her practice is limited exclusively to matrimonial and family law. She handles diverse matters that range from simple, uncontested issues to complex financial and high-profile matrimonial and family law cases. She has extensive litigation and negotiation experience in the areas of contested custody matters, distribution of businesses, pension and retirement distributions including stocks and stock options, spousal maintenance and all other issues related to divorce.

For fifteen years prior to joining DRM in 2004, Debra was the principal in the law firm of Schoenberg & Associates representing family law clients throughout Vermont and New York. After receiving her J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center, she practiced matrimonial and family law for ten years in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Debra recently served on a legislative study committee to make recommendations regarding the continuation of health insurance post-divorce. She also served on the Guardian ad Litem Advisory Committee, whose goal is to improve the use of Guardian ad Litems in Family Court through improved training, increased resources and a review of the current rules which guide the flow of information to the Court on issues related to the best interests of children.

In 1999 Debra was appointed to serve as a Parent-Child Contact Scheduling Officer in Chittenden Family Court. In 1997 she was appointed to the Chittenden Family Court Project, whose focus is to review and overhaul all aspects of case management in the Family Court. Since her appointment, Debra has co-authored a revised Financial Disclosure Affidavit for use in the Vermont Family Courts. She has also participated in redesigning both the timetable and internal procedures related to case management of contested Family Court matters.

Debra has been designated a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and has received Board Certification as a Family Law Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She has served as a visitation master for the Vermont Family Courts since 1999.

Previously, she has served as chair of the Family Law Section of the Vermont Bar Association and on the board of governors of the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association. She was appointed to serve as a member of the Vermont Legislative Study Group Regarding Continuation of Health Insurance Post-Divorce (Act 199) from September 2006 through January 2007.

For two years prior to entering law school, she served in upstate New York as a VISTA volunteer, working principally with victims of domestic violence and advocating on behalf of public benefit recipients.

Debra was recently ranked among the top five percent of attorneys in Vermont by Super Lawyers® magazine. The listed attorneys were identified by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics® magazine.

Active in her community, Debra currently serves on the advisory board of UVM’s Lane Series. She previously served on the board of directors of the Vermont Community Fund, Vermont Mozart Festival and Ohavi Zedek Synagogue. She sings with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and the Burlington Choral Society.

Debra has served on the boards of the Family Connection Center of Chittenden County and the Saratoga County Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect. She has been a member of the Capital District Women’s Political Caucus, New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Saratoga County Task Force Against Domestic Violence and the executive committee of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York.

For more than 10 years, Debra has been a frequent lecturer on family law topics to groups of attorneys, accountants, financial analysts and other professionals whose work involves divorce matters. Her most recent presentations include:

“Family Law: Year in Review,” Vermont Bar Association, October 2007

“Preventing Financial Mistakes During Divorces,” National Business Institute, August 2007

“Child Custody and Shared Parenting,” National Business Institute, June 2007

“Successful Financial Settlements for Your Divorce Client,” National Business Institute, April 2007

“Family Law: Helping Your Clients Through Difficult Times,” National Business Institute, January 2007

“A Road Map Through Divorce Proceedings,” National Business Institute, October 2006

“Family Law: Year in Review,” Vermont Bar Association, September 2006

“Equitable Divorce Settlements,” National Business Institute, September 2006

“What Family Court Judges Want You to Know,” National Business Institute, June 2006