I've been where
you are.
Family law trial attorney and energy leadership coach. I know what it costs to perform under pressure while running on fumes — and I've seen what that pressure does to the people and families around us.
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
The gap between
output and cost.
I spent years as a family law trial attorney in Maine. The cases were hard — divorce, custody, people at their worst moments. The pace was relentless. And I was good at it, which made it harder to admit that something was wrong.
Because from the outside, everything looked fine. Cases were being won. Clients were being served. The machine kept running. But I had stopped feeling anything about the work. The cynicism had moved in quietly. I was present in every room and somewhere else entirely.
What I had to learn the hard way is that burnout isn't just about working too hard. It's about operating from the wrong energy level for too long.
Why This Work
That distinction changed everything for me. If burnout is just overwork, the prescription is rest. I had taken the vacations. I had done the weekends. And I came back Monday feeling exactly the same.
The problem wasn't my schedule. It was the invisible level from which I was operating — the fear, the obligation, the constant low-grade dread that had become so normalized I didn't notice it anymore.
The Core Energy framework helped me see what was actually happening. And once I saw it in myself, I started seeing it everywhere — in colleagues, in the students coming up behind us, and in the couples and parents sitting across the table from me.
Who I Work With
Professionals. Lawyers, physicians, and others in high-stress careers who are still performing — and quietly paying for it.
Students. Law and medical students carry a version of the same pressure, often earlier and with fewer tools. I've begun working directly with law students, and it's some of the most meaningful work I do. The habits you build in school tend to become the career you live in — so this is the best possible time to build different ones.
Couples and co-parents. Family law has given me a front-row seat to what happens when two people get stuck in the same conflict — and what it costs their kids. I've also seen how much changes when the energy between two people shifts. I coach couples who want to strengthen their relationship, and separated parents who want co-parenting to stop feeling like a battle.
And if you don't fit neatly into any of those, that's fine. If you're working through something hard and want a clearer way forward, I'd like to hear from you.
Life Outside the Office
My wife Sara and I split time between Bangor, Maine and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where we co-own Seaside Clínica Veterinaria. We travel frequently with our kids to help them see that there is far more to life than what they experience day to day — a perspective that is both humbling and grounding. The vet clinic started with a street dog named Macie — which is a longer story, but one that says something about how I approach most things.
Our kids race ski cross, which has taken our family to national and international competitions. Being present for that — really present, not just there physically — takes a level of energy and focus that burnout simply doesn't leave room for. Not allowing work to hollow me out isn't a nice-to-have. It's the difference between showing up as an engaged father and partner or showing up as someone who's technically there.
Finding that balance has been essential to being the best version of myself across every role I hold — attorney, advocate, father, husband. That's not incidental to the coaching work I do now. It's the whole point. I want the people I work with to find that same balance, rather than sacrificing the people and moments that matter most.