Professional Bio
Gabriel Holl-Epstein is an experienced professional mediator and a licensed attorney in New York State. Although he has chosen to focus on divorce and family mediation, he is available for many types of mediation and coaching both online and in-person in Park Slope -Brooklyn and Manhattan. Gabriel focuses on helping clients communicate effectively and peaceably during emotionally-charged, complicated times.
Gabriel began studying mediation and the law after many years working as a teaching artist and musician in New York, studying at the Berklee School of Music, The New School, and New York University, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Art and Masters in Education respectively.
He received his professional mediation training during law school under his mentor Professor Robert K. Collins, a renowned mediator and practitioner with 40 years’ experience.
During law school, Gabriel developed a skill-set centered around ethical conflict resolution and advanced negotiation strategies, but concluded that the costly adversarial nature of legal practice and litigation was overall interactive for solving the problems of most people.
Upon meeting his mentors and finding hope in the possibility of helping people navigate serious conflict in a way that results in qualitatively better outcomes than the courts can provide, he pursued clinical mediation practice of divorce and family mediation in law school, and gained exposure to other areas of mediation such as neighbor and renter disputes while at OATH (The Office of Trials and Hearings) first finding his legal niche.
While working towards a greater understanding of the liberatory potential of mediation he had the fortune of a perspective altering experience, participating in restorative justice circles and conducting research into the indigenous origins of mediation and community based conflict resolution, which cemented the idea that active listening and resolute kindness can be a radically transformative experience for all involved and provide greater understanding, facilitating constructive communication and leading to the resolution of highly complex problems.
Having seen the avaricious and inefficient practice of divorce lawyers, even those who claim to offer collaborative law in the New York City Family Courts, Gabriel started Holl Mediation, based in Park Slope – Brooklyn, to offer affordable, ethical and sensible guidance to navigate the separation and divorce processes.
