Doreen Yaffa’s approach to family and marital law extends far beyond the courtrooms and mediation proceedings in which she’s honed her craft. The Boca Raton attorney has been practicing law for 25 years, and although she’s more than comfortable litigating on her clients’ behalf, she’s often racking her brain for alternative means of resolving conflicts. Speaking on the additional burdens many faced following the Great Recession, Yaffa said that period forced her to reconsider the advice she espouses.

“People started to really think about ‘Why am I spending all this money on litigating? Why am I spending $1,000 dollars to try to prevent my wife from getting this $20 dollar chair?’” she said. “It made me look at my practice differently, and I felt that I had a responsibility to take each client on as an individual and help them to understand it’s more than just the balance sheet. It’s the emotional toll that the litigation takes on you.”