Judge Linda Prestley (Ret.)

High-Conflict Mediator and Arbitrator

Judge Prestley is an esteemed family law authority and retired judge, who spent the majority of her judicial career in the family law area. She provides alternate dispute resolution services, including mediation and arbitration, which are intended to allow parties to resolve differences in ways that reduce uncertainties, are more private, and are more efficient and economical.

As part of her judicial duties, Judge Prestley successfully mediated well over a thousand cases, and received the highest ratings from her peers and the attorneys that appeared before her. Since leaving the bench in 2019, she has established a regular mediation practice in the family law area and has a near perfect 100% success rate in resolving cases.

She brings to her practice great respect for the power of conciliation. Her 20 years on the bench have allowed her to understand the detail and nuance as well as the options and possibilities inherent in family law matters. Judge Prestley is sensitive to the unique circumstances that each case presents and the need for each party to be heard. Her goal in every case is to achieve results that the parties will find fair and reasonable.

Judge Prestley is a graduate of Hood College where she earned a B.A. from Harvard University where she earned a Masters in Education, and from the University of Connecticut School of Law where she received her Juris Doctorate. She has served as an adjunct professor at the college and law school levels, and has been a regular speaker on a variety of court, family, and child-related issues.

Judge Prestley began her legal career as an Assistant Attorney General representing the State of Connecticut’s Department of Education, Department of Children and Families, and the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. During that time she argued and won a high percentage of cases presented at the Superior, Appellate and Supreme Court levels.

In 1997, Judge Prestley was appointed by the Governor as the ombudsman to head the Office of the Child Advocate, an oversight entity for agencies providing services to children. During her tenure, she investigated child-related concerns and authored a number of signature reports on child fatality reviews and other issues.

Services rendered & Areas of Expertise include:

– Divorce Mediation (Represented & Unrepresented Parties)
– Parenting Coordinator
– post-judgment disputes
– Custody Dispute Mediation (Married & Unmarried)
– Asset Division
– Family Arbitration
– Blended Family & Step-Parenting matters