Marsh, Bobbie L.

Robert N. Wistner currently is a sole practitioner, with over 30 years of experience as a trial lawyer in contested divorces and parenting disputes, including the negotiation of parenting plans and separation agreements. However, since January 1, 2000, he has limited his practice to Collaborative Family Law, Dissolutions of Marriage, Early Neutral Evaluation, Mediation and Arbitration, with primary focus on the resolution of family conflict without any involvement in court litigation. For client convenience, in addition to his Dublin office, he has access to other locations in Worthington and near Port Columbus.

During recent years of service as Vice-Chair of the Ohio Task Force on Family Law and Children, and as a member of the Ohio Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Children, Families and the Courts, Mr. Wistner became very interested in helping divorcing families in conflict restructure their families and finances through non-adversarial negotiation and agreement, without the financial and emotional trauma normally involved in adversarial litigation through the court system. He has found Collaborative Divorce Practice to be a very successful process for accomplishing that goal for the involved parties, which enables both spouses to maintain their dignity and self-respect during a very difficult and stressful time in their lives, and the lives of their children.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University, and a Juris Doctor degree from The Ohio State University College of Law, Mr. Wistner has been licensed to practice law in Ohio since 1962. Also, he is a Court Approved Mediator in the Domestic Relations Divisions of the Common Pleas Courts of Franklin and Delaware Counties, and was a Senior Trainer in the basic 40-hour Divorce Mediation course, and the advanced course in Mediating Divorce Finances, at Conflict Management Services in Columbus from 2001 through 2006.

Mr. Wistner was one of the first family lawyers in Ohio to earn the designation of Certified Specialist in Family Relations Law by the Ohio State Bar Association Family Relations Law Specialty Board, and served as a member of the Board from 2000 to 2002. He maintained such status for eight years before voluntarily declining further renewal.

In addition, he has served the OSBA as Chair of the Family Law Committee and of the General Practice Section. Since 2001, he also has been the Chair of the OSBA Spousal Support Subcommittee, which has been drafting new legislation to modernize Ohio's spousal support statutes. From 1991 through 1999, he was awarded a listing in the Family Law Section of the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. Also, he has served his profession and community as a Past-President of the Columbus Bar Association, Franklin County Trial Lawyers Association, Ohio Attorneys General Association, Columbus Metropolitan Library and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.