Natalia Gourari, Esq. Biography
Natalia Gourari is the managing partner of her own law firm, with more than 22 years of experience in complex matrimonial and commercial law. Natalia Gourari has recently expanded her practice to include surrogacy and probate work. Uniformly respected in the field, Natalia Gourari has served as co-counsel and trial counsel to many medium sized to large law firms. With her expertise across a range of specialties and straightforward approach, Natalia Gourari is prepared to help clients through trying situations. Natalia Gourari recommends solutions that benefit clients and their families while lessening acrimony. If a settlement is not possible, she will fight to protect her clients’ interests in court or dispute resolution to reach the most favorable and expeditious resolution.
A lawyer with a multicultural European, Russian, and American background, she will stay the course. Her degree in economics and prior experience in corporate law with Debevoise & Plimpton, provides a level of knowledge into corporate and financial matters that levels the playing field from the start in high-net-worth cases.
Natalia Gourari works to make sure that every client’s immediate and long-term needs are met, even when up against an opponent who refuses to budge. A strong strategic litigator whose career has seen her go up against some of the nation’s leading law firms, she can’t be deterred. She aggressively fights for her client’s rights and their future.
Natalia Gourari has extensive trial experience, but she tempers that with negotiation skills that attempt to keep her clients out of the court room. She is flexible and knowledgeable which helps her settle cases, but when all else fails, she knows how to win a trial.
Natalia Gourari received her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in Economics where she graduated magna cum laude and went on to earn her Juris Doctor from the prestigious Cardozo School of Law where she received merit scholarships.
Natalia Gourari is a member of the bars in New York and New Jersey. She is also admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Natalia Gourari also shares her vast legal experience on cutting edge legal matters as a lecturer at numerous institutions for CLE credit.
- Prenuptial, postnuptial, mid-marriage, cohabitation, domestic partnership, and separation agreements (also surrogate agreements for same sex couples)
- Divorce Negotiations, Litigation and Mediation
- Child Custody, Access Rights and Child Support
- Equitable Distribution or Property Division and Spousal Maintenance
- Paternity
- Valuation Issues
- Representation in multi-state & international disputes
- Child Custody and Support
- Post-judgment Enforcement and Modification Proceedings
- All areas of Family Law
- New York, 1999
- New Jersey 1998
- S. District Court Southern District of New York, 2007
- S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 2021
Cardozo School of Law, New York, New York
- J.D. – 1998
New York University
- B.A. – 1995
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Major: Economics
MGIMO (Moscow Institute of. Foreign Affairs) – International Law 1993 to 1995
- Family Law Section of the New York Bar Association, Executive Committee
- New York State Bar Association (Member, Family Law Section; Member, Executive Committee of Family Law Section, 1994- present; Member, Ethics and Professionalism and Legislation Subcommittees; Liaison to the Interdisciplinary Forum on Mental Health and Family Law-2014 to present)
- New York County Bar Association, Matrimonial Law Committee (Annual)
- Certified Family Law Mediator (pending)
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- CLE speaker for accredited organizations
LANGUAGES:
English, Russian, German
Equitable and Not So Equitable Division of Real Estate in Divorce - CLE Course
Natalia Gourari Attorney At Law in New York
is of counsel and a Law Practice Management Advisor to Gourari Law through the Sante Law Group PLLC, an entrepreneurial law firm with transaction and litigation management expertise. Her specialty is corporate and transactional law, including financial services and business and partnership dissolutions, as well as high profile case management. Ms. Bergenfeld has spent over two decades as a senior counsel and chief legal officer for early stage and established financial and fintech companies and well as non-profits and high net worth individuals and family offices. Previously, she was Chief Legal Officer to HSBC Funds (PE/VC and 40 Act) and General Counsel at Emerging Managers Group.
A seasoned deal wrangler, Ms. Bergenfeld provides counsel to law firms, lawyers and companies leveraging experience with appellate matters, written advocacy, dispute resolution and understanding financial disputes. She serves as a coach for business exits. With her Wall Street background and MBA, Ms. Bergenfeld has expertise with reviewing financial profiles, corporate structures, strategic deal making (joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions) family office holdings, insurance coverage and business holdings of litigants with particular attention to valuation, dissolution and earnouts.
Ms. Bergenfeld is involved in establishing companies, leading joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions along with financing alternatives.
She is an experienced legal writer, editor and former law professor with publication experience supporting numerous law firms, law clinics, consulting firms and professors. Her focus is on research, drafting and preparation of legal documents and at all litigation and transactional stages including pre-engagement, case evaluation, trial prep, ADR/mediation and appeals.
Ms. Bergenfeld’s outside interests include advising numerous corporate and startup advisory boards and nonprofit boards for local and international organizations She has also managed diversity-oriented community corporates grants, guided early-stage social impact venture companies and is a legal advisor to PE/VC incubators supporting social enterprise and inclusive business. Ms. Bergenfeld takes pride in entity governance and educational support of board members.
Corporate Financial Services/Securities
M&A/JVs Fund Formation/Management
Regulatory Private Equity/Venture Capital
Dispute Resolution Non-Profits
Social Enterprise/B-Corps Governance
New York, 2000
Cardozo School of Law, New York, New York
- J.D. – 1997
New York University
- M.B.A. (International Business/Management) – 2003
- M.A. (International Relations) – 1992
Regulatory Compliance Authority, New York, New York
- Chartered Regulatory Counsel – 2019
George Washington University
- Bachelor of Arts – 1990
- New York Women’s Bar Association
- 100 Women in Finance
- Regulatory Compliance Association
- Women in Asset Management
- Chartered Regulatory Counsel (Regulatory Compliance Authority)
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Continuing Education Speaker for
- Regulatory Compliance Association
- Executive Sense Webinars
- FRA LLC
- National Regulatory Services
- ACA Compliance Group
- American Law Institute.
New York University, Stern Graduate School of Business
- Adjunct Associate Professor for Professional Responsibility/Markets, Ethics & the Law and Law Business & Society, 2006 – 2015.
- Provide instruction for core MBA/BS courses and curriculum development.
LANGUAGES:
English, French
Mia Poppe, Esq. Biography
Kamelia “Mia” Poppe, a seasoned New York matrimonial litigator, grew up in South Carolina, the granddaughter of a sharecropper. Even as a young child, Mia embodied the true definition of relentlessness, pursuing her visions for higher education, motherhood, and entrepreneurship.
Mia brings that spirit of relentlessness to her practice of law, and has become a highly sought after matrimonial attorney, advocating for the rights of her clients and encouraging them to find their real happily ever after.
Mia earned a B.S. degree from the College of Charleston. Later, she received her Juris Doctorate degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, graduating magna cum laude. Mia was the law journal editor during school and continues to write legal commentary in the areas of invisible abuse, divorce, and custody litigation.
With twenty-two (22) years of experience as a senior business leader at Citicorp, General Electric, and Bank of America, Mia has merged her business acumen with her legal profession. Her deep understanding of business practices brings a unique perspective to her advocacy. Her ability to navigate the intricate intersection of finance and matrimonial law sets her apart, making her a well-versed lawyer who can deliver sophisticated and strategic guidance to her clients.
With two office locations, one in Midtown Manhattan and the other Westchester County, Mia’s practice is dedicated to family and divorce or matrimonial law. Her specialization in high-net-worth divorce, divorce litigation, same-sex divorce, gray divorce, and custody matters has made her a highly sought-after attorney in the New York area. With a “cooler heads prevail” approach, she successfully guides her clients to positive outcomes while providing mental and emotional encouragement for the next chapter of their lives.
Mia is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the New York County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Mia is sits on the board of the Riverside Park Conservatory and is an active facilitator / member of Parents in Action (PIA).
Outside of the courtroom, Mia retreats from Manhattan, and spends her weekends in Westchester County with her twin daughters, enjoying weightlifting, yoga, running, social activities, or relaxing at home with her two four-legged children.
Bar Admissions:
- New York State Courts
- US. Federal Courts
- US. District Court Southern District of New York
- US. District Court Eastern District of New York
- US. Tax Court
Education:
- North Carolina Central University School of Law, Durham, North Carolina
- Juris Doctorate
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Law Journal: Journal Editor, Legal Commentary in the Areas of Corporate and Business Law
- College of Charleston
- Bachelor of Science
Published Works:
- The Anatomy of Divorce, a six-part practical guide to divorce
- Let Me Be Your Brave, a five-part docuseries on invisible abuse
- Unbreaking Wonder Woman, ISBN 978-1-956536-00-3
- The Empowered Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Emotional, Personal, and Legal Intricacies of Divorce, ISBN 978-1-956536-03-4
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