Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney
- Education:
- University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, LL.B., cum laude, 1983
- University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, B.L.C., cum laude, 1981
- Oxford University, Oxford, England (Rhodes Scholarship), graduate study in Law and Criminology, 1984-6
- Admitted to Practice:
- Supreme Court, South Africa, 1984
- NY State, 1989
- United States District Court, Northern District of NY, 1996
Prior to opening her own practice in 1997, Mariette served as City Attorney for the City of Ithaca, as a partner and associate in other Ithaca firms, and as a public prosecutor. She is a member of the Tompkins County and New York State Bar Associations, as well as Founder and President of the Collaborative Family Lawyers of Central New York. She was a partner in the Ithaca law firm of Schlather, Geldenhuys, Stumbar & Salk for over three years prior to returning to sole practice in April 2009.
As Founder and Past President of the Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals (IACLP), Mariette brought Collaborative Law to the Ithaca community in 2003 and has actively promoted its growth and expansion. She designed public education presentations and instituted a mentoring program for newly admitted attorneys for the IACLP.
She has presented Collaborative Practice training (both basic and advanced training) since 2006 in New York, New York, Ithaca, New York and Anchorage, Alaska. She has been a workshop coordinator and presenter at the Annual Forum of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals Forum in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. She was also a presenter at a symposium on “No Borders, No Barriers: Legal issues for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Clients and their families in the United States and Canada” in Niagara Falls, Canada, in June 2006.
Mariette has presented several guest lectures on Collaborative Practice and other topics at Cornell University Law School and the School of Human Ecology. She has made numerous presentations on Collaborative Practice to professional and community groups.
Mariette serves on the Tompkins County Family Court Custody Initiative Committee and has been actively involved in an initiative to make Collaborative Practice available to low income clients. She is a member of the National Family Law Advisory Council of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Mariette has served on the Boards of Directors of the Community School of Music and Arts and the Ballet Guild of Ithaca and has been a member of the Parish Pastoral Council and Social Justice Team of the Immaculate Conception Church. She is currently a Board member and Vice-President of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County.
She speaks English, Afrikaans, German, Dutch (working knowledge), and French (basic knowledge).
Allison M. Myers, Paralegal & Office Manager
Allison is a Tompkins County native who has worked with Mariette since May 1992. In addition to her more than 20 years of law office experience, she has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from SUNY Oneonta and is retired from the Army Reserve, where she reached the rank of Master Sergeant, after 25 years.
Allison assists Mariette with many aspects of her practice, including communicating with clients, courts and other attorneys; drafting correspondence and legal documents; managing real estate transactions from purchase contract to closing; scheduling appointments; billing and bookkeeping; and generally keeping the office running. She is often the first person a new client speaks to, and is happy to provide general information and assist clients in whatever way possible. (Since she is not an attorney, all questions requiring legal advice are referred to Mariette.)
You may also encounter Allison volunteering for the Tompkins County SPCA, for whom she fosters cats and kittens.