Kelly Kotliar

Appearing regularly in both the Family Court and Supreme Court of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs, Kelly’s practice focuses primarily on litigation involving all aspects of matrimonial and family law.  Borrowing from the skills that she has gained from training and experience in mediation and collaborative law, Kelly prides herself on settling even the most contentious and complex cases. Even after a case is in court, Kelly works diligently to pursue a settlement that benefits her client while simultaneously preparing for a trial if need be. Recognizing that each client’s needs and goals are different, Kelly tailors her approach to the specific circumstances of her client’s cases. Drawing upon her experience in litigation, mediation and collaborative law, Kelly is able to strategically analyze each case in order to craft the most advantageous and durable settlement for her clients. Kelly’s clients will attest to her ability to think outside of the box in order to offer creative solutions to complex and unique situations and to achieve the best results possible in light of the circumstances.

Kelly’s practice also focuses on negotiating and drafting prenuptial and postnuptial agreements of varying levels of complexity. 

Kelly became a partner to the firm in 2022 and previous to that Kelly has been an associate at Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein LLP since 2012. From 2011 to 2012, while attending law school at St. John’s University School of Law, she was a law clerk with the firm. Prior to that, Kelly was a summer intern for the Honorable Deborah A. Kaplan of the Matrimonial Part of New York County Supreme Court. While at St. John’s, she was President of the Family Law Society and Editor-in-Chief of the New York Litigator Law Journal.

Areas of practice

Education

• State University of New York at New Paltz, B.A., cum laude
• St. John's University School of Law, J.D., Dean's List

Admitted to practice law

• New York

Professional memberships

• New York State Bar Association
• The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
• Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York
• New York Association of Collaborative Professionals
• Co-founder of Young Attorneys Matrimonial Society (YAMS)

Honors and Recognitions

• Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch^® in America, 2024
• SuperLawyers Rising Star, 2017-2022
• Martindale AV - Preeminent