Partner
phone 610-275-0700
fax 610-275-5290
email mcdoherty@highswartz.com

With a distinguished record of professional and community service, Mary Cushing Doherty has more than 30 years of legal experience in the area of family law. She concentrates her practice on all aspects of marital dissolution and family law issues including divorce, child support, visitation, custody, spousal support and maintenance, asset protection, complex property division, protection from abuse matters, and more. Ms. Doherty is an experienced and certified arbitrator and mediator. She strives for the amicable resolution of divorce when possible; however, she is a zealous litigator when it serves the best interests of her clients.

Areas of Practice:
Family Law

Bar Admissions:

• Pennsylvania, 1978
• New Jersey, 1979

Education:

• Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 1978
• University of Delaware, B.A., 1975

Professional Affiliations & Honors:

• Woman of Distinction Recipient, Philadelphia Business Journal, December, 2009
• Professionals For Amicable Divorce, Member
• Joint State Government Commission of Pennsylvania
  Member of Advisory Committee on Domestic Relations Law, March 1995 to present
  Chair of Alimony Sub-Committee, April 2005 to present
  Member of Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproduction Technologies, 2005 to present
• American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers – Pennsylvania Chapter
  Elected a Fellow in March, 1986
  President of Pennsylvania Chapter, July, 2006 to July, 2007
• Doris Jonas Freed Inn of Court
  Member of the Bench since 1995; Executive Committee since 1995
  2008 Recipient of the Frederick Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching
• Montgomery Bar Association
  2006 Margaret Richardson Award Honoree, selected by Women in the Law Committee
  Family Law Committee Chair, 1994, Member Since 1988
  Member of Women in the Law Committee since 1999
  Member Bench Bar Committee, 1995 - 1996
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
  Family Law Section Chair, 1999 to 2000; Officer 1995 to 2001, Council Member, 1990 to 1994,
  Ex Officio Council Member, 2002-present; Section Member since 1979
  Member of the Commission on Women in the Profession since 1997, Executive Council
  Review and Certifying Board Chair, Reporting to Chief Justice
• Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  Board of Directors, 1992 to 1998
  Award of Professional Excellence in Programming, Association for Continuing
  Legal Education, for Drafting Marital Settlement Agreements Course, 1997
• Philadelphia Bar Association
  Family Law Section Chair, 1985; Member Since 1979
  Family Law Delegate to Board of Governors, 1986
  Member of Judicial Selection Commission, 1985
• American Bar Association
  Family Law Section, Member from 1979 through 1987, 1992 to present
• American Bar Foundation
  Elected a Fellow, October, 1995
• Attorney General Mike Fisher’s Family Violence Task Force
  Member of Law Enforcement and the Judiciary Group, Designee for Pennsylvania Bar, 1998-1999
• Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System
  Chair of the Gender Bias in Family Court Subcommittee Work Group and coeditor of Gender and Racial Bias in Family Court portion of the report; 2000 to 2003
• Best Lawyers in America®
  Consistently ranked since 1995

Civic & Community Activities:

• UNITE, Inc., Chair of the Board, 1988 - 2007; member since 1982
• St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Horsham, Pre-Cana counselor for more than 30 years
• Upper Dublin High School, adjunct instructor, Child Development II, since 1995

Publications & Presentations:
Ms. Doherty has been a Course Planner and Lecturer for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 1992 and for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute since 1985. She also has been a Lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section and Montgomery Bar Association since 1985. She has lectured on family law topics at many regional law schools including Villanova University School of Law and Widener University.