Dolores Gebhardt
Top rated Appellate attorney in White Plains, New York
Law Offices of Dolores Gebhardt, PLLC
Practice areas: Appellate, Family Law; view more
Licensed in New York since: 1985
Education: Hofstra University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2026 Call today:
914-330-9691
Law Offices of Dolores Gebhardt, PLLC
PO Box 410White Plains, NY 10602 Visit website
Dolores Gebhardt is a respected member and partner at Law Offices of Dolores Gebhardt, PLLC. She is renowned for her profound understanding and extensive experience in multiple legal domains. Ms. Gebhardt focuses her practice on civil appeals in all NYS appellate courts, and on matrimonial and family law with an emphasis on Westchester County. Ms. Gebhardt is a trained mediator, arbitrator, and collaborative divorce practitioner.
Ms. Gebhardt’s unwavering dedication shines through, as she recognizes that divorce or fighting for one’s child’s custody are a few of the most challenging moments in an individual's life. She approaches all her clients with empathy and compassion and focuses on offering comprehensive and practical solutions tailored to their unique circumstances. Whether it be filing and preparing documents for divorce or attaining child custody, or distributing assets or property, she guides her clients through the entire process, from the very beginning to the very end, ensuring that all the documents are filed and prepared with precision.
Ms. Gebhardt is the author of a comprehensive guide to navigating counsel fee issues in matrimonial and family law matters and has lectured many times in this area.
Admitted to practice law in the state of New York in 1985, Ms. Gebhardt obtained her Juris Doctor from the Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law in 1984. After graduating, she explored the arenas involving labor and employment law, as well as commercial estate law, for close to a decade and a half before shifting her focus to family law in the early 2000s. Since starting her own firm in 2026, she primarily focuses on civil appeals, particularly those involving matrimonial and family law issues.
The New York State Bar Association presented Ms. Gebhardt with the Kay Crawford Murray Award in 2016 for her distinguished legal career. The very same year, she also received the Pace Setter Award from the Above the Bar Awards.
In addition to Ms. Gebhardt’s membership in the New York State Bar Association, she is a Past President of the Westchester County Bar Association, the Westchester Women's Bar Association, and the White Plains Bar Association. Ms. Gebhardt is also a member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals.
Practice areas
Appellate, Family LawFocus areas
Alimony & Spousal Support, Appeals, Child Support, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Domestic Violence, Marital Property, Mediation & Collaborative Law, Prenuptial Agreements, Same Sex Family Law
- 60% Appellate
- 40% Family Law
First Admitted: 1985, New York
Professional Webpage: https://www.doloresgebhardtlaw.com/biography
Bar / Professional Activity
- New York, 1985
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1989
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1989
- New York Association of Collaborative Professionals, Member, 2007 - present
- Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Member, 1987 - present
- White Plains Bar Association, Immediate Past President, 2015 – 2016; President, 2014-2015; Treasurer, 2012 -2014; Secretary, 2011-2012; Board of Directors, Member, 2003-2016
- Westchester Women’s Bar Association, President, 2010–2011; Treasurer, 2009–2010; Vice President, 2006-2009; Elected Director, 2005-2006; Programs Committee, Co-Chair, 2004 – 2010 and 2011-2014; Annual Dinner, Co-Chair, 2009 and 2010; Matrimonial Law Committee, Co-Chair, 2013-present; Holiday Party Committee, Co-chair, 2014 - present; Sustaining Member; WWBA Foundation Board of Directors, Member
- Westchester County Bar Association, Vice President, 2019-present; Community Recovery Task Force, Chair, 2020 to present; Secretary, 2017-2019; Director Representative for the WWBA to the Board of Directors, 2015-2017; Family Law Section Board of Directors, Member, 2018 – present; Appellate Practice Committee, Member; Cannabis Committee, Member; Task Force on Court Consolidation Proposal, Member; Sustaining Member
- Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Director, 2011-2015; Matrimonial and Family Law Committee, Co-Chair, 2014 - 2020
- New York State Bar Association, Sustaining Member; Family Law Section, Member; Committee on Women in the Law, Member, 2018 - present; Committee on the Civil Practice Law and Rules, Member, 2016 - present
- Founding Member, Judicial Restoration of Parent Education (JROPE)
- Member, Post-Miller Commission Committee for Change, Office of Court Administration
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- K.C. v J.C., 50 Misc.3d 892, 25 N.Y.S.3d 798, 2015, Sup. Ct., Westchester County
- PKG Associates, Inc. v. Mile Development Corp., 59 A.D.3d 693, 874 N.Y.S.2d 521 , 2009, 2d Dep’t
- Pickens v. Castro, 55 A.D.3d 443 , 2008, 1st Dep’t
- Herlitz-Ferguson v. Herlitz-Ferguson, 48 A.D.3d 418, 851 N.Y.S.2d 272, 2008, 2d Dep’t
- Molloy v. Molloy, 33 A.D.3d 892, 823 N.Y.S.2d 209 , 2006, 2d Dep’t
- Treanor v. Treanor, 2021 WL 1010572, 2021 NY Slip Op 08276 (2d Dep't 2021)
Pro bono / Community Service
- NYS Unified Court System, Ninth Judicial District - Facilitator, Parent Education and Awareness ("PEACE") Program Member, Judicial Restoration of Parent Education Committee - January 2017-present Fee Arbitrator, NYS Unified Court System, Ninth Judicial District Member, Planning Committee for Pro Bono Assistance in Contested Matrimonial Cases, 2017
- ACLD Westchester, Board of Directors
- Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Alumni Association, Board of Directors
- Cornell University Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network
Educational Background
- Cornell University, BS, 1981
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Lecture and 80+-page outline on how to collect counsel fees from your client and/or the client's spouse/partner in matrimonial actions and Family Court proceedings. I first gave this lecture in 2016, then again in 2021. My outline is continuously updated, Author and Speaker, Whatever Happened to Prichep?: Counsel Fees in Matrimonial Actions and in Family Court, Westchester Womens Bar Association, Westchester County Bar Association, 2022
- Collaborative Law: A Better Approach To Resolving Matrimonial Disputes, New York County Lawyers' Association, February 15, 2012
- Special Considerations in Matrimonial Appeals, New York State Bar Association's Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, November 18, 2011
- New Matrimonial Laws: No Fault Divorce, Temporary & Post Divorce Maintenance Guidelines, Counsel & Expert Fees, Modification of Child Support & Orders of Protection, Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, May 22, 2010
- New Divorce Legislation - No Fault Divorce, Maintenance Guidelines, Counsel & Expert Fees, Modification of Child Support, Westchester Women's Bar Association, October 14, 2010
- "Fiasconaro v. Fiasconaro' demonstrated the critical importance of a well-drafted, rock-solid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement in the era of no-fault divorce, Author, Summary Judgment in Divorce Case Granted Due to Well-Written Postnuptial Agreement, New York Law Journal, 2021
- Ten years have seen an erosion of the lofty goals of 'Prichep' and the 2010 amendments, Author, The 2010 Amendments to DRL Section 237, 10 Years Later: Interim Counsel Fee Awards, New York Law Journal, 2020
- For matrimonial attorneys, getting paid - rarely an easy feat - has become more difficult. An unintended consequence of the 2016 amendments to the Domestic Relations Law rendered the common law and statutory right to a charging lien unenforceable in many matrimonial cases, Author, Charging Liens in Matrimonial Actions: A Vanishing Right, New York Law Journal, 2017
- Adjunct Professior, Hofstra Law School -- Collaborative Law, 2010 to 2013
- Author: "Justice Abandoned: Forty Years of Stalemate in Actions for Divorce on the Ground of Abandonment," 27 Pace Law Review 605 (2007), 2007
- Forum: The Need for No-Fault Divorce, October 11, 2007, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- Author, “Call a Spade a Spade, and You May Get Paid,” Westchester County Bar Association Newsletter, April 2003
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Certified Spinning Instructor, Madd Dogg Athletics
Honors
- The Kay Crawford Murray Award honors women in the profession who recognize the value of diversity in the legal profession and have dedicated their time to advancing the professional development of women attorneys. Future recipients will possess the following characteristics: a distinguished legal career or a rising star in the profession; an active member of bar associations for the purpose of advancing the professional and personal development of women attorneys; an active mentor to women attorneys., Kay Crawford Murray Award, New York State Bar Association, 2016
- The Pace Setter Award is given annually to an attorney who embodies overall excellence in the practice of law., Pace Setter Award, Westchester Business Journal, 2016
- Working Women of Westchester, featured in Westchester County Business Journal, 2008
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2026
