About Us

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Larry and Joni are a caring and dynamic couple who have dedicated their lives and professional outreach to helping families navigate the oft-times difficult journey through mental health issues, special needs and family law.  After serving on the Superior Court bench in New Jersey, Larry retired from public service, began teaching at three Universities, and became significantly involved in mediation and alternative dispute resolution.  Joni is board certified in psychiatric and mental health nursing, and is a certified anger management specialist. She is also a mediator as well.  Larry and Joni actively advocate on a variety of issues including, autism and special needs, co-parenting, cultural competency, domestic violence/ IPV issues, and animal-related legal issues.  They have recently relocated to New Mexico and are involved in a multitude of online social education projects. 

Lawrence R. Jones recently retired from public service as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge and is presently a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators and a member of the teaching faculty of the Association as well. 

During his years on the Bench, he authored over 60 opinions on novel issues of law and served as the President of the New Jersey Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NJCJFCJ). Following his departure from the Judiciary, he was honored by the New Jersey Law Journal as a Distinguished Leader of the N.J. Bar. In November 2017, he was appointed by Governor-elect Phil Murphy to serve on the gubernatorial transition team relative to legal issues and social justice. 

In his post-judicial career, he authored the 10-part "Settlement Series" for the New Jersey Law Journal, which focuses on techniques for improving the possibility of settling high-conflict cases. Additionally, he was appointed as an adjunct professor at both Monmouth University and Montclair University. He has also continued to present and lecture extensively on multiple legal subjects for the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, the Association of Professional Family Mediators, and other legal and professional organizations.  He has served on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Legal Education Committee, and has also served as the Vice-Chair of the NJSBA Dispute Resolution Section (DRS). He has also been appointed to the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators. 

In 2022, Larry and Joni relocated to New Mexico. He continues to concentrate on projects relating to mediation and dispute resolution. He has recently been appointed by the New Mexico Supreme  Court as the Vice-Chair of the New Mexico Statewide Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission and presently teaches Constitutional Law at the University of New Mexico. 

Joni Jones is a registered nurse, board certified in psychiatric and mental health nursing, who retired from the New Jersey State Board of Nursing, serving the public under two separate Governors (Jon Corzine/Chris Christie). She also served on N.J.  Governor Murphy’s transition team on health related issues. In 2013, Joni was the recipient of the Elizabeth Kellogg Award for Excellence in Nursing. Joni is one of the original founders of Parents of Autistic Children (POAC), and has presented before the Autism Society of America and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts on autism-related issues. She is also a former certified developmental disabilities nurse. 

From 2002-2009, Joni worked with multiple major league baseball teams to create the first-ever "Autism Awareness Day" games hosted by the New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates,  and (then) Montreal Expos. In 2002, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York honored the Lakewood BlueClaws, minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, for hosting pro baseball's first-ever Autism Awareness Day.   Comcast TV won a 2003 Emmy award for its coverage of the event. 

Joni  was previously a certified instructor  in  Mental Health First Aid, and has authored numerous published  articles on mental health-related issues. She received New Jersey certification in crisis intervention as well. 

Joni is the co-author of “10 Basic Principles of Cultural Competency (BCPP): A Starting Point for New Mediators”, which was presented at the 2021 Academy of Professional Mediators program on Mediation and Autism Spectrum Disorder, and again at the 2021 New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators’ inaugural forum on cultural competency. In 2022 Joni and Larry relocated to New Mexico. Joni is presently serving as a member of U.S. Senator Ben Ray Lujan’s Consortium on Mental Health. She has also recently authored a children’s book on a parent-child relationship when the parent has mental health challenges.