Cathy E. Gorlin is a member of the firm’s Family Law practice area. She represents parties in a range of family law matters, including marriage dissolution cases with complex financial estates and business valuations. She has more than 40 years of experience litigating and negotiating family law disputes, including marriage dissolutions, post-decree disputes, parentage and custody disputes, prenuptial agreements, living together agreements and appeals. She is a mediator and has considerable experience representing clients in alternative dispute resolution, including Collaborative Law. Cathy is an aggressive and effective advocate for her clients.
Cathy is the Editor of the Minnesota Family Law Practice Manual and she has been the Chair of both the Hennepin County Bar and Minnesota State Bar Associations' Family Law Sections. In addition, she is a frequent lecturer and author on family law-related topics.
Most recently, Cathy was included in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for her family law and family law arbitration practices. She has been selected to the Minnesota Super Lawyers list (1996–present; formerly by Minnesota Law & Politics), and named a “Leading Minnesota Attorney” by Minnesota Law & Politics (1997–2010). She also continues to receive recognition from Super Lawyers as one of Minnesota's Top Women Attorneys in Mpls.St. Paul Magazine. Cathy has been honored as a "Top Lawyer" by Marquis Who's Who (2019), officially recognized as “Best for Family Law- Minnesota” by The Corporate America Legal Elite (2015), and was named a woman of outstanding leadership by the International Women’s Leadership Association. She has been recognized with the highest peer rating standard, AV Preeminent® - Martindale-Hubble Peer Review Rating™, which lists her among the "Midwest's Top Rated Lawyers" in The National Law Journal. For her ongoing efforts representing the Wesleyan Lawyers Association and volunteering in the Admission Department, Cathy has also received the Wesleyan University Service Award (2020).
Cathy provides pro bono services to the Volunteer Lawyers Network and has served on the Board of Directors of the Fund for Legal Aid Society. For providing 50 hours or more of pro bono legal services in 2020, she was recognized as a North Star Lawyer by the Minnesota State Bar Association.