Learn About Holistic Divorce

Practice Areas

Dara Marias is a partner with Kainen Law Group, PLLC. She is an AV-Rated attorney through Martindale-Hubbell and is considered a Preeminent Attorney with the Highest Level of Professional Excellence. With both a Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work, Dara’s holistic divorce practice focuses exclusively on non-litigated divorce options including Amicable Divorce and Joint Mediation. Additionally, Dara directs Kainen Law Group’s Client Care Department, which supports clients during and after divorce. Dara offers holistic coaching on co-parenting, emotional agility, communication, and problem-solving strategies for both litigation and non-litigation clients. She also oversees Kainen Law Group’s Fresh Start services which help clients start life after divorce with confidence.

Dara pioneered Amicable Divorce in Nevada and as the State Ambassador, she has built a robust network of attorneys and divorce professionals committed to the Amicable Divorce Process, which offers a divorce process tailored to parties who want to resolve their divorce issues outside of the court system with attorneys committed to resolution. Dara has won several awards from the Amicable Divorce Network including: 2023 Amicable Spirit Award, 2023 Amicable Advocate of the Year Finalist, 2025 Amicable Advancer, and 2025 Ambassador Achievement.

For those interested in Joint Mediation, Dara can serve as a neutral mediator to assist divorcing couples reach an uncontested divorce by resolving all of their divorce issues through mediation. In this capacity, Dara does not represent either person as an attorney. Instead, as a Certified Advanced Practitioner with the Academy of Professional Family Mediators, Dara brings her wealth of family law expertise and creativity to develop solutions that work for both parties.

Publications & Podcasts

Dara’s article, “A Just Way to Divorce,” was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fall 2025. She also authored "Mediation and the Role of the Attorney" for the Nevada Family Law Report and is a contributing author of the Amazon Bestseller, Divorce Amicably: Your Roadmap to Resolution, writing four chapters about co-parenting, resolving impasses in divorce negotiations, and developing emotional agility.

Dara has also written extensively on social-emotional skill development and service-learning, co-authoring Inspiring Community Advocates: Curriculum for Developing Social-Emotional Skills through Community Service Learning (Grades 3-5) and Inspiring Community Advocates: Leaders (Grades 9-12) published by EduGiveKids, LLC.

Dara has appeared on the following podcast episodes:

• The Amicable Divorce Network Podcast: Chapter 9 - Dara      Marias: The Amicable Divorce Process 
• The Amicable Divorce Network Podcast: Chapter 70 –      Co-parenting 101
• The Amicable Divorce Network Pocast: Chapter 72 –      Dealing with Challenging Co-parents
• Been There Got Out: Holistic High-Conflict Divorce      Strategies
• The Gray Divorce Podcast: The      Practice of Holistic Divorce with Dara Marias
• WTF Divorce: Episode 174: How      This Lawyer Takes a Holistic Approach to Divorce

Education and Family Law Background

Dara joined the Nevada Bar in 1994 after graduating with a Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California. Prior to attending USC, Dara graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, majoring in International Economics. Dara has an extensive background in family law, mediation, and social-emotional skill development. She served as a judicial law clerk in Family Court and was later elected to the Family Law Section’s Executive Council of the Nevada Bar where she was instrumental in developing The Nuts and Bolts of Family Law.

Specialized Training

Dara received basic and advanced mediation training from the Los Angeles Superior Court Conciliation and Mediation Services (where she completed a 300-hour internship as a child custody mediator) as well as from the Eighth Judicial District Court’s Family Mediation Center and the Mosten-Guthrie Academy for Mediation and Collaborative Training. Most recently, Dara completed extensive training with the Amicable Divorce Network and earned her C.A.D.P. (Certified Amicable Divorce Professional) and a Specialty Designation in Gray Divorce. She has also participated in numerous continuing education courses on mediation, estate planning, and advanced family law.

Recognition

Dara was awarded the Distinguished Student Prize for the highest achievement in academics, field work, and creative leadership from the USC School of Social Work. In recognition of her extensive community outreach in Las Vegas, Dara received the Summerlin Council Outstanding Volunteer Award, a Proclamation from the Clark County Commission, and she was honored as the 2020 Nevada Mother of the Year™.

Philosophy

Whether serving as an attorney, mediator, or coach, Dara works to enhance the well-being of people and help them divorce in an amicable, efficient, and supported manner without going to court. In the process, she strives to empower clients to navigate their divorce with emotional agility, develop positive ways of interacting, and ultimately help people thrive in their post-divorce lives with a secure foundation.