Dara Marias, JD MSW
Attorney at Law | Partner
Practice Areas
Dara Marias is a partner with Kainen Law Group, PLLC. 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 education on co-parenting, emotion management, communication skills, and problem-solving strategies. She also oversees Kainen Law Group’s Fresh Start services which help clients start life after divorce with confidence.
Dara is an AV-Rated attorney through Martindale-Hubbell and is considered a Preeminent Attorney with the Highest Level of Professional Excellence. Dara pioneered Amicable Divorce in Nevada and as the State Ambassador, she has built a robust network in of attorneys and divorce professionals committed to the Amicable Divorce Process, which offers a divorce approach tailored to parties who want to resolve their divorce issues outside of the court system with attorneys committed to resolution.
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 authored "Mediation and the Role of the Attorney" for the Nevada Family Law Report and is also a contributing author to Divorce Amicably: Your Roadmap to Resolution, writing four chapters about co-parenting, resolving impasses in divorce negotiations, and developing emotional agility. Her forthcoming article, “A Just Way to Divorce,” about non-litigated divorce options will be published in Fall 2025 in the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Dara has also written extensively on social emotional skill development 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).
Dara has also appeared on the following podcast episodes:
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. 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, and she has written extensively on co-parent education.
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.
Awards
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. The Los Angeles County Bar commended Dara for Outstanding Volunteer Service, and she also received the Wiley M. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services from the State Bar of California for her work at the Maynard Toll Family Law Clinic. 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 most recently, she was honored as the 2020 Nevada Mother of the Year™.
Philosophy
Whether serving as an attorney, mediator, or educator, 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 new ways of interacting, and ultimately help people thrive in their post-divorce lives with a secure foundation.
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