Real families · the year that’s hardest to get right
A small practice, chosen on purpose, for the year of your life that’s hardest to get right.
Caroline Hadley, Managing Partner
Parents drafting their first parenting plan. Spouses figuring out what comes next. Couples writing wills before the second baby arrives.
The matters that walk into a family law practice are never abstract. They’re the school year. The kids’ weekends. The house. The retirement account. We try to keep that visible in every email, every filing, every plain-English summary we send.
Six areas. One attorney on your file.
A deliberate practice in family law. Every matter gets the same lead attorney from intake to final order. Cases outside these six areas get a referral, not a sales pitch.
| i. | Divorce | Contested and uncontested. Property division, spousal support, retirement and complex asset work. Mediation first when it makes sense, litigation when it doesn’t. | 240matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| ii. | Custody and parenting | Initial orders, modifications, relocation matters. We build the plan around the children’s schedule, with explicit defaults so parents don’t re-negotiate every Thanksgiving. | 110matters |
| iii. | Child and spousal support | Calculation, enforcement, modification when circumstances change. Clear math, documented filings, no rounding into anyone’s favor. | 62matters |
| iv. | Pre and post-nuptial agreements | Drafted to actually hold up. Reviewed by a second attorney before signing. Standard package, fixed fee, plain-English red-flag list. | 44drafts |
| v. | Post-judgment modifications | Income changes, schools change, kids grow up. We file the motion and walk it through to a signed order, then put the new schedule on the fridge. | 71filings |
| vi. | Estate planning | Wills, durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and revocable living trusts. Mostly families with school-age children getting their guardianship and titling in writing. | 38files |
A small practice by design.
“We turn down work to stay this size. Specialization isn’t a marketing posture for us. It’s how we keep the work clean, the calls returned, and the bills predictable.”Caroline Hadley, Managing Partner
The practice takes a fixed number of new matters each quarter. Hourly billing is replaced with flat-fee work wherever the scope allows. Detailed monthly statements show every minute, and the round-down isn’t padded.
If your matter isn’t a fit, we’ll say so on the first call and tell you who can help.
Four steps. No surprises.
Every file moves the same way. Predictability is the whole point.
Initial consult
Sixty-minute paid consult, in person or by video. We review the high-level facts, walk through the procedural map, and tell you whether the matter looks like it can settle.
Engagement
Written fee agreement. Retainer sized to the matter. Flat fee for the scope where we can hold one. Everything’s on paper before any filing goes to court.
Filing and negotiation
Documents drafted, filed, and walked through the court calendar by the same attorney from start to finish. Weekly status notes so you always know where things stand.
Resolution
Settled, mediated, or tried. You walk out with a signed order and a written summary of what it means, in plain English, for the school year and the year after that.
Three of us. The same three on every file.
No bench, no associates rotated in to pad an hour. The person on your intake call is the person who walks your matter to a signed order.
Caroline Hadley
Managing Partner · Admitted 2009
Family law since 2010. Tried 19 contested cases to verdict. Speaks at the state bar’s family law annual every year on parenting plan drafting.
“The plan has to survive a Sunday-night phone call from a tired ten-year-old. That’s the test.”
David Mwangi
Partner · Admitted 2015
Joined the firm in 2018. Handles estate planning and complex asset division. Former public defender, which is where most of his trial chops came from.
Coaches his daughter’s middle-school mock trial team on weekends. Owns more fountain pens than the rest of the office combined.
Sara Lin
Associate · Admitted 2020
Joined the firm in 2022. Handles custody modifications and uncontested divorces under attorney supervision. Bilingual in Mandarin.
Will rewrite a parenting plan three times to get the holiday schedule readable for a six-year-old. Has done it more than once.
Ready for a real conversation?
Initial consults run sixty minutes, $175. Most people leave the call knowing whether to hire us or not. Calls returned the same day if received before 3pm.
Schedule a consult