ShounBach

Michelle Kaminsky, Molly Garrett, Sarah Knapp, and Abby Cummins attended the Fairfax Bar Associations Annual Luncheon on Wednesday June 5th. Congratulations to K. Leigh Taylor for completing her term as Fairfax Bar Association President; to Elanna Weinstein for assuming the important role of President; and to all the award recipients honored at the luncheon.

To celebrate Summer, ShounBach will be closing at 3:00 pm every Friday starting May 24th until Labor Day! We hope you all enjoy your summer and Memorial Day Weekend!

ShounBach is pleased to announce that the following attorneys are on the 2024 Super Lawyers® List for 2024: Susan Butler, Molly Garrett, Beth Bittel, Michelle Kaminsky, Hayden Lee and Sarah Knapp. In additional Michael Armstead has made the 2024 Rising Star List. Congratulations to all the attorneys who made the list.
To find out more about the Super Lawyers® selection process you can visit their website at superlawyers.com

On Monday, we celebrated Earth Day by planting seeds and decoration their pots. We hope to have some beautiful office flowers growing soon.

Congratulations Hayden!

On this we feature Hayden Lee, a partner with ShounBach in Fairfax.

Hayden brings over 15 years experience to the table, strongly rooted in negotiation, and mediation within the Collaborative Process. His goal in all collaborative cases is to reach a resolution that not only satisfies the participants’ goals, but maintains the integrity of the entire family.

Read more about Hayden and his involvement in VaCP at https://vacollaborativepractice.com/member-profile/?userid=280


Divorce | Legal | Legal Services | Divorce Lawyer | Family Law

Attorneys Molly Garrett and Mary Lawrence were honored to teach at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University in January. They taught a series on Living Trusts and Other Estate Planning Ideas and Alternatives to over one hundred students and had a great time. They have already been asked to come back in Fall 2024 for another series – so keep an eye out!

We are pleased to announce that Beth A. Bittel and
Joshua R. Anthony have joined our firm as partners at ShounBach.
• • •
Immediately prior to joining ShounBach, Beth Bittel was the Managing Partner of Bittel & Anthony, P.C., a law firm that was originally established in 1997 as the Law Offices of Beth A. Bittel. Ms. Bittel received her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Economics and Political Science, from Bucknell University in 1983 and her law degree from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond in 1986. Ms. Bittel began her legal career in 1986 with a small general practice law firm in Alexandria, Virginia, and in 1989, she elected to focus her law practice exclusively on family law and appellate matters. Ms. Bittel has had an “AV” rating from Martindale Hubbell since 1998, and she has been listed for many years in the Washingtonian and Northern Virginia Magazine Top Lawyer publications as well as in Best Lawyers of America and their related publications. Ms. Bittel is presently a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Women Attorneys Association and the Fairfax County Bar Association, and she has served on committees and lectured on issues relating to family law and legal ethics throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia for more than thirty years.
• • •
Immediately prior to joining ShounBach, Joshua Anthony was a partner at Bittel & Anthony, P.C. (formerly Law Offices of Beth A. Bittel, PC), where he commenced employment in 2003. Mr. Anthony received his bachelor’s degree, double majoring in Psychology and Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Education, from San Diego State University and his law degree from the George Mason University School of Law. Mr. Anthony is a member of the Virginia State Bar and Fairfax Bar Association.

ShounBach will close at 3 pm on Friday, December 22, 2023, and will not reopen until Tuesday, January 2, 2024. We are giving our staff and attorneys time to enjoy the holidays with their friends and family. We hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

This week’s holiday festivities included our annual Ugly Sweater Competition and Best Office Decorations. Congratulations to our winners: Cindy and Julia.

Last week was a very busy but fun week for us at SB. We have partnered once again with Volunteer Prince William in their UnTrim a Tree Program, https://volunteers.volunteerprincewilliam.org/about-us, to fulfill the holiday wishes for children in the Prince William area. On Tuesday several members of our team went out and shopped for the firm’s “adopted kids”. On Wednesday we hosted an ornament decorating lunch party, we let the stress of the holiday season go and enjoyed painting ornaments together. Friday we had our annual holiday lunch at Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano, with a very competitive trivia game and lots of prizes. Then to finish the week we started organizing for our holiday party at the Serve Campus in Manassas https://www.nvfs.org/our-services/homelessness-housing/serve-campus/. We stuffed treat bags with candy and small trinkets to help the kids enjoy the holiday season. We will be hosting a night of games, crafts and yummy treats for the Serve residents this week.

AAML Virginia Chapter presents Dangerous Intersections with Family Law CLE! Please join them on January 16, 2024 for this exciting CLE!

ShounBach is pleased to announce that our Managing Partner, Susan Butler, has been included in the Washingtonian’s Top Lawyers 2023 List. The list can be found in the Washingtonian’s December issue, which is available now. It is a great honor for Susan to be included with other top lawyers from the area.

https://www.washingtonian.com/best/lawyers/search/speciality/Divorce and Family Law/

ShounBach is pleased to announce that our attorneys, Susan Butler, Molly Garrett and Albert Bonin, have been included in the Northern Virginia Best Lawyers List. The list can be found in the Northern Virginia Magazine’s December issue, which is available now. It is a great honor for our attorneys to be included with other top lawyers from the area.
https://northernvirginiamag.com/best/lawyers/?_areas_of_focus=family-law

ShounBach will be closing today at 3 pm to celebrate the Thanksgiving Weekend and will reopen Monday, November 27th! We hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!

ShounBach Ranked by Best Law Firms® in 2024

ShounBach has been recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers®, regionally in 2 practice areas.

Firms included in the 2024 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Achieving a tiered ranking in Best Law Firms® on a national and/or metropolitan scale signals a unique credibility within the industry. The transparent, collaborative research process employs qualitative and quantitative data from peer and client reviews that is supported by proprietary algorithmic technology to produce a tiered system of industry-led rankings of the top 4% of the industry.

Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, integrity and reputation that law firms earn among other leading firms and lawyers. The 2024 edition of Best Law Firms® includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas. Additionally, one "Law Firm of the Year" was named in each nationally ranked practice area.

ShounBach received the following rankings in the 2024 Best Law Firms®:

Regional Tier 1
- Washington, D.C.
-Family Law

Regional Tier 2
- Washington, D.C.
- Family Law Mediation

We had a Spooktacular time here at ShounBach with our Halloween Festivities. Check out our staff’s wickedly good costumes and haunting office décor!

On Friday, October 6th we hosted a team building event at Axes and O’s. Our staff did an axe-cellent job at our Axe Throwing Competition!

ShounBach is pleased to announce that Michael Armstead has been honored to join Legal Services of Northern Virginia’s Rule 6.1 Society and earn his Bronze Pin. Michael has been a proud partner with LSNV offering 40 plus hours of pro bono services, helping to continue LSNV’s mission ‘to provide access to justice for disadvantaged individuals and communities’ in the Northern Virginia area. Congratulations, Michael! We look forward to your continued partnership with LSNV!

ShounBach congratulates Michelle Kaminsky on her appointment to the Virginia State Bar Fifth District Disciplinary Committee, Section II. In this capacity, she will work with others on the committee to review bar complaints to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Michelle is honored to have been appointed to this role because the disciplinary committees fulfills one of the key missions of the Virginia State Bar: protecting members of the public.

Fall is in the air and we are gearing up for everything warm and cozy. Today ShounBach’s Fun Committee hosted a Pumpkin Decorating Event where we decorated pumpkins for our upcoming October festivities. What is your favorite Fall tradition?

ShounBach would like to congratulate the following lawyers named to 2024 The Best Lawyers in America list:

• Albert M. Bonin - Family Law

• Susan M. Butler - Family Law and Family Law Mediation

• Molly M. Garrett - Family Law and Family Law Mediation

• Sarah J. Knapp - Family Law

• Hope F. Rosen - Family Law

• Thomas Velarde - Family Law

ShounBach would also like to congratulate Michelle Kaminsky on making the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.

Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

Thank you to our neighbors! We are honored to be voted a 2023 Neighborhood Fave.
This award means so much for our business and helps us continue to grow in our community!
Be sure to visit us on and leave a recommendation: https://www.shoun.com/

Our very own Susan Butler and her son participated in the Freedom Firecracker July 4th race hosted by Fun Run Racing. Our firm is a proud 2023 sponsor of this and other races held by Fun Run Racing. For more information on the races you can visit their website at https://funrunracing.com/

ShounBach pleased to announce that Molly Garrett has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). The AAML is comprised of the top matrimonial attorneys with only 1,600 members from across the United States. AAML members are recognized as preeminent family practitioners with the highest levels of knowledge, skill, and integrity. In order to be elected to this prestigious organization, each Fellow must successfully complete a rigorous selection process that includes an extensive application, interviews, professional and judicial evaluations, and numerous hours of examination which include both Federal and Virginia law.

Congratulations Molly!

ShounBach is pleased to announce that 5 lawyers have been included in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Best Lawyers has earned the respect of the profession, the media and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals.

Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

ShounBach would like to congratulate the following lawyers named to 2023 The Best Lawyers in America list:

• Albert M. Bonin - Family Law
• Susan M. Butler - Family Law and Family Law Mediation
• Molly M. Garrett - Family Law
• Sarah J. Knapp - Family Law
• Hope F. Rosen - Family Law

If your case calls for an aggressive litigator, we have attorneys with extensive courtroom experience who can provide you with vigorous representation and defense. Contact us today.

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For a Northern Virginia divorce attorney who has the knowledge and training to represent you in any of these practice areas, contact ShounBach today. As one of the largest family law focused firms in Virginia, our attorneys have over 200 years of collective legal experience. Call us today.

https://zcu.io/Vw5z