Top Family Lawyers Near Me in Charleston Area

The Law Office of Tasha J. Kotz is a client-focused firm here to help you find the best solution to your individual situation. At The Law Office of Tasha J. Kotz, our attorney’s goal is to understand each client’s individual needs and overcome your challenges in cases from separation, divorce, adoption, child support, child custody, spousal support, alimony, adult and minor child name change.

Taylor was born and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, in 2006, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a dual focus on Marketing and Management.  She then moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2006, where she attended the Charleston School of Law.  While in law school, Taylor was an active member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, the Real Estate Society, Children's Rights and Family Law Society, and Women in Law Society. Taylor was also honored by receiving the CALI Excellence for the Future award in the study of Criminal Trial Practice.  After graduating from law school in 2009, Taylor worked as an associate for the Law Offices of Paul E. Tinkler until she recently opened her own practice in March of 2015.. Taylor has been a member of the South Carolina Bar and Charleston County Bar since being admitted to practice law in 2010.  She is also licensed to practice in the Federal District Court of South Carolina and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Taylor is also a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association and was awarded the "Top 40 Under 40," in 2012. Taylor is a member of the South Carolina Association for Justice, National Women Trial Lawyers, and American Bar Association.

Rene is a shareholder and the chair of the Saxton & Stump Family Law Group working out of the firm’s Charleston office. She is also a member of the firm’s Education and Labor and Employment groups. Rene has significant experience in the legal field, both as an attorney for over a decade, and as a paralegal earlier in her career.Rene has a thriving practice in family court, handling a wide variety of domestic issues including, child custody, parental alienation, third party custody and visit modification actions, alimony, equitable division, termination of parental rights and familial adoption, and divorce.

North Carolina native Alex B. Cash concentrates his practice on representing individual clients predominately in the areas of family law and personal injury cases.. Alex earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has practiced law with Rosen Rosen & Hagood since 1991 and is a senior equity member/partner of the firm.. He was nominated by his peers and became a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers in South Carolina from 2008 through the present. Highly active within the state’s community of trial attorneys, Alex was elected by his peers to serve on the Board of Governors for the South Carolina Association for Justice from 2003-2009 and for a third term from 2011-2013. In 2013, he was elected to serve as the Secretary/Treasurer for South Carolina Association for Justice. In 2014, he was elected to serve as Vice-President of the South Carolina Association of Justice.. In addition, Alex is a member of the South Carolina Association for Justice, the Family Law Section of the South Carolina Bar, American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, and the Southern Trial Lawyers Association.  He is a contributing author of "Negligence" which was published in South Carolina Jurisprudence.  He has spoken at a variety of continuing legal education seminars about family law issues, and has been a guest lecturer for the family law class at the Charleston School of Law.. Prior to attending law school, Alex graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University and received a Master of Music with Distinction from Indiana University. He has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Spoleto Orchestra in both Charleston and Italy.

Mikell H. Wyman is a shareholder at Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A., practicing in the areas of workers’ compensation and mediation. Mikell started his 13-year legal career at a small firm in Columbia, South Carolina, working in civil litigation, family law, residential real estate and workers’ compensation defense matters. He later joined a larger firm in its Charleston, South Carolina office to focus his practice solely in the area of workers’ compensation defense. Mikell has developed particular experience in the defense of pulmonary injury/inhalation claims. Mikell is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Civil Court Mediator.  Mikell graduated from The Citadel with a degree in Political Science and later obtained his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, he served as an editor of the South Carolina Environmental Law Journal.

Melissa grew up in Spartanburg and graduated from Wofford College in 2012.  Melissa graduated from the Charleston School of Law in 2016, where she served on the executive board of the Maritime Society.  She joined the team at the Bleecker Law Firm in August 2019.. Melissa lives in Mount Pleasant with her three dogs.  She is active in the community, working with Lowcountry Lab Rescue and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  When Melissa isn’t at work, she enjoys traveling, being out on the water, and driving fast cars.

I practice family law. I represent great people whose marriages or parental relationships with their children are at risk. My goal is to provide these clients with a dedicated, knowledgeable, experienced approach to maximize their results and protect their family's futures.. As a family law attorney, I am honored to be one of only a handful of certified SC Family Law Specialists in South Carolina (National Board of Trial Advocacy); a Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and International Academy of Family Lawyers. I am also rated AV® Preeminent Family Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell and am honored to be designated as one of SC’s Top Family Lawyers by Super Lawyers.. My involvement with the AAML, SC Family Law Section and ABA Family Law Section have enhanced my law practice greatly. Collaborating with leading family lawyers, experts, authors and judges has taught me many valuable lessons that have benefitted my clients and increased my knowledge about complex family law matters.. Speaking, writing and publishing articles about family law matters has allowed me to delve into important areas  such as understanding the valuation of businesses, how to work effectively with forensic business experts, custody evaluators and technology experts from an academic standpoint, and keeps me updated on new family law rulings and experts' methods.  Ultimately, this additional work outside of representing parties saves my clients money and helps me better protect their interests.. Use of Technology:. My team and I take a novel approach to technology in the family court arena.  When preparing a client’s case, we utilize software to create timelines, strategy plans, alimony projections, child support calculations, asset division tables, and trial exhibits to simplify complex matters and make my clients' positions understandable and more persuasive.  We have found this approach provides clarity for clients when we meet to discuss case strategy and next steps before hearings, mediation, settlement discussions, deposition and trial.  Many judges have also commented that some programs help paint a clearer picture of the parties and the facts unique to their cases.. Experts & Other Legal Support Professionals:. We work closely with an extensive network of experts and legal support professionals.  Providing access to knowledgeable experts and resources is another service that helps us to protect our clients’ interests, financial and personal.  These professionals include forensic divorce accountants, certified public accountants, business valuation experts, forensic computer specialists, real estate appraisers, licensed private detectives, psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, counselors, custody evaluators, physicians, certified vocational specialists, court reporters, process servers, guardians ad litem, technology experts, trial consultants and contract lawyers.

I bring considerable knowledge and experience in matters that impact Lowcountry families. My services are dedicated to assisting families who serve the community through military service, government contracting, and federal employment.I am a 2006 graduate of Malone University in Canton, Ohio. During my undergraduate education, I interned for the White House, where I assisted with receiving and responding to gifts and correspondence sent to the President. After graduating magna cum laude and receiving a B.A. degree in Political Science, I served as Deputy Associate Director to the Executive Office of the President and later as a Special Assistant in the Office of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. I further enhanced my skills as an Account Manager for CQ-Roll Call Group in Washington, D.C. In this position I trained lobbyists and law firms to track Congressional legislation through the CQ.com website.Desiring to serve the local community, I enrolled in the Charleston School of Law. While pursuing my law degree, I joined Brinkley Law Firm as a law clerk. I also gained valuable experience during a family court clerkship for the Honorable Jack Landis in Berkeley, Charleston, and Lexington counties where I observed complex issues facing families in the Lowcountry.I graduated cum laude from the Charleston School of Law in South Carolina. I also received CALI Awards (signifying the highest grade earned in a class) for Contemporary Issues in Professional Responsibility and Law Practice Management & Economics. My student memberships included the Student Division of the Charleston County Bar Association, Women in Law Society, and Aviation Law Society.After gaining valuable experience on the White House staff and first-hand knowledge of federal policy, I am now focused on serving the local community. My services include legal representation for divorce, alimony, custody/visitation and child support matters, as well as adoption.

Guy J. Vitetta has been a practicing trial lawyer since 1991 and has practiced exclusively family and divorce law in Charleston since 2002.   He has earned a reputation for excellence in Family law representation and continues to hold an AV® Peer Rating*, the highest given by Martindale–Hubbell, which was awarded in 2005. This award is given to an attorney by his/her colleagues to honor their high regard for his or her professional and ethical skills.. Guy has represented hundreds of clients in all types of Family Law matters, including:. Eleven years as a public defender made Guy an effective and decisive litigator.  His trial and litigation skills are critical to the evaluation of and strategic planning in any legal case and when a Family Law case goes to trial, Guy employs all of those skills.. But a majority of cases involving families are settled before going to trial.  To conduct the process most appropriate to a client’s particular situation, Guy draws on extensive experience with all available tools, including:. Upon seeing the reality of domestic relations law, Guy saw room for improvement in how family disputes were handled in South Carolina. He sought alternatives and in 2003 became the first attorney in South Carolina trained in Collaborative Law. He is a founding member and past president of the South Carolina Collaborative Law Institute.  He is also a Certified Family Court Mediator in South Carolina and co-founded the Mediation and Meeting Center of Charleston.  Guy is seen as a leader in Family Law and has mentored many new lawyers.  Guy currently serves on the Practice and Procedures Committee of the South Carolina Bar.. Another example of Guy’s leadership is his dedicated effort to improve the options for managing the financial aspects of Family Law matters.  In early 2016, Guy and colleague Sean Keefer, released an innovative software program, called , for Judges and attorneys in South Carolina to assist in the organization and secure management of client financial data.  Settlyd improves greatly the collection, calculation, and secure storage of the complex financial data, which are central to all family legal matters.. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Guy graduated from Ohio’s Kenyon College with a B.A. in history and religion. As a community activist addressing consumer and environmental issues, Guy decided his most influential avenue for making a difference in the community was in the practice of law.  He graduated from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio in 1991.  He worked on appeals for Death Row inmates while clerking in the Death Penalty Section of the Ohio Public Defender Commission during Law School. He then served as a Public Defender in Columbus, Ohio for two years and then in Charleston County, South Carolina for nine years before opening his private practice in Charleston, South Carolina.

David Pearlman has lived in Charleston, South Carolina all his life and spent his entire life observing the dignity and respect of the law thanks to his father. David’s father, the Honorable Gus H. Pearlman, was Probate Judge for Charleston County for 35 years. “He taught me that everybody deserves respect, dignity, and equal justice no matter their background.”. David attended the University of Georgia and George Washington University. He obtained his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and joined the Steinberg Law Firm in 1976 following his law school graduation. Four years later, he became Partner at Steinberg Law Firm.. David has been a member of the South Carolina Bar Association for over 45 years. He has won landmark cases before the South Carolina Court of Appeals and the South Carolina Supreme Court. He also served as an adjunct professor of Workers’ Compensation Law at the Charleston School of Law. David is an avid member of multiple legal associations. He is on the Executive Board for the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group, is the Legislative Chairman for Injured Workers’ Advocates, and is a past chairman of the Workers’ Compensation section of the Charleston County Bar Association.. He has been named to the Super Lawyers list for 15 years in a row (2008-2022) and has been included in the Best Lawyers in America publication for Workers’ Compensation Law-Claimants for 17 years straight (2005-2022). His other notable awards and honors include the Avvo Clients’ Choice Award (2022), a Top 10 Workers’ Compensation Attorney by Attorney & Practice (2022), a Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney by Best of the Best Attorneys (2021), a South Carolina Leadership in Law honoree (2017), and the Charleston, SC Lawyer of the Year: Workers’ Compensation by Best Lawyers in 2011.. David is not only highly respected by his peers but is deeply loved by his staff because of his sincere and remarkable character. His passion and heart for people is why he is the right lawyer for you.. David and his wife, Janet, live on Sullivan’s Island and have two children, both of whom have followed in his footsteps and are attorneys as well.

Born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, Michele Patrao Forsythe is a multi-lingual attorney who still uses her linguistic ability and her cultural heritage every day in her dynamic litigation practice.. Michele is an avid fitness enthusiast and is actively involved in the Charleston County Bar and the South Carolina Bar.. Michele practice in local, state, and federal courts in South Carolina.

Attorney Debra E. Stokes has been providing legal services in the Charleston area since she was admitted to practice law in South Carolina in 1980. Debra represents clients primarily in the areas of divorce and family law. However, as a result of her extensive trial experience and legal knowledge, she is able to represent clients in other civil and criminal matters. Debra E. Stokes is rated AV Preeminent * in the areas of general and family law by Martindale-Hubbell, a high peer rating given to lawyers for legal ability and ethical standards. She is certified and approved as a Family Court Mediator by the South Carolina Bar’s Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification, having received her Certification in Divorce Mediation in 1992 through the Divorce Mediation Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Debra E. Stokes graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 1980. She was formerly a partner in the law firm of Stokes & Thompson, which represented clients in civil, criminal and family law matters in all South Carolina state courts, and civil and criminal matters in the federal court. She served as Corporation Counsel to the town of Mount Pleasant from 1984 through 1987. Debra is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in the state of South Carolina and the Supreme Court of the United States of America. She is a member of the Judicial Qualifications Committee and the Fee Dispute Committee for the South Carolina Bar Association.

Amanda Haselden graduated from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), where she earned bachelor’s degrees in both Political Science and French. She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Charleston School of Law. Mrs. Haselden was admitted to the South Carolina Bar and began her career in the Solicitor’s Office for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, serving under the Honorable Solicitor Isaac McDuffie Stone. She was one of the original members of the Solicitor’s Career Criminal Unit, and she prosecuted violent crimes throughout the entire Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. She continues her work in the Court of General Sessions by representing individuals charged with crimes ranging from traffic offenses to major felonies. Additionally, she has an extensive family law practice and handles divorce cases, custody disputes and relocation matters on a daily basis.. Mrs. Haselden is a member of the American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar (Criminal and Family Law Sections), the Charleston County Bar Association, the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the South Carolina Women Lawyer’s Association.. Mrs. Haselden is married to a local attorney and they have one son. They are members of First (Scots) Presbyterian Church.

About Anne Frances. Anne Frances Bleecker is an experienced family law, divorce, and child custody attorney in Charleston.. Ms. Bleecker was born in Charleston, South Carolina. An honor graduate of Ashley Hall School in Charleston, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Texas at Austin where she received a Merit Fellowship.. Attorney Anne Frances Bleecker holds a law degree from the University of South Carolina where she was a member of the ABA Moot Court Team, the Student Works Editor of the South Carolina Law Review, and a Legal Writing Instructor.  In her third year of law school, Anne Frances was honored to receive the I.M. Goldberg Scholarship from the South Carolina Bar Foundation and the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Administrative Law.. After law school, Anne Frances worked as an Associate with Nelson, Mullins, Riley, and Scarborough in Columbia and Charleston.   She opened The Bleecker Law Firm, LLC, in Charleston in 1997.. In 2000, Anne Frances received The Compleat Lawyer Award, a medal given by the University of South Carolina Law School to Alumni in recognition of civic and professional accomplishments.. Community Service. Ms. Bleecker served two terms on the Charleston City Council. During her service she created the Mayor’s Office on Aging, Chaired the City’s Human Resources Committee, and spearheaded efforts to improve the City’s management of growth and development on the rural islands around Charleston. She received many awards for leadership during her tenure on the Charleston City Council.. Anne Frances remains active in serving her profession and her community while rearing two children of her own.. Affiliations and Memberships. Charleston County Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Fee Disputes Board (2012 to date), Charleston County Pro Bono Legal Services (Board Member 2010 to date), Lowcountry Women with Wings Board (President 2014 to date), South Carolina Women Lawyers Association (Founding Board Member), International African American Museum (Board Member 2000-2014), Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Ashley Hall School Alumnae Board, The Citadel School of Business Advisory Board.

A native of Toronto, Canada, Marissa graduated from Huron College at the University of Western Ontario with a B.A., in Psychology in 2008. Marissa decided to attend law school following her experiences as an intern on a secure Forensic Mental Health Unit at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto during college. Marissa relocated to Florida where she completed her J.D., on an expedited schedule at the Barry University School of Law in 2012. At Barry, Marissa was a member of the Association of Counsel for Children and focused her studies in the area of Family Law. Marissa was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2013. After relocating to Charleston, South Carolina in late 2013, Marissa began working as Pro Bono Coordinator at Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services, Inc., while also clerking for the Murphy Law Firm. Marissa was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 2015 and is now an Associate Attorney at the Murphy Law Firm.