Family lawyers in Alaska

Firm: 907-917-4941

645 G Street #100-963 , Anchorage , Alaska

Practice Areas: Family

Experience matters! If you are in a complex divorce, child custody, child visitation, child support or domestic violence situation, give me a call. Over the years I have seen just about every legal family law have represented clients both nationally and internationally.  I have been involved in multi-state child custody litigation. Consultations are available if you are just looking for options.. Phyllis Shepherd, J.D., has been practicing law in Alaska for well over thirty-five years; she is a long time Alaska resident who raised a family in this beautiful state. Her legal practice has emphasized trials and appeals, primarily in family law. She graduated from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. She has been an adjunct instructor of paralegals; she has been a law clerk to a judge on the Alaska Court of Appeals. She has been trained as a child custody investigator. In 2014 she completed basic Collaborative Law training. In 2015, 2016, and in 2019 she has been recognized with honors for client service as a family law attorney in Alaska. She has litigated civil and criminal defense cases in state courts and served as court-appointed counsel in two criminal defense cases in federal court. She has been admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.. In addition to the Alaska Bar Association, she also is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar Association but is currently inactive there. Her volunteer work includes providing free legal advice at the Alaska Federation of Natives sponsored Elizabeth Peratrovich Legal Clinic at the Alaska Bar Association’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Clinic, and free legal advice for the Alaska Bar Association’s Family Law Covid-19 Hot Line. She is a member of the Alaska Bar Association’s Family Law Section and the Unbundled Law Section. Attorney Shepherd and her paralegal team can streamline client service. Ms. Shepherd has been privileged to serve clients in Kenai, Homer, Seward, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Nome, Bethel, and Palmer as well as in Anchorage.

Firm: Wyatt & Butterfield, LLC

1016 West 6th Ave. , Anchorage , Alaska 99501

Practice Areas: Family

Rhonda Butterfield is a strong advocate for men’s rights.  She attended law school during an era when women constituted only 20% of her law school class, and were not part of the “good old boy” club.  Early in her career, she advocated for women’s equal rights in the workplace.  Her philosophy has come full-circle, and she now advocates for men’s equal rights in the family.  Her father was an important person in her upbringing.  Later, as a single parent raising a son and daughter, she came to appreciate the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that parents give in order to raise their children.  She understands the single-parent life – it is the toughest job she has ever had.. Ms. Butterfield has had significant national and international experiences.  She lived in Australia for one year in high school as a Rotary Exchange Student.  Her college career included one year in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill as a political science intern.  She graduated from college early, with high honors, and received a scholarship to attend Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.  While there, she was on the staff of the Criminal Law Review.  After graduation in 1976, she came to Alaska for a one-year internship with Supreme Court Justice Jay A. Rabinowitz, and she knew before arriving that she would stay. She has lived and practiced in Fairbanks, Kenai, and Anchorage, as an Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General, prosecuting all manner of criminal cases, including domestic violence, assaults, and child sexual abuse.  She focused for several years on drug prosecutions, and helped re-write Alaska’s criminal drug laws in the early 1980’s.  She represented Alaska in the Western States Information Network, an information-sharing group focused on eliminating illegal drug trafficking from 5 western states.  She trained as a trial advocate, and became an instructor in trial advocacy.  While in the District Attorney’s Offices and the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals (OSPA), she handled upwards of 150 jury trials, and dozens of appeals.  She traveled around the country in 1993 as the alternate member for Alaska House Speaker Ramona Barnes, a member of the President’s Commission on Model State Drug Laws.  From 1994 – 2001, she worked in the civil side of the state Attorney General’s Office, representing the Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED, now CSSD) in the Department of Revenue.  There, she gained a great deal of knowledge about the ins and outs of child support.   After retiring from the state, she entered private practice, and her entire focus has been on family law issues for the past 16 years.  She handles trials, settlements, administrative matters, and appeals with the knowledge, experience, and confidence of someone with 4 decades of legal experience in the Alaska court system.

Firm: Office of the Staff Judge Advocate

Fort Wainwright Law Center , Fairbanks , Alaska 99703

Practice Areas: Family

I have practiced law since 1994.  My legal career began as a military attorney in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, where I was a prosecutor and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.  I have been a civil litigation associate at a multi-state law firm, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alaska, and was a District Court Judge for the Alaska Court System from 2007 to 2011.  I was in private practice from 2011 to 2016 primarily emphasizing Family law.  I’ve been the Chief of Client Services at the Baumholder Law Center since 2016, and in 2018 I became the Chief of Client Services at the Fort Wainwright Law Center.. I enjoy working with diverse clients from all walks-of-life who are eligible for assistance under the Army’s Legal Assistance program, and am motivated by the day-to-day challenge and satisfaction of helping others navigate through the legal system to help bring closure to their legal problems.  I help my clients to troubleshoot, critically analyze, problem solve, strategically plan, negotiate and (if necessary) litigate to protect their legal rights and interests.. As a proud father of three, I actively participate in community events, and I devote my spare time to coaching children’s soccer, volunteering at my children’s school, carpentry, hiking, biking, grilling and spending time with my family, friends and neighbors.

Firm: Sato and Sato LLC

500 L St , Anchorage , Alaska 99501

Practice Areas: General Practice, Family, Family, Family

I came to Alaska in 1995 fresh out of lawschool with a plan to stay for a year and never left.  In 2007, my wife, Jeannie, and I started our own firm, focusing our practice on divorce and family law. One of the lessons I have learned over the years is the importantance of having a client focused legal strategy.  That is why I take the time to listen.

Firm: Law Office of Ryan R. Roley

8409 Mentra St , Anchorage , Alaska 99518

Practice Areas: Family

Firm: Ehrhardt, Kelley & Cooley

215 Fidalgo Ave Ste 201 , Kenai , Alaska 99611

Practice Areas: Family

Sean Kelley, Attorney at Law, graduated from Soldotna High School in 2001; University of Maryland, 2004; and went on to receive a full merit scholarship to attend New England School of Law. Sean graduated with his juris doctorate, cum laude, in 2009.. Sean has worked in family law practice, at an immigration law firm in Boston, at the Riverside County District Attorney’s office in California, and has experience working in the Oil & Gas industry traveling throughout Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas for various exploratory projects.. Sean is an enthusiastic advocate for his clients. Sean’s primary focus is criminal law and real estate transactions, but Sean also has experience handling a wide range of civil litigation. Sean’s casework includes contract cases, family law matters, criminal cases, F.E.D. actions, Foreclosures, and trespass actions – just to name a few. Outside of the courtroom, Sean excels at drafting and crafting real estate transaction documents; including but not limited to: covenants, restrictions, easements, deeds, security instruments, and business formation paperwork. Sean is licensed in Alaska and California.. On a personal level, Sean enjoys the Alaskan outdoors, including hiking, fishing, and all water related activities. As a child, Sean spent 4 years sailing from Florida to Australia with his family. Sean is also an avid sports fan and played football, basketball, and soccer in high school.