Not all attorneys are created equal. You know that, of course, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to just know who these superior attorneys are. Well, lucky for you – I’ll tell you.
The cream of the crop are often the attorneys who are selected to present continuing education classes (CLEs, we call them – for continuing legal education) to other local area attorneys. We all have to attend them; in fact, we’re required to have 12 hours of continuing education classes each year to keep our licenses current. That’s to ensure that we’re up to date on the latest changes in the law, and make sure that we keep our competitive edge.
But not all of us actually TEACH the CLEs. That’s an honor reserved for the best of the best – and it’s an honor that one of our own, Sheera Herrell, has recently received.
Sheera has taught CLEs before, but it’s an incredible honor each time. This time, as she presents at the Advanced Family Law CLE on Thursday, October 24th in Norfolk, she’ll be teaching on her favorite topic: divorce in cases where there are complicated assets.
In Virginia, it’s considered unethical to say that you are an “expert” or that you “specialize” in a particular area of law unless there’s a specifically designated legal specialty that you can earn. There are virtually no actual specialties available, and certainly none in family law. So while we can’t say that Sheera is an expert or a specialist when it comes to handling high asset divorces – there’s also no no question that, when it comes to these types of cases, Sheera is formidable.
Sheera is a Certified Financial Planner, too, so her knowledge of both the law and the financial side of things makes her a unique and valuable asset to have on your side. It probably also has something to do with why she was selected, amongst all the practitioners handling these cases in Virginia, to write and present this portion of the seminar in Norfolk.
What topics will Sheera be covering at the Advanced Family Law Seminar? I want to know if she’s the right person to handle my case.
Do you have a case coming up that has some complicated assets? Are you (and/or your husband) super high earners with a lot of property? Are you business owners? Is it looking like things are going to be pretty heavily litigated? Well, you’re in the right place.
Sheera will be speaking on a variety of topics, and her lecture will cover the following topics:
NAVIGATING COMPLEX ASSET CASES
Commingled Separate and Community Assets
Vacation Homes or Investment Real Estate Interests
Family Business Assets
Interests in Closely Held Corporations
Stock Option Compensation
Complex Retirement Plans
Financial Misconduct
Spotting Hidden Assets
Using Forensic Accountants and Business Valuation Experts
Enforceability of Prenuptial Agreements
As you can probably imagine, cases with these types of issues can get complicated – and confusing – quickly. And you don’t want a brand new attorney, or someone without experience handling these types of issues, fumbling their way through. You want someone with a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the issues involved; a close relationship with the best, most trial tested and most well respected experts on each particular issue (especially if they’re going to have to testify in court – that’s a well-honed art!); and who is experienced and comfortable in the courtroom.
There are all sorts of issues that can be involved in these types of cases, and, if you’re thinking that yours falls in this category, you’re right to think critically about who you’d hire and really prepare for whatever might come your way.
Sheera is also collaboratively trained, so she’s skillful in negotiating agreements outside of court as well –but, especially in cases where the assets are fairly complicated, it’s a good idea to keep in mind the possibility that you may have to go to court. Though that may mean that the collaborative path may not be the one for you(because in a collaborative divorce, you sign a pledge that you’ll stay out of court and, if you do end up litigating later on down the line, you have to retain new counsel), it’s a good idea to have a consultation with someone like Sheera who can help point you in the right direction based on the specific complexities of your situation.
What’s Sheera like to work with? An attorney that awesome sounds intimidating.
She does sound a little intimidating, doesn’t she? Her skill set is definitely a bit intimidating (which is what I imagine other attorneys think when they find out she’s on the other side!) but, as a person, she’s really approachable and easy to talk to. As you can probably imagine, in a family law case where you have to talk about pretty intimate details of your married life, it’s important to have someone who is easy to relate to.
Though she’s clever and definitely has a “legal brain”, she’s also a real person. She’s also a mom; she’s even a concert violinist who plays with Symphonicity, the Symphony Orchestra of Virginia Beach.
It’s important to have an attorney on your side who you like, who you can trust, and who you feel you can speak openly and candidly with, regardless of the circumstances.
What else can you tell me about Sheera?
So much! What else do you want to know?
She’s also really experienced in handling military divorce cases, and is one of the authors of our newest book on Virginia military divorce.
You can read her full bio here.
Want to see Sheera in action before you come in for a consultation? (Unless you’re a Virginia attorney, the CLE wouldn’t be all that useful for you.) Sheera teaches our Second Saturday seminars on a rotating basis with the other attorneys in our firm; give our office a call at 757-425-5200 to find out when the next date she’ll be presenting, and be sure to attend! (Bring your questions, too!)
If you just want to meet her and don’t necessarily need to learn more about divorce and custody cases in Virginia, why not come to our Girl’s Night Out events? We host them fairly regularly at cool venues all over Hampton Roads, and Sheera is almost always in attendance. You can get a sense of her as a person (you’ll love her!) even though this isn’t a time for chatting about cases; we try to keep it light and fun and social.
Sheera is the owner of the firm, and our principal attorney. She’s been with the firm, representing women exclusively, for twenty plus years, too.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with Sheera, give our office a call at 757-425-5200, and be sure to congratulate her on being selected to speak on such an important (and complicated) topic at the Advanced Family Law CLE in Norfolk in October!
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