Our former managing partner, Kristen D. Hofheimer, passed away in January of 2019 following a long battle with breast cancer. For many of us – myself included – Kristen was more than just a coworker; she was a mentor and a friend. She was also one of the leading forces that drove much of our mission-based work with protective moms, fighting against child abuse, and working towards equal protection under the law for same sex couples.
Her loss hit us extremely hard. In some ways, though we knew she was fighting for her life, we wondered if something like cancer could really take her away from us.
And yet – it did.
To honor Kristen’s memory, and to ensure that her legacy remains at the forefront of the work that we’re doing and continue to do, we launched the Kristen D. Hofheimer Memorial Scholarship Competition that same year.
For the first few years, we worked through a couple of different themes, but – in the last few years – we’ve settled on ‘straighten those crowns,’ something that, I think, exemplifies who Kristen was. She was always one to encourage other women and to celebrate their victories. For me, she was the first person to give me a huge hug the moment I found out that I had passed the Virginia Bar exam. She was also the one who was sitting beside me at my first ever trial.
I’ll always be grateful for her. I’ll never stop talking about her and the indelible impact she made on me.
And, to the extent that we are able, as a firm we plan to continue pushing forward Kristen’s vision by sponsoring our annual scholarship program. It – sort of uniquely – is designed for non-traditional women students; women who are going back to school, or maybe even going for the first time, without going straight through from high school to college. It isn’t even necessarily a scholarship for women going to college. Vocational, trade programs, and other certifications qualify, too. The main goal is to help enrich and support women as they better their futures for themselves and their children.
To straighten their crowns.
This year, our scholarship competition was one of the best ever, with our amazing scholarship contestants receiving – in some cases – literally thousands of votes from all across the country. Other people literally helping these women, in real time, straighten their crowns! It was such an empowering thing to see.
We will announce our scholarship winners on our social media channels LATER TODAY, so definitely stay tuned – and, in the meantime, check out our website to see the real videos submitted by our real, live scholarship contestants. Who knows? Maybe it’ll inspire you to create your own video submission for next year’s scholarship competition.
Let us help you straighten your crown, too.
And Kristen? Though I can’t ask her anymore, I know she’d be so proud to have her name attached to such a meaningful program. She’d also probably be more than a little embarassed, because she was never one who wanted to hog the spotlight. Her work was important to her, but it wasn’t done for the sake of publicity; she was content to work quietly in the background, inching ever closer to her own goals and the goals she set for her own clients (many of whom she represented pro bono).
Thank you so much to everyone who participated, everyone who voted, and everyone who allows us to carry Kristen’s name forward into the future. We’re really proud of what her legacy has allowed us to achieve.
For more information, to request a copy of one of our free books and reports (some of which are still Kristen’s original work!), or to register to attend a divorce or custody seminar, visit hoflaw.com or give us a call at 757-425-5200.