Kristen D. Hofheimer Scholarship - Hofheimer Family Law Firm

Kristen D. Hofheimer Memorial Scholarship Overview

“Be the woman who straightens another woman’s crown without telling the world it was crooked.” – Unknown

We have two $1,000 scholarships to award to deserving women who have exemplified our theme, “Straighten Those Crowns”.
We’re looking for Virginia women who are looking to go to (or go back to) school to get a degree, certificate, or other certification that will allow them to better their personal and financial situation.
We open the scholarship campaign to nominations on April 15th – Kristen’s birthday! You’ll be able to enter – or nominate a deserving woman – until May 31st, when we’ll close the portal.
From among the entries we receive, we’ll select semifinalists, who’ll be eligible to submit a video essay of more than thirty seconds but no more than two minutes in length. The top 3-5 submissions will be ‘finalists’, who will be featured on our website and social media pages for ‘American Idol’ style voting – the two who receive the most votes from the public will win the scholarships!
Chances of winning depend on the number of entries received. The final selections will be made by July 31st.

What are you looking for when you say “Straighten Those Crowns”?

We’re a family law firm that represents women exclusively in divorce, custody, and support cases. We’ve built our careers on encouraging, supporting, and educating women – and Kristen really exemplified this mission. There are a million examples in popular culture of how we pit women against each other, tear each other down, and view each other as competition. In a world where there aren’t enough opportunities for women at the top, it’s tempting to feel like other women are to blame, or that another successful woman will impact our chances to get where we need to be. You see it all the time. It’s Kate versus Meghan (or, to take their proper titles, the Princess of Wales versus the Duchess of Sussex), its Bette or Joan, it’s Nancy Kerrigan versus Tanya Harding… maybe those are bad examples, because as often as it happens in pop culture, it happens even more in our daily lives.

We’re hoping to hear some stories that exemplify this – of women lifting each other up, supporting each other, and encouraging each other. We want to hear about it!

2020 Kristen D. Hofheimer Scholarship Winner

2021 Kristen D. Hofheimer Scholarship Winner

2022 Kristen D. Hofheimer Scholarship Winner

Who was Kristen D. Hofheimer and what is the scholarship?

Kristen D. Hofheimer was an attorney in our office – and the owner of Hofheimer Family Law Firm – before she passed away from breast cancer in early 2019. She had taken over ownership of the firm after her dad, Charlie Hofheimer, retired a few years prior.

Kristen was an incredible attorney and an even better friend. After she passed away, we were heartbroken, and we wanted to do something to pay tribute to her memory. The Kristen D. Hofheimer Memorial Scholarship was born.

Kristen was a great believer in education; in fact, despite having received a full scholarship to the University of Richmond for law school, she wanted to attend the University of Virginia. She attended as a single mother, often bringing her son, Shay, to classes with her, and forming a babysitting co-op with several of the other law student moms. She co-wrote an article in the law review on breastfeeding, and joined the firm (alongside her dad and current firm owner, Sheera Herrell) after graduation.

She worked in the firm until her retirement in 2017, but in that time worked tirelessly representing women exclusively in divorce, custody, and support. She worked with a number of different causes to protect abused children, to support protective moms, and to promote gender and marriage equality.

After she passed away, we wanted to do something that both honored her and stayed true to our mission of supporting, educating, and empowering women. A scholarship competition seemed like the perfect fit, so we launch it each year on her birthday (April 15th)!

I’ve got more questions! Who can I contact?

If you have questions or need additional information regarding Hofheimer Family Law Firm, you may contact Katie Carter at kcarter@hoflaw.com.