Four seasoned family lawyers have formed a brand new firm, Elovitz, Edwards, O’Nan & Bauerlein, saying they shared a comparable philosophy to practicing law.
Asked to describe their method in what can regularly be contentious divorce and custody instances, Austin Bauerlein replied that he and his partners—Rachel Elovitz, Regina Edwards, and Gillian O’Nan—take a long-term view of households properly-being after the felony court cases.
“We are doing what we will preserve events’ capability on the way to cope after a divorce,” Bauerlein said.
“A lot of family lawyers pass scorched-earth right out of the gate,” he explained. “We suppose extra lengthy-time period. Our client goes to should address this character for the relaxation in their child’s life. I assume lots of lawyers neglect that—the huge picture.”
As can be the case at smaller firms, workplace space performed a position in Elovitz, Edwards, O’Nan & Buerlein’s formation.
Elovitz and O’Nan had been practicing collectively at Elovitz O’Nan considering that 2014 and had added a partner, Kelley Webb. They decided they wished greater space, and a few had to emerge as available of their building at 38 Old Ivy Road in south Buckhead, in which the brand new company now occupies the whole second round.
The companions had been speaking me with Edwards, an established solo own family law practitioner, approximately joining them once they found out that Bauerlein became making plans to depart an established Marietta company, Browning & Smith, to begin his practice.
“A bunch of moving elements got here together at the equal time,” Elovitz said.
“We put the pieces together—and realized we might want to merge and transition into new space as a brand new company,” stated O’Nan, the coping with a partner for Elovitz, Edwards, O’Nan & Bauerlein, which released in January.
Shared Values
The four have had instances in opposition to every other over the years. Elovitz and O’Nan stated they determined that they shared equal values after meeting through a contentious child custody case six years in the past.
O’Nan, who in 2013 had merely left the circle of relatives regulation firm Levine, Smith, Snider & Wilson to begin her very own save, stated she become representing a father who’d taken off for Europe together with his infant without telling the child’s mom, who was described by way of Elovitz, a solo circle of relatives lawyer since 2001. The mother and father had never married.
Two days after getting into an appearance for the daddy, O’Nan said, she withdrew from the case. She’d found out from smartphone conversations with Elovitz that the daddy had lied to her about the instances.
“Some of the greatest days of my prison career have been taking flight from a case,” O’Nan stated with amusement, adding that she’d fired some customers when they “were not in keeping with my values.”
That made an impression on Elovitz. “This was a truly moral lawyer,” she said. “I loved that—and we stayed in contact.”
The two consulted informally over the smartphone on cases, Elovitz stated, still figuring out in mid-2014 to emerge as regulation companions.
Elovitz stated that she and O’Nan invited Edwards and Bauerlein to sign up for their company due to their comparable outlook.
“One of the matters I like about Austin is that he is straightforward to get at the side of at the same time as nevertheless performing as a strong endorse for his clients,” she said.
“Regina may be as tough as nails while she wishes to be,” Elovitz introduced. “If the opposite legal professional is unreasonable, she can reduce thru that.”
Bauerlein stated that after ten years in an exercise, he had developed a self-maintaining activity. “It was time to make a soar,” he said. “I got here up with a brief list of legal professionals that I desired to exercise with and met with Gillian and Rachel. The next factor I knew, I changed into a company with four girls.”
Edwards had run her keep because of 2006. “The existence of a solo maybe lonely,” she defined. “I’d call Gillian to bop off thoughts, and I concept it might be excellent to have partners, so we ought to paintings on every others’ cases and proportion advice.”
Elovitz, Edwards, O’Nan & Bauerlein handles all aspects of family regulation, representing each male and females. Bauerlein said the four companions are experienced with complicated baby-custody instances and that everyone has dealt with divorces regarding estates of more than $25 million.
The companions declined to name clients. “You’re no longer going to look us at the information speak about our clients,” Edwards said. “But we’ve represented a few excessive-profile athletes and entertainers.”
Along with excessive-internet-well worth clients, Bauerlein said, the company represents “people from all walks of life and backgrounds.”
The four deal with cases statewide, however in the main in Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties. Collectively, Bauerlein stated, they have sixty-four years of blended enjoy and feature seemed in approximately 1,500 court hearings in Georgia.
Elovitz and O’Nan also function as guardians ad litem and, like Edwards, mediate divorce and domestic violence cases.