Adoption Law Masterclass: Strategies for Complex Cases and Diverse Families

Colleen Quinn | Quinn Law Centers

Honored as 2024 President of the Virginia Law Foundation (2021 Fellow), and in the inaugural 2019 Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly Influential Women in Virginia (VA Lawyer Weekly), & Best Lawyers in America” (U.S. News & World Report 2015-24), AAAA 2018 “President’s Award,” 2017 “Adoption Attorney of the Year” (Lawyers Monthly magazine), 2017 MRWBA Women of Achievement Award, 2016 Richmond NAWBO “Entrepreneur of the Year” award, 2015 Virginia State Bar Family Law Service award, “Virginia’s Top Rated Lawyers” (2012-20) by Law.com and Legal Leaders, “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” by National Trial Lawyers (2012-18), the 2011 YWCA Outstanding Woman Award for Law & Government, the 2011 “Hats Off to Women Award” by the ABWA Cavalier Chapter, “Super Lawyers” Top 100 (2019-24, 2013, 2012))/Top 50 (2011) in Virginia, Top 50 (2012-24)/Top 25 (2010 & 2011) Female in Virginia, and Top 50 (2019-24, 2013)/Top 25 (2012)(Richmond), by Richmond magazine, Virginia’s “Legal Elite” (Virginia Business, 2019-24, 2010-17, 2005), VLW 2009 “Leader in the Law 2008 Congressional “Angels in Adoption” award, and a “Super Lawyer” by Richmond magazine (2006-24), Colleen Marea Quinn owns the Quinn Law Centers (“Best Law Firms in America” 2023-24 (US News & World Report) and is a former partner of Locke & Quinn (Trial Lawyers Board of Regents “2015 Litigator Award” (on CNN) and “Best LawFirms” 2015-22 ).

She maintains an “AV” rating, the highest given, by Martindale Hubbell by both peers and the judiciary and & Client Champion rating by clients. She is the Founder and Host of the “Raising the Bar” Greater RVA Law Talk Radio Show. The Law Centers include Women’s Injury, Personal Injury & Employment, Adoption & Surrogacy, Family & Estate Planning and the QLC Internship program.

Quinn practices personal injury, medical malpractice, employment, family formation (adoption & surrogacy), guardianship and estate planning law, is admitted to the practice in all state and federal courts in Virginia, and she has a background in commercial litigation and insurance coverage.

Quinn graduated from the University of Virginia (JD 1988) and William and Mary (BA 1985) and served as Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Harry L. Carrico, Chief Justice, Virginia Supreme Court 1988. She is a Fellow and 2016-17 President of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (“AAAA”) having served on the AAAA Board from 2007-11 & 2013-18 and in numerous Officer, Chair and Conference Chair positions.

She serves/has served on numerous Boards: VA Law Foundation (President, various Chairs), Boyd-Graves Conference, VA Family Law Coalition, National Assoc of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Richmond Chapter (Past-President), Richmond NAWBO Foundation Board (Past-Secretary, Women of Excellence Co-Chair four years), Metropolitan Richmond Women Bar Association (Past-President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, JCE Chair), Richmond Women’s Business Consortium (Past-Chairman), Family Formation Charitable Trust (2016-2018), Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (Employment/Civil Rights Section Co-Chair 2012-14, 1999-01, Public Affairs Co-Chair 2011-12, Pro Bono Co-Chair 2010-2011, Diversity Chair 2003-04, CLE, Convention, Amicus, Insurance, and Long Range Plan Amicus Committees), Creating a Family Board (2013-16), United Way Women’s Leadership Council (2012-17), CW of VA Girl Scouts Board (2014+, Treasurer), and the Richmond YWCA (Past-President, Advisory Council).

Ms. Quinn is a member of the LGBT Bar Family Law Institute, VEBA, ACLU, Equality VA and Gay RVA. She is a member of ASRM, ABA, RBA, VSB, and the AAJ. She speaks and publishes frequently with over 500 presentations and publications. She contributes/has contributed to AHA Go Red for Women (Executive Leadership Team; Ruby/COR Vitae), VSDV Action Alliance, Petersburg Domestic Violence Task Force, LINC, is a 1996 graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond, and a Lifetime Girl Scout member. She loves to scuba dive, plays tennis/pickleball, cycle, mountain biking and teaches aerobics.

Dana Eberle | CLLB Law

Dana is a native of Southern Indiana and is deeply devoted to Kentuckiana. After spending most of her life in Floyds Knobs, she has also lived in Greenville, New Albany, and Georgetown. Allowing Dana to become familiar with every town of Floyd County. She oversees the Family Law practice area for CLLB, and she firmly believes that helping families is her destiny.

“Being able to help families heal is my biggest reward. In most cases, I’m working with a broken family. Whether it’s a divorce or child custody case, when a client thanks me afterward for helping them through a difficult time – that makes it all worth it.”

Dana describes family law as “very nuanced, very fact dependent.” She says a big part of her job is to advocate aggressively on her clients’ behalf but also to help manage their expectations. She always focuses on what’s best for the children involved. She is highly experienced at working toward legal solutions that offer the best outcomes possible.

“I say to my clients, ‘I will fight for you, and I will fight for your kids like they’re mine.’ I do what I need to do to help my client. I will also tell them when I think they’re wrong.”

Having gone through two divorces herself, Dana feels she brings a special nuance to her family law cases. Through her firsthand experience with the emotional, legal, and financial complexities of divorce, she has gained an empathetic understanding of her clients’ challenges. This personal insight enables her to approach each case with a heightened sensitivity and a practical understanding of the issues at stake. In short: she gets it! Whether you’re the wife or the husband, the mother or the father, Dana understands what you’re going through. She knows how it feels to have your family turned upside down, to worry about how it’s affecting the kids, to stress over the financial implications – to experience a profound sense of loss.

Dana makes it her mission to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes inherent in family law proceedings. She vows that what went wrong for her won’t go wrong for you. She wants your process – whether it’s divorce, paternity, guardianship or adoption – to be as pain-free as possible. Family law is never easy, but Dana will be there for you through the entire process, and a box of tissues is never far away. She prides herself on making sure her clients fully understand the process and the possibilities. Having navigated the intricacies of divorce herself, she can offer valuable guidance, strategic insights, and realistic expectations to her clients — making her a well-suited and relatable advocate during a challenging period in her clients’ lives.

“Because I went through it myself, I know how heartbreaking it is. I worry about my clients; I think about them when I’m making breakfast; I think about them when I go to bed at night. As an attorney, I can’t turn it off because these cases are always emotional.”

From Floyd Central High School to University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and everywhere in between, Dana is rooted in Kentuckiana, and she is committed to serving the legal needs of residents. Being an attorney was always a goal for her, but she didn’t begin her legal career until after working in many other capacities, including international customer service representative at UPS, marketing manager, stay-at-home mom and Weight Watchers Leader. She’s immensely human and, therefore, very approachable and compassionate.

“We live in the community, and it’s a big deal to our clients that our firm is local. Growing up here, I knew many of the judges and attorneys before I went to law school.”

Dana graduated from law school in 2013 and then joined Church, Langdon, Lopp, Banet Law soon after passing the Indiana Bar. She passed the Kentucky Bar in 2015. When she’s not in the office or driving to court hours away to stand up for her clients, she’s spending time with her sons Grant and Aidan, or reading a book, or traveling. Her passion is off-roading in her prized Jeep, which she describes as “all beefed up. It’s my baby.” Dana says off-roading is her stress reliever.

“I love the mud, I love the rocks, I love all of it. That’s the one place I’m not thinking about anything else except being off-road.”

Session I – Securing Adoption Placements: Legal Strategies for Handling Complex Cases | 12:00pm – 3:20pm

• Addressing prerequisites, consent, revocation periods, and termination of parental rights

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

• Contested adoptions: Strategies for negotiation, mediation, and litigation
• Post-adoption issues: Resolving disputes and enforcing agreements

Break | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

• Interstate and international adoptions: Managing legal compliance and jurisdictional challenges

Break | 3:20pm – 3:30pm

Session II – Unmarried Couples and Same-Sex Adoptions: Navigating Complex Legal and Practical Issues | 3:30pm – 4:00pm

• Legal Challenges for Unmarried Couples and Same-Sex Partners in Adoption
• Navigating Complex Adoption Requirements and Compliance
• Strategies for Overcoming Adoption Hurdles and Protecting Parental Rights