Hastings Shadmehry LLC

Attorney Amy Waggoner

Amy focuses solely on the practice of Family Law. She handles divorce, child custody and support, paternity, legitimation cases, simple wills, adoption, and counsels clients in premarital planning and in preparing Prenuptial Agreements, Domestic Partnership Agreements, and dissolutions, and is certified as a Collaborative Law attorney. Amy serves as a Guardian ad Litem to protect the interests of children who are involved in contested custody matters. She lectures on family law issues at events sponsored by the church, civic, and business organizations, and volunteers her time on behalf of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, assisting low-income litigants in domestic relations matters.

Bar Admissions:

• Georgia, 1995
• Tennessee, 1995
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 1997
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, 1997
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 2005
• Georgia Supreme Court, 2005

Education:

• Juris Doctor, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, Georgia, 1995
• B.A., Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee, 1985

Attorney Andrea Dyer Hastings

Andrea (“Andee”) focuses solely on the practice of Family Law. She handles divorce, separate maintenance, child custody, and child support, alimony, modification actions, contempt, domestic violence, paternity, and legitimation cases, counsels clients in premarital planning and preparing Prenuptial Agreements, Postnuptial Agreements, Settlement Agreements, Separation Agreements, name change, Domestic Partnership Agreements and dissolutions, mediation, case evaluation, and is certified as a Collaborative Law attorney. Andee has significant experience in handling complex domestic litigation cases, and she brings that experience to each and every case she handles, for the benefit of her clients.

Andee is trained as a Guardian ad Litem, specializing in protecting the interests of children who are involved in contested custody matters. Andee is a trained and certified domestic Mediator. She lectures on Family Law issues at events sponsored by the church, civic, and business organizations. Andee also volunteers her time mentoring high school, college, and law school students competing in Mock Trial events and honing their skills as future lawyers and advocates.

Bar Admissions:

• Georgia, 1997
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 2001
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia, 2002
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 1998
• Georgia Supreme Court, 2005

Education:

• School One, Degree, Year
• School Two, Degree, Year

Certifications:

• Trained Mediator, State of Georgia, 2010
• Family Law Mediator, State of Georgia, 2010
• Trained in Collaborative Practice by the Collaborative Law Institute of Georgia, 2006
• P.O.S.T. Certified Expert in Domestic Violence (Training and Evidence collection)

Attorney Mali C. Shadmehry

Mali specializes solely in the area of Family Law and has done so since she began practicing. She handles divorce, separate maintenance, child custody and child support, alimony, modification actions, contempt, domestic violence (including TPO’s and stalking protective order cases), paternity and legitimation cases, counsels clients in premarital planning and preparing Prenuptial Agreements, Postnuptial Agreements, Settlement Agreements, Separation Agreements, name change, Domestic Partnership Agreements and dissolutions, and mediation.

Mali has settled and tried cases in numerous jurisdictions throughout Georgia and is extremely passionate about serving and protecting her clients and their children. Mali speaks on panels related to Family Law and enjoys serving her community in doing so.

Bar Admissions:

• Georgia, 2015
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 2016
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 2016
• Georgia Supreme Court, 2016

Education:

• Emory University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2015
• Kennesaw State University, Bachelor of Science, 2011

Attorney Asha Heyward-James

Asha Heyward-James is a Georgia native, with roots in both Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. Asha received her B.A. in International Relations with an emphasis in Political Economy from University of Southern California and her J.D. from the Georgia State University College of Law. While in law school, Asha was treasurer for the Student Bar Association and was a pupil of the Charles Weltner Family Law Inn of Court. Additionally, Asha externed with Atlanta Legal Aid Health Law Unit to provide general legal services and estate planning services to clients suffering with cancer or HIV/AIDS. Under the third-year practice act, Asha represented survivors of domestic violence to assist them in obtaining protective orders.

Asha exclusively practices family law, assisting clients with a full range of family law issues, including divorce, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, custody issues, child support, alimony, contempt, paternity, and legitimation. Asha has always had a passion for family law and works to provide every client with compassionate support during their time of need.

When Asha is not practicing law, she enjoys traveling, cooking, watching football, and spending time with her dog, Nash.

Bar Admissions:

• State of Georgia, 2021
• Supreme Court of Georgia, 2021
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 2021

Education:

• Georgia State University College of Law, Juris Doctor, 2020
• University of Southern California, Bachelor of Arts, 2015

Professional Memberships and Achievements:

• State Bar of Georgia
  
  • Family Law Section
  • Sports & Entertainment Sections

Attorney Shantanece Ellis

Family law allows Metro-Atlanta divorce attorney Shantanece Ellis to help people during some of their most difficult moments and advocate on their behalf. She considers it her job to lighten their load by handling the litigation part of their family law issues. Shantanece understands divorce is never an easy time, but she is there to help in any way she can.

Shantanece is a zealous advocate for her clients and realistic when it comes to possible outcomes of their cases. Her goal is to make their lives better than before she started working on their case. She can’t solve all of your problems, but will work tirelessly to fix as many as she can.

Shantanece is an Indiana native with a passion for Family law. During law school, Shantanece provided services for a nonprofit that aided victims of domestic violence in emergency family law situations.

Bar Admissions:

• Georgia, 2020

Education:

• Maurer School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2020
• Indiana University-Bloomington, Bachelor of Arts, 2017

Attorney Caitlyn Hood

Caitlyn exclusively devotes her practice to the area of Family Law, having zealously and successfully represented hundreds of clients in various domestic cases over the years. Caitlyn has experience with a variety of domestic matters including divorce, post-divorce modification and enforcement, child support and alimony, paternity and legitimization, pre/post-nuptial agreements, separate maintenance, contempt actions, family violence/temporary protective orders, actions to set aside divorce decrees, and appeals. As a product of divorce and a “Parenting Plan” herself, Caitlyn draws on unique experiences and insight to find creative solutions for divorcing families in crisis. In each and every case, Caitlyn sincerely dedicates herself to understanding and achieving the client’s goals. From beginning to end, Caitlyn keeps a constant focus on finding solutions for her clients, their families, and their finances as quickly, cost-effectively, and amicably as possible.

Bar Admissions:

• Georgia, 2016
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 2020
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 2020

Education:

• Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law, 2014
• University of Georgia, B.A., 2012