Dade County Family Court Appeals Lawyers

Miami FL Family Law Appellate Attorneys

Attorney Lisa Marie Vari is an experienced legal researcher, writer, and family court appellate attorney. While attending Duquesne University School of Law, Ms. Vari received numerous honors for her legal research and writing skills. Ms. Vari was selected to become a member of Duquesne University Law Review, an honor bestowed to the top twenty percent of each law school class based upon academic achievement on written examinations. In addition, Ms. Vari was selected to be a Research Assistant to one of the School’s law professors and was also selected to be a Teaching Assistant for the first-year students’ Legal Research & Writing class. Further, Ms. Vari won first prize in the intraschool Appellate Tax Moot Court competition which involved researching and writing a legal brief on a federal tax issue followed by oral argument of the position advocated in the brief. Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, Ms. Vari was recommended by one of her law professors to be a Legal Intern for the late Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Ralph Cappy. During this position, Ms. Vari performed legal research and wrote draft opinions on various appellate legal issues that were pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The opportunity to work behind the scenes with an appellate court was invaluable experience in Ms. Vari’s legal training.

Ms. Vari’s legal research and writing skills were further developed when she served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Administrative Judge of the Family Court of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In that position, Attorney Lisa Marie Vari observed family court trials and other proceedings, performed research on family law issues, and wrote draft opinions for the Family Court Judge. Her employer, Judge Max Baer, was elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2003.

After leaving Justice Baer’s employment, Attorney Vari has provided appellate representation to several private family law clients. The appellate family law case that Ms. Vari is most proud of is the case of K.B., II, K.B, and B.B. v. C.B.F. Ms. Vari was not trial counsel but was hired as appellate legal counsel. Ms. Vari’s client was a mother who was employed as an exotic dancer and who had lost primary physical custody of her minor child to the child’s paternal grandparents. During the trial, the court-appointed psychologist testified that the mother was a fit parent but nevertheless the trial court awarded custody to the grandparents.

One and one-half years after the trial court awarded custody to the child’s grandparents, the Pennsylvania Superior Court rendered its opinion returning the child to his mother. The Superior Court’s opinion quoted extensively from the brief prepared by Attorney Vari. The victory created a media frenzy with numerous newspapers, news stations, legal publications and network television stations seeking comments and interviews from Ms. Vari and her client.

Despite the victory, Ms. Vari believed that this case provided the right set of facts that could be argued to fix a perceived wrong in the Pennsylvania Grandparent Visitation laws. Ms. Vari agreed to take the case pro bono on appeal to the PA Supreme Court to attempt to correct that perceived flaw. After winning the right to proceed before the PA high court, the case was dismissed after oral argument on the appellate brief because Ms. Vari’s client had won at the intermediate court.

Ms. Vari has provided legal representation to several other family law clients who wished to appeal their PA family law orders. Such appellate issues included matters involving grandparents’ rights, the legal rights of parents when a parent is called to active duty in the military, domestic violence issues and the rights of the long-time custodian of a minor child when the mother is declared unfit.

Contact Our Miami-Dade County Divorce Court Appeals Lawyers

Put Attorney Lisa Marie Vari’s education and experience as a former judicial intern and law clerk as well as an experienced appellate attorney to work for you in your appeal of Florida family law orders of the court. If you have a Final Judgment from a Florida family law issue that you believe is incorrect, contact our Miami Family Law Appellate Attorneys at (412) 231-9786 or send us an email.

Our Florida family law appellate law firm is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida in downtown Miami and is open daily from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday except during holidays.

Consultations are available in person at our downtown Miami law office and at several meeting locations throughout Dade and Broward Counties including Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Galiano Street in Coral Gables, West Country Club Drive in Aventura, Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood and in the Homestead area. Appointments are also available by telephone and via Skype internet video chat.

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If you would like more information on family law topics, read the topics in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).