VALERIE STEINER: PARTNER, STEINER, HOWETH, PASQUESI & HATCH, LTD.

Valerie Steiner, a partner at the woman-owned Steiner, Howeth, Pasquesi & Hatch Ltd. family law firm, has built a reputation for equipping her clients with the tools they need for their divorce, supporting and guiding them through the process, and advocating fiercely on their behalf. Steiner also empathizes with her clients. “People come to me at a point where they are going through tremendous change,” she adds. “On top of the stress with the ending of a marriage, the process of divorce requires a lot of task management, and it can feel overwhelming.”

In her practice, Steiner equips her clients for their divorce by helping them predict and prepare for the ways that life will change. She also helps clients understand their case and provides them with realistic expectations about what “equitable division” might look like for them. “I have seen situations where attorneys painted an unrealistically rosy picture of what to expect from their divorce settlement,” Steiner explains. “It leads to disappointment, anger, and quite frankly, to higher attorneys’ fees.”

While Steiner endeavors to simplify the divorce process for her clients, she notes that the process of helping them navigate the complexity and confusion of financial and custodial disputes is anything but simple. “The evidence presented during a divorce often covers the majority of a person’s life,” says Steiner, who has been licensed in Michigan since 2005 and Illinois since 2008. “The subparts of divorce are complex and can involve mental health issues including addiction, international law, valuation of businesses and other assets, analysis of complex compensation structures, questions of constitutional law, and tax issues.”

Steiner expertly manages this complexity and works with her clients to develop specific strategies to achieve their goals—whether that means reaching resolution through settlement or taking a case to trial. Steiner emphasizes, “A single fact can change the course of your case. This is why it is important to really study the individual aspects of my client’s case and to develop trust, so that together we can develop specific strategies to achieve their goals.” She focuses on problem solving and finding solutions to help her clients achieve what is best for them. “I live by the mantra, ‘To be direct is to be kind’,” Steiner explains. “I carry that forward to my relationships with my clients, and it enables us as a team to develop the best possible strategies to achieve their goals.”

For more information, visit lakeshorelawyers.com/steiner.