Livesay & Myers

The divorce attorneys at Livesay & Myers represent clients in Manassas, Woodbridge, Prince William County, Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Fairfax and Fairfax County, Alexandria, Arlington, and all of Northern Virginia.


The lawyers at Livesay & Myers, P.C. are experienced in handling every sort of family law matter in the Commonwealth of Virginia

PRACTICE AREAS

• MILITARY DIVORCE
• CIVILIAN DIVORCE
• CHILD CUSTODY AND VISITATION
• CHILD SUPPORT
• EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION
• SEPARATION AGREEMENTS
• PROTECTIVE ORDERS
• PREMARITAL AGREEMENTS
• ANNULMENTS
• ADOPTIONS
• NAME CHANGES

ATTORNEYS

James Livesay

Attorney James Livesay is the lead Family Law attorney at Livesay & Myers, P.C. After graduating from the prestigious University of Virginia School of Law in 1998, Mr. Livesay served in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps from 1998-2001, where he received the Award for Trial Advocacy from The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on Military Affairs and Justice, in 1998. He went on to receive Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals in 2000 and 2001 (Gold Star in Lieu of Second Award).

Along with partner Kevin Myers, Mr. Livesay formed Livesay & Myers, P.C. in 2003, when the firm opened its first office in Woodbridge, Virginia. The firm has grown steadily since, and now encompasses a team of 9 lawyers and 7 paralegals across offices in Fredericksburg, Fairfax and Manassas, Virginia.

Drawing on his experience as a Navy JAG officer, James Livesay established the Military Divorce section of the firm in 2003 and has guided it since that time. His article, "Treatment of Disability Pay in Military Divorce," has been published on a number of online divorce websites, including Divorce Headquarters, DivorceNet, and WomansDivorce.com.

Mr. Livesay also personally handles all new no-fault, Uncontested Divorces for the firm.

In 2006, Mr. Livesay received the prestigious BV® Peer Review Rating* from Martindale-Hubbell. The BV rating is the maximum rating a lawyer can receive who has been admitted to the bar from 5-9 years. [*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.]

James Livesay resides in Fredericksburg with his wife and three children. He works out of the firm's offices in Fredericksburg and Manassas, and represents clients throughout Northern Virginia.

Bar Admissions:
Virginia State Bar, 1998
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, 2003
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia, 2003
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 2006
U.S. Supreme Court, 2006

Professional Memberships and Associations:
Military Officers Association of America, 2003 - Present
Fredericksburg Area Bar Association, 2004 - Present
University of Virginia Alumni Association, 2003 - Present

Professional Experience:
Livesay & Myers, P.C., Partner, 2003 - Present
Osborne|Craig, P.L.C., Manassas, Virginia, Associate Attorney, 2001 - 2003
Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia, Assistant Force Judge Advocate, 2000 - 2001
Navy Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, Defense Counsel, 1999 - 2000

Law School:University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1998 (Member, Editorial Board of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics)

College: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, B.A., 1995 (Recipient, Virginia Tech Joseph Bernd Award, Best Paper in Political Science, 1995)

Military: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, 1998-2001. Born: Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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Georgia Hamilton

Attorney Georgia Hamilton practices Family Law, Military Divorce, Business Litigation, Landlord-Tenant Law and Personal Injury Law at Livesay & Myers, P.C. She is one of the most experienced litigators in the firm, having handled cases in state and federal courts in several states.

Ms. Hamilton's family law practice is comprehensive, covering Divorce, Custody and Visitation, Protective Orders and Separation Agreements, with a special emphasis on Military Divorce cases.

In her extensive Business Litigation practice, Ms. Hamilton represents businesses, franchisors, franchisees, and individuals in commercial disputes in state and federal courts, before administrative bodies, and through mediation and arbitration. In one high profile case, Ms. Hamilton provided defense of property damage claims brought against a major Virginia power company.

Finally, Ms. Hamilton also has an extensive background in Landlord-Tenant Law and general civil litigation, as well as Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death cases.

Bar Admissions:
Virginia State Bar, 2003
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, 2005
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 2005
U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia, 2009

Professional Memberships and Associations:
Virginia Bar Association
Richmond Bar Association

Professional Experience:
Livesay & Myers, P.C., Associate Attorney, 2010 - Present
O'Hagan Spencer LLP, Associate Attorney, 2009 - 2010
Setliff & Holland, PC, Associate Attorney, 2007 - 2009
McGuireWoods, LLP, Associate Attorney, 2005 - 2007
The Honorable Frederick P. Stamp, United States District Court, Northern District of West Virginia (Fourth Circuit), Law Clerk, 2003 - 2005

Law School:University of Richmond School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2003

Honors and Activities:
University of Richmond Law Review, Executive Editor, published article in 36 Univ. Rich. L. Rev. 481 (2002);
Virginia State Bar, Family Law Section Certificate of Achievement;
Bergstrom Child Law Fellowship, University of Michigan School of Law, Summer 2002;
CALI Awards for Academic Excellence for Contracts and Criminal Procedure; McNeill Law Society; Virginia Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division.

College: University of Virginia, B.A., 1999

Honors and Activities:
Psi Chi – National Honor Fraternity for Psychology Majors; Estes A. Vaughan Scholarship.

Born: Fredericksburg, Virginia

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Matthew H. Smith

Matthew Smith practices exclusively Family Law at Livesay & Myers, P.C. He works out of the firm's offices in Fairfax and Manassas, Virginia, and represents clients all across Northern Virginia.

Mr. Smith is the attorney in the firm most experienced in navigating the Fairfax County family courts. He has experience with every type of family law matter in the courts of Fairfax, Prince William and surrounding jurisdictions, including divorce, equitable distribution, support, and custody cases.

Born in Washington, D.C., Mr. Smith attended the prestigious Washington College of Law at American University in Washington. He now lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Mr. Smith writes about Family Law, Custody and Divorce for The Virginia Lawyers Blog.

In his off time, Mr. Smith enjoys teaching English as a Second Language.

Practice Areas: Divorce, Family Law, Custody and Visitation, Child Support, Military Divorce

Bar Admissions:
Virginia State Bar, 2005
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2006
District of Columbia, 2007

Professional Memberships and Associations:
American Bar Association, 2006 - Present
Arlington County Bar Association, 2005 - Present
Fairfax Bar Association, 2005 - Present

Professional Experience:
Livesay & Myers, P.C., Associate Attorney, 2010 - Present
Condo Kelly & Byrnes, P.C., Associate Attorney, 2005 - 2010

Law School: American University, Washington College of Law, J.D., 2005

Honors and Activities:
Women and the Law Clinical Program; Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity; Students United Juvenile Justice Tutor Program.

College: University of Notre Dame, B.A., 2002

Honors and Activities:
Awarded academic scholarship by Notre Dame for 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 years; selected for admission to Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society; accepted to the Notre Dame London Program, Fall 2000;
University Student Senator;
Copy Editor for student newspaper;
Assistant Coordinator for Senator Hillary Clinton's Senatorial Campaign Stop in Jamestown, N.Y.;
Intern in the Office of Senator Charles Schumer.

Born: Washington, D.C.

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Shannon D. Woods

Shannon Woods practices exclusively Family Law, Custody and Divorce at Livesay & Myers, P.C. Having litigated every type of family law matter in Virginia, Ms. Woods is no stranger to the courtroom-- and brings that experience to bear on behalf of each of her clients.

One of the firm's Military Divorce lawyers, Ms. Woods is intimately familiar with issues of military retirement, the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, the Survivor Benefit Plan, disability pay, and the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act.

Ms. Woods earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the highly rated University of Richmond School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. Prior to that, she graduated cum laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.

Shannon Woods writes about Family Law for The Virginia Lawyers Blog, where she has authored articles such as Social Networking and Electronic Communications in Custody and Divorce Cases and Modification of Custody Orders in Virginia.

Ms. Woods resides with her husband in Warrenton, Virginia, and works out of the firm's office in Manassas, Virginia.

Published Works, Seminars:
Silver Linings and Golden Anniversaries," Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Family Law Section, July 2010.
Co-authored the written materials, "Administering the Estate Effectively," National Business Institute Seminar, August 2010.
Spoke on topic of "Putting the Case to Rest: Closing the Estate," National Business Institute Seminar, August 2010.
Co-authored the written materials, "Down and Out in Domestic Relations Land: Low Cost and Pro Bono Resources for Domestic Relation Attorneys," Richmond Bench Bar Fall 2010.

Bar Admissions:
Virginia State Bar

Professional Memberships and Associations:
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (Family Law Section)
Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association
Richmond Bar Association
Metro Richmond Family Law Bar Association

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Benjamin Carafiol

Attorney Ben Carafiol practices exclusively Family Law at the Fredericksburg office of Livesay & Myers, P.C. He combines a calm and caring demeanor toward his clients with a diligent, hard-working approach toward achieving results in court.

Mr. Carafiol is a graduate of the highly rated Wake Forest University School of Law, where he made the competitive Wake Forest Law Review. Prior to that, he graduated cum laude from the prestigious College of William & Mary, receiving several honors, including: the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship, Second Congressional District, Missouri; Monroe Scholar, The College of William and Mary; Pi Sigma Alpha, The National Political Science Honor Society; and the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Mr. Carafiol writes about Family Law, Custody and Divorce for The Virginia Lawyers Blog, where he has authored articles such as My Spouse Is Filing For Bankruptcy... Help!

Ben Carafiol resides with his wife in Dumfries, Virginia, and works primarily out of the firm's Fredericksburg office.

Bar Admissions:
Virginia State Bar
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia

Professional Associations and Memberships:
Virginia Bar Association
American Bar Association
Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association

Born: St. Louis, Missouri

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Address:

Livesay & Myers 308 Wolfe Street Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540-370-4140 703-490-3970 (FAX)

Livesay & Myers Fairfax Office 11350 Random Hills Road Suite 800 Fairfax, Virginia 22030 703-361-7735

Livesay & Myers Manassas Office 9843 Business Way Manassas, Virginia 20110 703-361-7735

Email: James D. Livesay

Email: Georgia Hamilton Burks

Email: Matthew Smith

Email: Shannon D. Woods

Email: Benjamin Carafiol

Main Web Site: www.lawyers-virginia.com

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