Sara Leiner Schuler

Going through a rough divorce and custody battle, I consider myself so very fortunate to have had Sara by my side, guiding me through the whole process and simplifying things that were too hard to consider on my own. She has always had answers to any of my questions, and has not backed down or got in...timidated by any of the tactics employed by the other side in court or outside of it. Sara brought clarity and built my confidence every step of the way, empathized with me and helped me see facts clearly while riding the intense emotional rollercoaster that the entire process brought about. She was always available when I needed her, was patient with me, and helped me achieve a favorable outcome. I could not be more thankful and appreciative of Sara, and I highly recommend her to all who need an expert legal fighter in their corner!

I usually don't go on platforms to submit reviews but I felt that it was critical that I share my positive experience that I have had with Sara. I hired her several months ago for child custody, visitation and relocation matters. First and foremost, her legal advice and experience lended her the abil...ity to surpass all other lawyers I consulted prior to hiring her. Her professionalism was beyond many and she had an unwavering representation of my interests even though my case presented major difficulties as it was a hard case both on the legal and moral standpoint. I appreciated her judgement and ability to organize the important overall objectives, always ensuring we stayed on course. She was always honest and open - she never tried to give me a false sense of hope or down played some hard realties. But she was still understanding and listened. She never exuded overconfidence and respected me as her client. She stayed calm and collected when I felt I could not. And that made it possible for me to handle all that was thrown at me during a tough time. She's guided me through this treacherous process while keeping our actions and approach in tune with my own principles and goals. She was always timely and proficient. I hope that she continues to help other families as she had done for me and my family.

I consulted with four lawyers (at different firms) until I settled on Sara Schuler. I even retained one from a fancy big name firm for a while, but ultimately went back to her. Since my case ultimately went to trial, with a large firm on the other side, and because we won on every issue, I can't ex...press I grateful I am that I had ultimately chose Sara. When I first consulted with Sara, what struck me is how precise and accurate she is. This is not what I got with the other lawyers, who made egregious misstatements about the law in their conversations with me. For example, a lawyer at a different (and well-known) firm told me, “well, the court doesn’t care about your contributions to the marriage,” when I told her I would like the marital assets to split according to our contributions. In fact, the Virginia statute explicitly requires that the court consider the “contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family.” Sara never made any such errors in speaking with me, or in speaking to the court. This precision and accuracy are essential in the unfortunate case that you go to court. The trial was like an enormous fact checking exercise, involving thousands of pages of documents. Our credible presentation of the facts was central to our trial win. In contrast, mistakes, mis-statements, and being loose with the facts seemed to sink the other side. Related to her precision and accuracy, I felt I could trust Sara. Lawyers seem to care very much about their reputation in the legal community, much more so than they care about the outcome of your particular case. The other lawyers I consulted with tried to badger me into settling for an inequitable division rather than risk their reputations in a court room. Not that Sara was at all eager to go to court---she was also very reluctant, but at least she didn’t lie to me to try to get me to do what’s best for her career. Lawyers at some other (big name) law firms did. The whole pre-trial thing, and hopefully that’s the whole thing for you, that’s all very stressful too, and I was glad I had a lawyer I could trust for that part of it.

Sara understands federal government employees' unique situation, particularly those amongst us who initiate the separation/divorce process from overseas. She represented me in court, mediation, and in direct communication with the opposing party. Sara runs her own practice and takes the time to... know her clients and cases, she is always prepared for situations as they arise. She provides a personalized service to her clients and she always has had time for me when I had unexpected legal needs, including once while she was on vacation. I’d recommend Sara to anyone considering or determined to divorce.

Sarah did a great job leading me through the divorce. She followed through with everything I asked and responded very quickly to my emails. Her responses were very informative and helped me make the right decisions. She was very conscientious and efficient with her time and billing me for it. ...I would highly recommend her.