Laura Marks O'Brien

Laura M. O'Brien has been practicing law since October 2010, and she has exclusively practiced in the area of family law. Her entire career has been spent with the attorneys of Kelly, Byrnes & Danker PLLC.

Laura received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, in May 2003, where she graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Laura earned her law degree cum laude from George Mason University School of Law in May 2010, where she served on the Board of Editors of the George Mason Law Review and was chosen as a Writing Fellow, teaching first-year law students within the school's highly esteemed Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis program. She also was chosen as a student member of the George Mason American Inns of Court.

During her third year of law school, Laura participated in the Domestic Relations Legal Clinic under the direction of The Honorable Stanley P. Klein (Ret.), where she assisted low-income litigants in obtaining uncontested divorces in the Fairfax Circuit Court. She also served as a legal intern to The Honorable Jan L. Brodie of the Fairfax Circuit Court. Prior to law school, Laura served as a staff member with the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

Laura is a member of the Virginia State Bar, and a former Board Member of the Virginia State Bar – Young Lawyers Conference. In June 2014 and 2018, Laura received a Significant Service Award from the VSB Young Lawyers Conference.

In April 2019, Laura was recognized by Virginia Super Lawyers as a 2019 Rising Star in the area of family law, a distinction limited to no more than 2.5% of attorneys in Virginia.

Laura received the 2016 Chief Justice Harry Carrico Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award presented by Legal Services of Northern Virginia, Fairfax Bar Association, Alexandria Bar Association, and Arlington Bar Association. She is also a Gold Member of Legal Services of Northern Virginia’s Rule 6.1 Society, which recognizes attorneys who perform 40 or more hours of pro bono work annually.

Laura is an active member of the Fairfax and Loudoun Bar Associations.