Erica Giovanni Baez focuses her practice on family law. Erica understands the exceptionally difficult emotional, spiritual, and financial challenges often presented by divorce and other domestic relations matters. Her vast litigation experience guides her as she works diligently and vigorously to help her clients craft solutions and continue to prioritize their children’s best interests amidst such difficulties.

Erica is a certified Guardian Ad Litem for children and is licensed to practice law in both Virginia and Florida. She is frequently lectures at legal education seminars. She currently serves on the Board of Directors to the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as the inaugural Chairwoman of the Women’s Business Council of the Chesterfield Chamber. She has been recognized by Virginia Business magazine’s Legal Elite in the Young Lawyer category.

Prior to forming Hatcher & Baez, Erica worked for many years as a family law attorney with the law firm of Owen & Owens in Midlothian, Virginia. Erica began her legal career as law clerk to the Honorable Harold W. Burgess, Jr. of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Virginia. She earned her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law with honors in 2010. During law school, she served as president of the Trial Advocacy Board and as a senior staff member of the University of Richmond Law Review. Erica was an active member of the Moot Court Board and Student Bar Association. She was honored with the “Virginia Trial Lawyers Advocacy Award,” an award presented each year to the graduate who most notably excelled at trial competitions. Erica also graduated from Furman University with honors in 2007, where she majored in political science and communication studies.

Erica grew up in the family business, an oceanfront motel owned and operated by her parents for thirty years in Daytona Beach, Florida. While she certainly misses the beach, she loves Virginia’s scenic outdoors. She is an avid traveler and has also spent a significant amount of time in Southeast Asia and South Africa. Erica is a competitive ballroom dancer and has taught dance lessons and dance exercise. She is involved in the Richmond fine arts community, and you will occasionally see her performing in musicals and plays. She is active in her church, Third Presbyterian Church in Henrico, Virginia. She and her husband, Jesse Baez, also a local trial attorney, and their young son reside in Midlothian.

Professional Involvement:

Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors and Inaugural Chairwoman of the Women’s Business Council
Chesterfield Bar Association, Secretary
Lewis F. Powell Jr. Inn of Court
Metro Richmond Family Law Bar Association
Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Virginia State Bar, Family Law Section
Florida State Bar

Speaking/Publications:
Lectured on “Effectively Arguing Contempt Issues” with the National Business Institute, October 2016
Developing Protective Order Protocols- An Overview of Virginia Law Regarding Family Abuse Domestic Violence Response Training, Chesterfield County, Virginia, April 2017
Chesterfield/Colonial Heights Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court Bench Bar Conference, Custody and Visitation Best Practices, Chesterfield County, Virginia, September 2017
Lectured at “Cocktail Party Law 101: A Basic Primer On The Law That Every Lawyer Gets Asked About – Trusts/Estates, Divorce, Traffic, and Community Association Law,” Richmond Bar Association, October 2017