Arizona Family Law Attorneys

Focus and practice areas

This is a Phoenix firm that works only in family law. Nothing on its pages points to criminal defense, personal injury, or business disputes. The whole practice sits inside domestic relations, and that single focus shapes how the firm describes its work.

The named services cover divorce, child custody, and child support. They also include paternity, adoption, guardianship, and spousal maintenance. Military divorce appears on the list too, which carries weight in a state with a large service population near several bases.

The firm handles order modifications, family relocation, fathers' rights, and grandparents' rights as well. In my opinion that spread reads like a firm built to follow a family case through its later stages, including changes to orders long after a judgment.

Who leads the firm

Shawnna R. Riggers leads Arizona Family Law Attorneys and practices in family law. The firm names her as the attorney at the head of its work, so a client can see who carries the cases.

Her public record includes a 9.4 rating on Avvo, the lawyer rating site. She was named Attorney of the Year for the East Valley by the Family Lawyers Assistance Project for 2010 to 2011. That recognition is tied to a specific two-year window, which makes it easy to place.

The team also lists Donna Thompson as a legal paraprofessional. In Arizona, a legal paraprofessional holds a license that allows limited representation in certain matters. Having one on staff suggests the firm covers routine steps at more than a single level of cost and role.

What the record shows

The firm states it has more than 15 years of experience in family law. It does not publish a founding year on the pages our research reached. As a reviewer I take that number at face value: a practice that has worked in this area for well over a decade.

Ratings and honors like these are worth reading with their context attached. The Avvo score comes from that platform's own formula, and it can move over time. The FLAP recognition is dated and regional. Both are concrete points a reader can check, which is worth something on a page where many firms stay vague.

Divorce and Arizona community property

Arizona divides marital property under community property rules. The firm addresses this on its site and advises clients on how assets get sorted into separate or marital categories. That step often decides how a divorce actually settles.

Property bought during a marriage is generally shared between the spouses, while property owned before it may stay with the original owner. Debts follow similar logic. A firm that names this issue on its home page is signalling where much of the work in a divorce tends to sit, well before anyone talks about court.

For clients, that framing helps set expectations early. Someone weighing a split can see that the firm treats property classification as a core task, not an afterthought filed at the end.

Where clients are served

Arizona Family Law Attorneys lists Phoenix and Tempe by name and says it serves clients across Arizona. The base is in Phoenix, in the central part of the metro area.

The firm keeps active profiles on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube. For a family law practice, a video channel hints at an effort to walk people through process before they ever sit down with a lawyer, which can lower the stress for a first-time client.

Beyond the online presence, the firm offers case evaluations and flexible appointment times. Those are practical points for families juggling work and children while a custody or support question is open.