"Michele is an attorney's attorney. Her work is respected by judges,
other attorneys and, of course, her clients. But more than being a
good lawyer, she embodies the spirit of "counselor at law." Her
approach is holistic and she helps her clients with their legal needs
in the context of the reality of their lives rather than simply
addressing the legal issue in a vacuum. And, she gets the job done."— Paula Rubin
"I am very thankful to have had Michele as my attorney for my son's adoption. It is very clear that due to Michele's experience and expertise in adoption and the DC court system that my son's adoption was expedited in the most efficient manner. In our case, there were some nerve-racking and unexpected curve balls thrown at us but due to Michele's rapport with the judge and her understanding of the system, my son and I are legally a family now. And from what the judge said, it occurred in record time given the details of our case."
— Christopher Braman
"As mothers of three sons, it has been extremely important to us to protect our relationships with them and with one another to the greatest extent possible. Through two adoptions, powers of attorney, wills, and more, Michele has helped us achieve this goal. We trust her counsel completely and her presence at pivotal and often vulnerable moments has been extremely reassuring. Unfortunately, one often needs an attorney at the most difficult times in life. It gives us great peace of mind knowing that Michele will be there for us when need her, and that she will always provide the most high-quality legal services."
— N. B-K. And R. B-K.
"Michele Zavos was instrumental in helping our family plan for any eventuality, from setting up wills, and health care powers of attorney. Michele knew the issues inside out. We were confident that we were making the most informed decisions thanks to Michele. When we decided to proceed with an adoption we turned immediately to Michele."
— R.S.C. and P.C.
"We are pleased to have an opportunity to provide a testimonial of the services provided by Michele Zavos. Michele is highly competent in her field of practice, and quickly demonstrated that fact from beginning to end. She thoroughly explained the process to us, apprised us of the available options, promptly drafted the required filings, and followed through in a very professional manner. Michele is clearly experienced in this field, which was shown by her thorough, efficient, and confident manner in getting our step-parent adoption finalized. We were already a complete family, but Michele Zavos made it legally official, and we thank her."
— J. D. and T. D.
"When my [male] partner first wanted to adopt my son (conceived through super modern technology and without another dad) we were told that the process would be a rough one. Fortunately, a friend recommended Michele and she made it easy. Where other lawyers I described our situation to said "explain this once more slowly" she immediately understood the nuances of our situation and came up with a clear, economical and rapid plan to let my partner adopt. We didn't trust till it was over that it would be as easy as she said, but it was. It was even positive and affirmed our family!"
— A.F.
"Ms. Zavos did an excellent job with my son's adoption. She made the whole process easy and it took less time than we expected. I highly recommend her."
— Zaki Hamzaoui
"Michele's experience in her life and her practice have been a corner stone in the building of our family."
— Our deepest gratitude, Tom and the Snowmen
"When my partner and I were looking to start a family, we checked around and heard wonderful things about Michele Zavos, all of which have since proven to be true. Michele drafted a set of wills and other legal documents for us, and then was preparing to do our second-parent adoption work when an interesting wrinkle occurred. Our child was born out of state, so Michele first put us in touch with a top-flight attorney in that state. Later, when it became clear to our attorneys that the adoption laws were more favorable there, the attorneys jointly recommended that we shift the adoption work there, which meant Michele essentially sacrificed our business so that the adoption could proceed more quickly and easily. It was a generous, thoughtful thing to do, and our other attorney was quite impressed. That's the mark of a fine attorney, he told us, someone who puts her client's interests ahead of her own. He was also impressed by how knowledgeable Michele was in the fine points of adoption law. Not everyone is, he told us. It's a bit unusual to rave about an attorney based partly on legal work she didn't perform, but to us, that incident told us everything we needed to know about Michele."
— Two happy dads
"Michele has been helping protect our family ever since our older son was born 14 years ago. She counseled both of us in how best to write a will and durable power of attorney. Because only one of us was the legal parent and because our son had serious medical problems, it was imperative that the mother in our family with no legal rights had the power to make medical decisions for our son. When we adopted our younger son, Michele helped us revise all of our legal documents.
Michele was actively involved in the effort to make second-parent adoptions a routine legal practice. She monitored the political conditions in Maryland for years before calling us and informing us that "now's the time" to file for our second-parent adoption. The rebellious part of me deeply resented that we had to "adopt" our children but the practical part of me knew that we had to do it. When it was all over, I was surprised to discover the depth of my relief that our children now had the protection of two legal parents.
I know that the legal expertise and personal concern that Michele brought to bear for our family is what she brings to all her clients. The GLBT community is lucky to have an attorney with her breadth of experience and personal commitment to our families."
— L.W. and E. W.
"Two years ago I decided to update my will, Power of Attorney, and health directives. Michele Zavos was highly recommended to me as the attorney I should contact. She was thoughtful, creative, and extremely thorough. She provided excellent advice on how to accomplish what I wanted to do by spending time understanding my situation.
During the past month, my father became very ill. I am his executor and also hold his Power of Attorney. The POA was over ten years old and absolutely NO ONE would accept it. Within 24 hours, during an extremely busy time for her, Ms. Zavos prepared and sent me a new POA for my father's signature. Having this new signed document in hand has made a very difficult time for me so much easier to manage. Her responsiveness was typical of the type of person and attorney Ms. Zavos is.
The recommendation I received to contact Ms. Zavos was a gift; and I will continue to recommend her to anyone I know who needs an attorney. If anyone reading this hasn't updated their legal documents within the past five years, you should and Ms. Zavos is the best attorney for you to work with to do that!!!!!!!"
— J.C.
"Working with Michele was an extremely pleasant and fruitful experience. Not only does she understand adoption laws inside and out (in our case, specifically regarding re-adoption of an infant already adopted from Guatemala), but she is very efficient and kind. We liked her so much we entrusted her with our wills and other key family legal documents. We highly recommend Michele without reservations!"
— Brigit Helms
"If you are looking for an attorney with commitment, competence, and compassion then Michele Zavos needs to be your choice. Her ability to guide me through my partner's estate settlement was extraordinary and centering. And, as a result of her intellect and tenacious spirit, I am a richer woman (in more ways than one) as she fought the courts for what was rightfully mine."
— Dr. Patty Perillo, Silver Spring, MD
"Although the adoption of my son was long and difficult, Michele Zavos made it possible for me to endure by providing great legal advice and emotional support. I truly believe that Michele enjoys bringing families together, and that she really cares about her clients. I clearly remember having a meeting at Michele's home to discuss specifics about my case, and her saying to me "Don't worry. Let me do the worrying". At that moment, I really began to trust her and knew that she had "my back". Based on the quality of work that Michele brought to my case, I would definitely refer her to anyone in need of legal services for adoption. "
— Ricky Stith
"We could not have imagined going through the process of adopting our son without the expertise and guidance of Michele Zavos. She was the first person we turned to before deciding what route and which adoption agency we would use to begin our family. Her advice helped us to plan for the future for our family. There was a sense of calmness knowing Michele was on our side and only a phone call away to answer any question. Knowing how emotional and stressful the adoption process can be , she was always there with compassion, understanding, and support. Michele became a part of our family while doing her job to help us build ours. We are forever grateful to her. She is the BEST!!!"
— M.B. and T.S.
