By Joel D. Henriod
There is a type of lawyer who deals in the mess of people’s lives. They handle the broken marriages, the fractured families, the contested custody battles. They do it day after day. This is the work of family law. It’s rarely glamorous. It’s not easy. It requires strength, patience, bravery, and a deep commitment to something larger than a paycheck or a win.
You see things others do not. You see the impact of choices that others never have to face. Divorce. Custody. Domestic violence. Adoption. These are parts of life we don’t like to talk about. Your clients are almost always suffering, whether they admit it or not.
You help people pick up the pieces when their worlds fall apart, and they are scared, angry, and confused. You sit with them. You listen. You guide. You do it without fanfare. You do it because it matters.
In family law, the stakes are personal. They are about children, parents, futures. The person sitting across from you might be fighting for the right to see their child or might be fighting to protect that child. Your advice and advocacy often make the difference between stability and chaos.
Family law is not easy. It takes grit. The arguments are long. The stakes are high. The emotions are raw. And when tempers flare it can be dangerous. And yet, you press on. You work with others in the field—judges, counselors, social workers—all trying to find the best way to help people rebuild their lives.
Because the environment can be so heated, the bar honors your engagement in it. We applaud your efforts to chill that temperature, to calm the tempest with words, with facts, with reason. We count on you to represent the best in our profession, to be force for peace. I hope those expectations don’t compound your stress.
In this work, there are no quick wins. No easy victories. But there are moments of real success. A child finds a safe home. A parent regains custody. A family finds a new way to live, to grow. These moments are small, but they are real. They are the victories that matter.
Please know the bar recognizes you. We understand family law requires a special balance of intellect, empathy, resilience, and bravery. We see your challenges and sacrifices.
And we are grateful.
About the author
Joel Henriod is a litigator specializing in appeals at Henriod Law, PLLC, practicing in substantive areas ranging from personal-injury and product-liability to commercial and public-sector disputes involving election law, breach of contract, taxation, eminent domain, and governmental regulation, etc. He serves as CCBA president through 2025.
About the article
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Mar. 2025), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2025/communique-mar-2025/. The printed magazine was mailed to CCBA members the week of March 4, 2025.
The articles and advertisements appearing in Communiqué magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CCBA, the CCBA Publications Committee, the editorial board, or the other authors. All legal and other issues discussed are not for the purpose of answering specific legal questions. Attorneys and others are strongly advised to independently research all issues.
© 2025 Clark County Bar Association (CCBA). All rights reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without written permission from the publisher. Editorial policy available upon request.