You Will Speak to an Attorney. Not an Intake Screener.
Family law, estate planning and business disputes in Middle Tennessee. Straight answers about your options, your timeline and what it will cost, from the first conversation.
Practice Areas
We handle a defined set of matters and refer out the rest. If your case is outside what we do well, we will tell you at the first call and point you to someone appropriate.
Family Law
Divorce, custody, support and modifications. Most of our family clients are navigating the worst year of their lives, and we plan around that rather than billing through it.
Fee structure →Estate Planning & Probate
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and estate administration. Flat fees for planning work, so you know the cost before we begin drafting.
See flat fees →Business & Contract Disputes
Contract enforcement, partnership disputes and commercial litigation for small and mid-sized Tennessee businesses.
Discuss a matter →Real Estate
Residential and commercial closings, title issues, boundary disputes and landlord matters across Davidson and Williamson counties.
Discuss a matter →Wills Contests
Challenges to wills and trusts, undue influence claims and fiduciary disputes. Sensitive matters handled with the discretion families need.
Discuss a matter →What We Do Not Handle
Criminal defence, immigration, personal injury and bankruptcy. We keep a referral list of Nashville attorneys we trust in each and will make the introduction.
Ask for a referral →How We Charge, Written Plainly
Legal fees are the reason most people delay calling a lawyer until the situation is worse and more expensive. Here is exactly how ours work.
- Flat fees where possibleWills, trusts, closings and uncontested matters are quoted as a single figure before we start. Simple will from $650, revocable trust package from $2,400.
- Hourly where it is genuinely unpredictableContested litigation is billed hourly at $285 to $395 depending on the attorney. You receive itemised monthly statements.
- Retainers are held in trustUnused retainer funds are returned. Always. This is required of us, and some firms are casual about it.
- We will tell you when it is not worth itIf the likely recovery does not justify the fees, we say so before you engage us, not after.
What Happens When You Call
Most people have never hired a lawyer and have no idea what the process involves. Here it is.
The First Call
Fifteen minutes with an attorney, not a screener. We establish whether we can help and whether you need a lawyer at all.
Consultation
Free, up to an hour, in person or by video. Bring your documents. You leave knowing your options and the likely cost of each.
Engagement Letter
Scope, fees and responsibilities in writing before any work begins. Nothing is billed until you sign it.
The Matter
Regular updates without you chasing us. Calls returned same business day, and you always know what the next step is.
Six Attorneys, One Building, No Handoffs
The attorney you meet at the consultation is the attorney who handles your matter. We are deliberately small enough that this is possible and old enough to have seen most of what Middle Tennessee courts will throw at a case.
- Margaret Halbrook, JDFounding partner. Family law and wills contests. Admitted Tennessee 1996. Rule 31 listed family mediator.
- Daniel Vance, JDPartner. Business disputes and commercial litigation. Admitted Tennessee 2003.
- Four associate attorneysEstate planning, probate administration and real estate closings, each supervised by a partner.
Client Experiences
“Ms. Halbrook told me at the free consultation that mediation would cost me a fraction of litigation and probably get a better result. She was right, and it cost her the bigger fee.”
Former family law clientDavidson County“Our trust package was quoted flat at $2,400 and that is what we paid, including two rounds of revisions we asked for.”
Estate planning clientsFranklin, TN“A partnership dispute that two other firms wanted a $15,000 retainer for. Mr. Vance resolved it in a fortnight with three letters.”
Small business ownerNashville, TN
The Consultation Is Free. The Delay Is Not.
Most matters get more expensive the longer they sit. One conversation will tell you whether you have a problem worth acting on, and we will say so if you do not.