About the firm

A family law firm, and only that, on purpose.

Hartwell Family Law was started in Portland in 2012 by a litigator who was tired of watching families spend their savings on fights they did not need.

A calm meeting room with two armchairs and a plant in daylight

Our story

Why we only do family law.

Claire Hartwell spent ten years in a large litigation firm. The cases she remembers are the family ones, because the way they were handled shaped the next decade of people’s lives, and too often the process made things worse.

So she built a firm that does one thing. Everyone here works on divorce, custody, support and the agreements around them. We know the local judges, mediators and counsellors, and we have seen most situations before, which makes us faster and calmer.

We are small on purpose. You will always know which lawyer is handling your case, and you can reach them directly. We take fewer cases than we could, so that each one gets proper attention.

2012

Founded in Portland

1,400+

Families helped so far

9 in 10

Cases settled without a trial

24 h

Reply time on working days

What we believe

Three rules we do not bend.

Children first

We test every proposal against your children’s real week: school runs, birthdays, the dog. If it does not work for them, it is not a good agreement.

Fees in writing

You get a fixed fee or a written estimate before we start, and a monthly cap on hourly work. You will never open a surprise invoice from us.

Court is the last resort

We prepare every case as if it could go to trial, which is exactly why most of them do not need to.

Visit us

A quiet office, not a tower lobby.

Our office has a private side entrance and a waiting room you will not share with anyone. If coming in is not safe or practical, we meet by phone or video.