Demetria L. Graves

A certified family law specialist, Graves runs her own law firm with a paralegal and a legal assistant, dealing with divorce, child custody, child support, modifications, paternity, visitation rights and related issues. She has maintained offices in Pasadena, her hometown, and in Beverly Hills.

“I love Pasadena, but people on the Westside don’t want to drive to Pasadena. Now, with our Covid experience of working remotely, we’re reconsidering whether we need an office. I haven’t decided yet, but I’m leaning towards keeping it all remote.”

She withholds clients’ names, but notes that she’s recently represented a reality show celebrity, a singer, a fire department captain, a music industry executive and a writer and showrunner.

Covid increased the stress for everyone, resulting in a serious uptick in the need for family law services.

An early call in May 2020 was from a woman in another state with a seven-year-old son. Her ex-husband was demanding she put the boy on a plane for a scheduled visitation. But Covid was raging, and the mother was concerned about the boy’s safety. The courts were closed, but family law judges were aware that many situations needed immediate attention.

“Some of these matters just couldn’t be ignored or postponed,” Graves said. “The judges allowed emailed ex parte applications. I didn’t know how they’d view these matters in this crisis, but fortunately our judge denied the father’s request for the visit until we knew more about Covid. I got a response by the end of the day.”

Along with aiding clients, Graves spent much of the last year writing a book that translates her experience as a lawyer into a how-to manual titled “When Women Run the Firm: How to Successfully Launch and Manage Your Own Law Practice.” It will be available June 27 at Amazon.com, she said.

She co-chairs the African American Alumni Association at Loyola Law School and mentors several law students and young attorneys.

“I feel a real obligation to reach back and help,” Graves said.

— John Roemer