Demetria L. Graves

PASADENA - Demetria L. Graves has lately begun developing a niche practice of representing clients in move-away custody matters, where one parent wants to move far from the other parent and take their child along. It hasn't been an intentional development, she said, but she has represented some well-known people in the cases.

She successfully represented a mother, a prominent entertainer, in one move away case. In two others, she won on behalf of fathers fighting to keep children when the mothers sought to move. "More and more fathers are sharing custody or winning custody," she said. "That's the big shift that I've seen in some of my cases."

One of the fathers was a TV producer and the other was a music executive. "We are starting to increasingly represent entertainers," she noted.

Despite the impact move-away cases have on families, Graves said she enjoys the law involved and arguing it to courts. Each of her fathers won because the court found "a significant enough relationship between the child and the remaining parent that the court felt it would be more disruptive to have [the child] move and leave his school and his relationship with his father and his friends" than to move away with the mother.

The decisions in such cases must be nuanced, she said. Factors to consider include the preexisting custody schedule, the relationships among all the parties, the child's age and extracurricular activities and more. "The list can go on and on."

The cases are never slam-dunks. "They're always decided on maybe a slight tilt to the right or left. ... Each case is extremely different."

Her firm has also assisted people involved in what she called "sticky situations." She represents a model and reality TV star who had a child with a well-known NFL player who was married. He wants to be part of the child's life, Graves said, but has been disputing visitation and support proposals. The case has been pending for four years. "That's how sticky it is."

In addition to sports and entertainment figures, she also represents a number of doctors and firefighters. Those cases are especially interesting to her. "My father was ... the first Black assistant fire chief in L.A. County," she said.

Graves was the 2017-18 president of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and is the current chair of the California Lawyers Association's family law executive committee and is a past president.

Her "biggest passion project right now" is a podcast about family law called "Legally Uncensored with Demetria L. Graves," which she launched during the pandemic. In it, she talks about some of the same topics she discusses with clients in initial meetings, such as how to navigate the divorce process. Sometimes, she brings in guests to talk about other issues like therapy, probate disputes and what to do if one spouse dies while the case is pending.

- DON DEBENEDICTIS