Your Family Law Advocate Blog
Choosing the right lawyer is the first step to a fresh start. Foster Swift’s experienced, Michigan-based family law, divorce, and child custody lawyers will be by your side to guide you to the future you deserve. Learn how we empower our clients through advice and compassionate, vigorous legal counsel. See more about our Family Law team members below and in the attached handout: Family Law Practice Team
Key Contacts
Jacquelyn A. Dupler
Recent News: In a contentious divorce case, in which the opposing party continued to demand 50/50 parenting time, Jackie’s cross-examination of the opposing party and his own witness caused the opposing party to stop his case after 10+ hours of testimony and settle. Jackie’s client received 80% of the parenting time – without ever having to take the stand!
About Jackie: Jackie is a rare breed in that she intentionally went to law school to practice family law. She values being able to help clients during one of the most difficult times in their lives and particularly loves the opportunity to help them to come out a better and stronger version of themselves.
Lisa V. Gallagher
About Lisa: Lisa Gallagher assists individuals and families in navigating complex and often sensitive family law matters with practical, thoughtful guidance grounded in her litigation experience.
She works with clients on issues such as divorce, custody, parenting time, and related disputes, helping them understand their options and develop clear strategies tailored to their unique circumstances.
Marcy Hahn
About Marcy: Marcy brings more than 20 years experience to Foster Swift, helping individuals and families navigate life’s most emotionally challenging legal matters, including divorce, child custody, parenting time, child support, spousal support, and related family law disputes.
Marcy’s extensive background in negotiation, dispute resolution, and litigation provides clients with a distinct advantage both inside and outside the courtroom. Whether resolving disputes through negotiation, mediation, collaborative divorce, or litigation, Marcy is committed to helping clients achieve favorable and sustainable outcomes.
Destiny R. Hughes
Recent News: In a contentious divorce case where Foster Swift represented a victim of domestic abuse, the opposing party attempted to thwart the court-ordered sale of the marital home at every turn. Destiny was instrumental in convincing the Court to force the sale of a marital home, and to award significant attorney fees in the client’s favor. More importantly, Destiny’s hard work allowed the client to know she could successfully move on. The client later expressed that Destiny showed her “a tremendous amount of compassion and support,” and that “through all of the ups and downs” Destiny “stood by [her] side and never stopped fighting for [her].”
About Destiny: Destiny always knew that she wanted a career that allowed her to help others, and from the time Destiny began working for her family’s business as a child, she has always been a dedicated, hardworking person. Eventually, in college, Destiny interned for a family law attorney at a domestic violence shelter, which solidified her desire to become an attorney (particularly, one who would help others find and use their voice). Destiny went on to excel in law school, externing at the Michigan Supreme Court, winning a national moot court competition, and graduating third in her class. Destiny’s passion for helping others never wavered. Today, Destiny’s practice continues to be centered on serving her clients with empathy, compassion, and rigor, whether she is representing a family-owned business in a breach of contract action or helping a family law client maneuver a complicated divorce.
Gabrielle C. Lawrence
Recent News: Gabe recently participated in a mediation where her client walked away with 60% of the marital estate after privately setting forth proofs to opposing counsel the breadth of the opposing party’s questionable behavior.
About Gabe: For the first five years of her career, Gabe specialized in estate planning, where she relished the opportunity to learn about the intricacies of people’s families and how they work (or don’t, as the case may be). She has parlayed that into a successful domestic law practice, where she most frequently works with parties who are divorcing or parties who are post-divorce, navigating financial and custody-related issues. Gabe has also served as a mediator in divorce cases and is a co-chair of the Ingham County Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution section.
Xavier E. Prather
Recent News: Xavier recently facilitated a mediation session between two high-conflict parties engaged in an interstate custody dispute. Within a matter of hours, he successfully guided both individuals toward a mutually acceptable resolution, including the development of a fair parenting time schedule across state lines, clearly defined expectations for the child’s education, and a structured framework for claiming the child as a dependent for tax purposes.
About Xavier: In the arena of family law, Xavier provides counsel to clients regarding divorce, custody, prenuptial agreements and other related matters. Having lived through divorce as a child, he has a unique empathy for his clients and their children. His previous experience also includes matters in the areas of data privacy and cybersecurity, entertainment and sports law, advising entertainment industry professionals and businesses on varying talent agreements. Outside of his practice, he is a member of the Family Law Board for the Grand Rapids Bar Association and the Kent County Domestic Mediator Roster.
Lisa M. Serra
About Lisa: With over a decade of legal experience, Lisa represents individuals and families across Michigan in matters of divorce, child custody, parenting time, child support, spousal support, property division, and post-judgment matters.
Lisa is a fierce and reliable advocate in the courtroom, representing clients in all stages of family law litigation. Her experience handling high-stakes disputes enables her to effectively address contested custody matters, parenting time conflicts, support disputes, property division issues, and other complex domestic relations cases.
Benjamin M. Williams
Recent News: Ben arbitrated two cases involving complex business valuations with positive results for our clients. In one case, through Ben’s cross-examination of the opposing party, he was able to obtain more than 50% of the value of an auto software business. In the second case, Ben obtained not only 50% of the claimed value of a steel fabrication business, but an additional award of $75,000 for the client after bringing on a forensic accountant and then extracting concessions from a neutral business valuation expert. In private arbitration, Ben successfully demonstrated that a supposed tax liability was likely fabricated for the purpose of reducing the business’s value for purpose of the divorce.
About Ben: Having spent over a decade as a prosecutor prior to switching to family law, Ben has a breadth and depth of trial experience that few attorneys can match. Ben truly enjoys working with his clients to reach their goals and set them up for familial and financial success moving forward. In his personal life, Ben is an enthusiastic gymnastics parent, reluctant flag football coach, and “new” dad to his family’s first puppy.
