Kathryn DeVane Hamilton

Partner

Kathryn DeVane Hamilton has been practicing law in Florida and Washington states since 1998 and is the founding member of Hamilton O’Neill. Before founding Hamilton O’Neill, Kathryn established The Hamilton Law Firm in 2008. Kathryn began her extensive litigation career as a trial attorney at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office trying over forty trials. Her zealous representation led to acquittals or the dismissal of charges for many clients facing years in prison. In 2001, Kathryn focused her sights on family law litigation and joined the prestigious Miami family law firm of Kutner and Associates where she sharpened her civil litigation skills representing public figures, business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals. In 2022, Kathryn and William O’Neill founded Hamilton O’Neill to expand their legal service offerings.

When Kathryn founded the firm, she focused her representation on providing strategic, compassionate and tenacious representation to her clients in all areas of domestic relations, including dissolution of marriage, equitable property distribution, alimony and child support, paternity, child custody (timesharing) and parenting plans, premarital and postnuptial agreements, and domestic violence injunctions, among others. Kathryn recognizes that the decisions she guides her clients to make are among the most important choices in their lives with both short and long-term implications.

Kathryn’s approach to practicing family law has resulted in numerous successes and honors recognizing her excellence in the field of family law, including:

Rating of AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell, the prestigious legal organization’s highest rating awarded based upon reviews from her peer attorneys, judges and clients for her professional excellence, legal abilities and ethical standards.
Recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a Top Attorney in Family Law since 2019.
Ranked as “Best Law Firms” in family law by U.S. News & World Report – Best Lawyers since 2020.
Selected as Super Lawyer in Family Law – rated top 5% of lawyers in Florida since 2017.
Named as Florida’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend.
Selected as a 2020 Woman Leader in the Law by ALM.
Rated “Superb” by Avvo as a Family Law Attorney since 2012.
Named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for four years, a distinction granted to only 2.5% of the lawyers in Florida.
Named Florida Outstanding Young Lawyer by Florida Top Attorneys in 2011 and 2013.

Kathryn is a founding member of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the American Academy for Certified Financial Litigators. In 2017, she was appointed by The Florida Bar Family Law Section for two terms to serve on the Rules and Forms Committee. She has been published in several national and state publications and has lectured on family law to fellow attorneys.

Originally from Seattle, Washington, Kathryn earned her Bachelor of Arts in Society and Justice at the University of Washington in 1995 before moving to Miami, Florida, to study at the University of Miami School of Law. She earned her Juris Doctorate law degree in 1998 from the University of Miami, where she won the 1996 Moot Court Board Competition, was selected as a member of the prestigious Moot Court Board, and received Honors in the Litigation Skills Program for Trial. Kathryn is a member of the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar and has been a member of the Florida First Family Law American Inn of Court since 2002. Kathryn has been a supporter and long-term sponsor of ICU Baby, an organization devoted to assisting families of babies who are born in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Units in South Florida. She has been a member of Junior League Miami and the Humane Society.

Education:

B.A., University of Washington (1995)
J.D., University of Miami (1998)

Court Admissions:

Florida State Courts
Washington State Courts

Associations and Memberships:

The Florida Bar, Family Law Section
Washington State Bar Association
Florida First Family Law American Inn of Court
American Academy for Certified Financial Litigators, Miami-Dade Chapter founding member