Originally published in Atlanta Style & Design Magazine’s Spring 2026 Issue. See the full magazine issue here.
STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN THE ROLES OF ADVOCATE AND CONCILIATOR, the attorneys of Hastings Shadmehry Family Law bring the full spectrum of sensibilities to their practice, which values mediation and counseling as well as hard-nosed casework and trial. It’s an approach that has made the firm one of the most versatile and effective in the Atlanta area and beyond.
Partners Andrea “Andee” Dyer Hastings and Mali Shadmehry oversee a staff of 30 people, including 10 lawyers—dubbed the “wolf pack”—who are dedicated to excellence in family law. Family law includes divorce, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, mediation, separation agreements, alimony modification, child custody modification, child support modification, contempt actions, adoptions, legitimations and paternity actions, family violence and restraining orders, and grandparents’ rights matters. They also recognize the importance of understanding the emotional and fiscal stresses with which clients are dealing and communicating their own strengths and vulnerabilities as people.
The partners have reimagined their popular podcast, formerly The Hastings Shadmehry Show, which focused mainly on family law-related issues, to explore areas beyond just the law, including self-growth, something Hastings Shadmehry values in its representation of people who are going through family law matters. “Our original podcast was launched in November of 2023,” says Shadmehry. “The new podcast, Forward Facing, premiered on February 20th of this year and was created with the overall goal of introducing people whom we believe bring valuable information and mindset to the table in order for our audience to feel support on their paths to self-growth.” Forward Facing also continues to explore family law-related issues and features attorneys from Hastings Shadmehry, allowing the audience to get a feel for the wolf pack.
Accessed via a variety of social media platforms, including YouTube, Spotify and Apple, new episodes are designed to debut every two weeks. Old episodes of The Hastings Shadmehry Show are available through the podcast so viewers can still tap into that catalog. The hope is that new listeners will get to hear those episodes as well.
“‘Forward facing’ is a phrase that Mali uses frequently,” says Hastings. “It’s almost a mantra and something our clients are encouraged to keep in mind: always be forward facing and not backward looking. It’s about encouraging people to look at their divorce or family law matter as a path toward moving on with a new life and not getting bogged down in past arguments or insults.
“We took that notion and applied it to Forward Facing—to provide an extra layer of support to our audience in combining issues surrounding family law with other self-growth-related content,” adds Shadmehry. “As such, Forward Facing features not only guests who are attorneys at the firm but also other professionals who offer wisdom and insight on issues impacting society.”
The firm has a small, full-time marketing team, overseen by Shadmehry, whose goal is to put the firm front and center in the public eye. The team produces the Forward Facing podcast, creates social media posts and advertising for the firm, and helps to facilitate community outreach. Additionally, the team oversees the attorneys’ profiles on legal directories, markets the attorneys, oversees maintenance of the firm’s website and the website for Forward Facing, and participates in any aspect of the firm that faces the public.
Born and raised in Forsyth County, Georgia, Shadmehry did undergraduate work at Kennesaw State University and obtained her law degree at Emory University School of Law. She is an avid bodybuilder, competing regularly and balancing fitness with her legal career.
Hastings, a native of Richmond, Virginia, spent her early life in Virginia Beach and later in Herndon, and finished high school in Cobb County, Georgia. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her undergraduate studies and earned her law degree from the University of Georgia. The more senior of the two, Hastings is also managing partner and oversees the financial needs of the firm.
Hastings estimates that 67% of cases the firm handles deal with divorce but adds that the work goes well beyond that. Aside from the aforementioned areas of family law the firm handles, some of its attorneys work as mediators and several are qualified as a guardian ad litem, which is a court-appointed advocate for children in a family law matter.
Hastings Shadmehry considers its clients to be part of the family and part of the wolf pack. It strives to make clients feel protected and empowered and like they are always getting the best work, the best advocacy, the best advice.
It is all about a balanced and strategic approach.
As to the practice style of the firm, Shadmehry states: “We try to be tenacious while also picking our battles and knowing that in some situations there are desired outcomes that are simply not going to be possible. This is where strategy becomes important. We don’t merely know how to fight; we also know when to fight. Compassion for our clients is a constant, though. We want them to feel like we fight for them when it’s necessary, but that we aren’t needlessly aggressive at the expense of strategy or their finances.”
Approximately 75% to 80% of Hastings Shadmehry’s cases are settled before going to trial. Most Georgia courts mandate that all family law cases go through a mediation phase. “Our initial strategies are always factored into the mediation process,” Hastings says. “We walk in knowing what the law will allow and work to settle all the issues of a case without fighting things out in court. Judges want to know that we have put our best efforts into mediation and have not been needlessly contentious. We also know that in mediation our clients have much better control over the outcome of their case, whereas a judge or a jury can be less predictable.”
“Divorce is difficult. It’s a loss, like a death in the family,” adds Shadmehry. “It can represent the loss of a future our clients once thought was assured them. Their life is changing, and their priorities are changing, and change is difficult.”
Hastings says this is why she and Shadmehry revamped their podcast. “We hope to lead not only our clients but anyone who seeks support during periods of growth,” she says. “Life is challenging. We want to be leaders and a beacon of strength for anyone who needs it.” *
Bill Thompson covers the arts, design and books.
