Celebrating 19 Years In Business

Nineteen years ago today I opened the doors of Best Law Firm.

I use the word doors loosely. It was an office share. We went out and found bookcases. We tracked down a fax machine. We built a website from scratch. And on the very first day — before we had fully figured out where anything went — the phone started ringing. Clients were ready. We went to court. We helped families. We never skipped a beat.

I founded this firm in 2007 after going through my own divorce. That experience was devastating — not just personally but professionally humbling. I was a lawyer and I still felt lost,  and unprepared for what the process actually cost emotionally and financially.  I built Best Law Firm because I believed families going through divorce deserved better. They deserved attorneys who listened. Who prepared. Who showed up — for the hard days and the impossible ones.

Nineteen years later I know things I could not have known then.

I know that family law is only partly about the law. It is also about trauma. It is about chaos that needs calming. It is about sitting with a family on the worst day of their lives and helping them find a path forward that they cannot yet see themselves. It is a profession that finds hope for families when they need it most.

I have come to realize that children are at the very cornerstone of everything we do. Children are not possessions or pawns in a custody battle — they are fragile human beings whose futures depend on the decisions made in mediations and settlements and sometimes courtrooms. Best Law Firm has spent nineteen years making sure we do our utmost to serve children first. Sometimes that means helping a struggling parent find their way back. Sometimes it means making sure a child is free to move forward. Knowing the difference — and having the experience and wisdom to act on it — is something you cannot learn in law school.

I know that building a law firm is more than just practicing law. The business side, the marketing, the technology, and the management — none of that was in any curriculum I studied. We learned as we went. We continue to learn every day.

I know that being a woman who owns a law firm in this arena is harder than it should be in 2026. We have never practiced law the way some people expected us to. We reject any kind of scorched policy or mistaking cruelty for winning.  We do not mistake aggression for competence. We never have. And we never will. But we understanding that knowing the law and knowing the facts while being prepared help tell the stories that need to be told and help get the results that favor families and children.

What started as one attorney, a paralegal, and two summer clerks has become something I am genuinely proud of. Close to one thousand trials. More than five thousand mediations and settlements. My daughter Tali Best Collins — now Managing Partner — has brought her own extraordinary depth to this firm, including international custody cases, a national training career, and a seat on the advisory board of an AI company shaping the future of family law. The 2009 Divorce Coach Handbook is now in its 2026 edition. Tali developed a coaching model that has made experienced legal guidance accessible to families who needed it most.

Nineteen years. Thousands of families. And we continue to help families in Maricopa County.

As I reflect on nineteen years, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the people whose faith, hard work, and loyalty made this possible. Lucinda, who helped guide me in the early days. Lee, who helped build the foundation. Scott, who has been by our side for sixteen years. To Julia and Megan…and to Tali, my daughter and law partner, without whom none of this would be what it is today. And to our clients who trusted us and the judges who listened — thank you. Truly.