Tiffani T. Atamas, a former Wall Street lawyer who is now a stay-at home mom, received a frantic phone call from a Japanese woman she met at a Tokyo playgroup. The mother and her American husband had moved from Tennessee to Tennessee. Six months later, the mother received an emergency custody order denying her custody of her child. The mother could not read or speak English, and she was unable to understand the emergency custody order.
Tokyo-born Atamas facilitated communication between the mother and father by finding a Tennessee lawyer to represent them. Atamas recalled that he flew to Memphis, Tennessee for the mediation and won her a 50/50 split of custody. “That was my first introduction to the field of family law and I fell in adore with it.”
Atamas has joined Smith Debnam as a family lawyer.
Atamas moved around between Japan and New York for the sake of her father’s work. She earned a degree in Economics from Brown University. She had aspirations to become a lawyer when she was a teenager, but after graduating from college she took on a demanding finance job with Lehman Brothers’ capital markets department, where she underwrote securities for Japanese multinational companies.
Atamas explained that after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, in 2008, he saw it as a chance to fulfill his childhood dream and applied to law schools. When I received the acceptance letter from Harvard Law School I accepted it immediately.
She returned to Wall Street after earning her Juris Doctor as a corporate attorney. It was an amazing experience. You’re surrounded with extremely intelligent and motivated individuals, and you get drilled in a strong work ethic. To be honest, I never really enjoyed the corporate work. I preferred the pro bono projects I did for individuals. “I loved being able to connect with them on a personal, one-on-one level that I could not do in corporate deals.”
Walking with A Purpose
Atamas moved from Raleigh to Raleigh after her husband Michael was hired by Epic Games as corporate counsel. She put off her law career to raise her twins, Jacob and Mila. They are now nine years old. Hadassah is their third child.
Atamas said, “I knew that I wanted to practice family law when I returned to law.” I apply the same passion and drive that I developed on Wall Street to family law.
When I worked at Lehman Brothers Tokyo, my colleagues would make comments about the way I walked through the halls. Funny, my co-workers at Smith Debnam make the same comment. It’s funny, I get the same comments from my colleagues at Smith Debnam.
She continued, “I am committed to my clients 100% and they value that.” “I work 24/7. My clients can always reach me by texting or calling. I am there to help them. This is especially important in family law because clients are going through a very vulnerable time and need to be taken care of.
International Family Law
According to Atamas, the Triangle’s flourishing high-tech industry is attracting individuals from around the globe, resulting in a greater need for family attorneys with international backgrounds. In New York I was just one in a million. But there are only a handful of us at Wake County Family Court. “I stand out.”
As diversity increases, so do international divorces. “I am Japanese, my spouse is from the former Soviet Union and our children are bi-racial.” Atamas stated that there is an increasing number of such families in the area. However, not many Raleigh attorneys have a functional understanding of family law issues across borders. “I understand the cultural differences and expectations of international clients, in addition to the legal complexity that comes with international family law cases. I’m thrilled to use my unique background to serve the Triangle.”
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