Hawthorne & Vesper PLLC

Hawthorne & Vesper PLLC exemplifies the modern family law practice: founded on principles of personalized attention and dedicated expertise, the firm brings everything it has to the representation of families navigating divorce and custody matters in Western New York. Established in 2012, Hawthorne & Vesper has grown into a respected resource for clients throughout Buffalo and surrounding communities in Erie County, Niagara County, and beyond. The firm was founded by two legal professionals who shared a vision of providing excellent family law representation with the kind of personal attention that clients deserve during life's most challenging transitions.

Tina M. Hawthorne, one of the firm's founding partners, earned her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia in 1997. SUNY Fredonia is known for its emphasis on liberal arts education and professional preparation. She then pursued legal education at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, one of the region's premier legal institutions, graduating with her Juris Doctor in 2004. This educational background prepared Hawthorne for sophisticated legal practice in Western New York.

Jessica L. Vesper, the other founding partner, brings complementary educational background and skills. Vesper earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2003, graduating with honors from one of the state's leading universities. She pursued her legal education at West Virginia University College of Law, graduating with her Juris Doctor in 2006. This cross-state legal education, combined with her strong undergraduate preparation, provided Vesper with diverse perspectives on legal practice.

When Tina Hawthorne and Jessica Vesper founded Hawthorne & Vesper in 2012, they did so with a clear commitment to putting everything they had into personalized, attentive family law service. This founding vision remains central to the firm's practice today. Rather than becoming a large, impersonal practice where clients encounter different attorneys and staff members on different occasions, Hawthorne & Vesper maintains the intimate scale that allows genuine personal attention.

Both Tina Hawthorne and Jessica Vesper are engaged in the general practice of law with a primary focus on matrimonial and family law. This focused expertise allows them to develop deep knowledge of family law issues, local court procedures, and the judges before whom their cases are tried. While they maintain general law licenses, their professional focus and energy center on the specialized field of family law.

Hawthorne & Vesper represents clients throughout Western New York, including Erie County and Niagara County. Buffalo, the region's largest city, is home to the firm's office at 43 Court Street, Suite 1121. From this location, the firm serves clients throughout the region, from Buffalo and surrounding suburbs to Niagara Falls and other communities in Niagara County and beyond.

The firm handles the complete range of family law matters that Western New York families encounter. This includes divorce representation—both contested cases involving disputes about property, custody, or support, and uncontested divorces where couples have reached agreement. The firm also handles child custody and visitation disputes, ensuring that custody arrangements serve the best interests of children and respect the rights of capable parents. Child support and spousal support matters receive careful attention, with attorneys working to achieve support obligations that are fair, sustainable, and appropriate under New York law.

Beyond traditional divorce and custody matters, Hawthorne & Vesper assists clients with prenuptial agreements—contracts that engaged couples enter into before marriage to specify how property and support will be handled in case of divorce. The firm also helps clients obtain orders of protection in cases involving domestic violence or threats to safety. Paternity disputes—matters concerning the legal recognition and rights of fathers in relation to their children—also fall within the firm's practice.

Property division is handled with careful attention to New York's equitable distribution principles, which require fair but not necessarily equal division of marital property. The firm's attorneys work to ensure that clients' assets are properly identified, valued, and divided according to law and their interests.

What makes Hawthorne & Vesper distinctive in the Western New York legal market is the founders' commitment to putting everything they have into personalized service. This is not hyperbole but a genuine commitment to knowing clients thoroughly, understanding their family situations deeply, and working diligently toward the outcomes that matter most to them. In an industry where larger firms sometimes treat clients as case numbers, Hawthorne & Vesper maintains the boutique scale that allows genuine personal attention.

The firm's founding in 2012 reflected a deliberate choice by accomplished attorneys to establish a practice centered on family law excellence rather than seeking partnership in larger, more generalist firms. This choice to focus and specialize has enabled both Hawthorne and Vesper to develop expertise and reputation in family law matters. Clients benefit from attorneys who have chosen to dedicate their careers to the specialized field of matrimonial law.

Families in Western New York—from Buffalo and surrounding suburbs to Niagara Falls and communities throughout the region—benefit from Hawthorne & Vesper's combination of legal expertise, personalized attention, and commitment to family law excellence. Whether facing a straightforward divorce or a complex custody and asset division matter, clients can rely on experienced, dedicated attorneys who put everything they have into their representation.