Attorney Profile
Professional Disctinctions & Memberships
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Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
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Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine.
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Member, Washington State Bar Association.
Education
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University of Washington, B.A., English Literature, 2002.
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Seattle University, Juris Doctor, 2006.
Shannon M. Ellmers
Solving Complexity
Shannon Ellmers is a skilled litigator and negotiator who maintains a practice in family law with an emphasis on marital dissolutions that involve complex financial and property issues. Shannon provides exceptional representation to family law clients in every setting, whether direct negotiation, formal dispute resolution, or trial. Shannon often represents business owners, entrepreneurs, physicians, trust beneficiaries, attorneys, and corporate officers.
Shannon’s approach is one of well-reasoned scale, determined by the needs of the client and the applicable legal principles, and often involves working with outside experts to develop sound, defensible legal approaches. Shannon is a frequent speaker at CLE attorney seminars on family law topics.
Shannon is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, an organization limited to members who have extensive legal knowledge and experience in the area of family law.
Lecturing and Speaking Engagements
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"Litigation Bootcamp"-Seminar Chair; AAML Washington Chapter, May 2022.
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"The Long Term Marriage"-Seminar Chair; AAML Washington Chapter, April 2021.
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“Impact of the New Tax Code on Divorce-Panel Discussion;” Complex and High Asset Divorce Legal Seminar-The Seminar Group, April 2019.
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“What Every Family Law Practitioner Should Know About Real Estate” -Seminar Co-Chair; AAML Washington Chapter, March 2019.
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“Discovery Requests to Litigation Experts, Discovery Protective Orders, Out of State Discovery;” King County Family Law Hot Topics Legal Seminar, October 2018.
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“What to Do When a Spouse is Hiding Assets;” National Business Institute Legal Seminar, December 2016.
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“What to Do to Get Email, Smartphone, and Social Media Evidence Admitted;” National Business Institute Legal Seminar, December 2016.
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“Working with Documentary Evidence;” McKinley Irvin Lunchtime Legal Seminar Series, March 2015.
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“Evidence Rules that Apply Particularly to Family Law Cases;” King County Family Law Hot Topics Legal Seminar, October 2012.
Services
Complex
Financial Representation
Shannon Ellmers' practice focuses on cases involving complex financial matters, including, but not limited to, business and professional practice valuation and division; stock and RSU valuation and allocation; characterization determination of separate versus community property assets; trusts; interstate property interests; and implementation and enforcement of premarital, post-marital, and cohabitation agreements.
Prenuptial/Relationship Agreement Representation
Shannon Ellmers provides services related to the drafting and negotiation of prenuptial, post-nuptial, and cohabitation agreements. In addition, Ms. Ellmers provides consultation to attorneys throughout the United States regarding issues related to enforcement of Washington prenuptial, post-nuptial, and cohabitation agreements. Ms. Ellmers has been designated as an expert witness in matters involving out of state enforcement of Washington prenuptial agreements.
Litigation
and Dispute Resolution
Shannon Ellmers represents clients in all aspects of family law proceedings, from initial case planning to trial. The majority of cases resolve prior to trial through direct negotiation or formal dispute resolution. However, Ms. Ellmers has extensive experience as a family law trial attorney and provides exceptional trial representation for matters that do not resolve through settlement.
Client Insights
Smart, Hard-Working, Excellent Service!
I hired Shannon after interviewing 4 attorneys to represent me in my divorce. What impressed me the most about her was was her knowledge of complex estates and how best to handle them during a court case or mediation.
During the case, Shannon did an excellent job of keeping me focused on tasks that needed to be done. She was also very helpful in reducing some of the fear I had regarding the whole process. I never felt like we were unprepared (as a team), and that made a huge difference! She was always prepared. She was always thinking several steps ahead and taking actions to place me in a better strategic position. She is very detail oriented, often catching mistakes in paperwork from the opposing side before they were filed (and made permanent).
As a result, we were able to reach a fair settlement through mediation, which avoided a costly and stressful court proceeding. I would highly recommend Shannon for anyone who is contemplating divorce or separation, or even those considering marriage and wish to have a prenuptial agreement drafted.
Avvo review- Thomas
Child Custody and Support, Modification
It’s hard to choose the right family law lawyer for your case. Shannon comes highly recommended, and has worked with some of the most challenging and complex cases in Washington.
She engaged quickly and knew the right direction and strategy to take in our case. She has great integrity and communicates very well. She set reasonable expectations, without just telling us what we wanted to hear. She challenged our thinking and approach too, always remaining very objective and providing guidance on rules and laws that impacted us.
Shannon has an incredible amount of foresight, which allowed us to easily anticipate and plan ahead. Accordingly, we were also able to avoid being surprised by the processes and results.
Her document prep is extremely detailed and spot on, which is often half the battle. And her litigation skills in the courtroom are top notch!
If you're looking for an experienced, highly regarded family law attorney that stays squarely focused on the issues, is well connected within the King County family law community, and isn't willing to sacrifice quality or sling mud, Shannon Ellmers will be your best partner and advocate through what usually is a very stressful experience.
Avvo review- Jennifer
“Effective outcomes are a result of commitment to teamwork from both attorney and client. I work closely with my clients throughout the process, discussing strategies, possible outcomes and expectations. My commitment to this team effort results in superior client satisfaction and exceptional legal results.”
Shannon Ellmers