This article comes courtesy of Trinh Warner, the newest of-counsel attorney at the Law Office of Lisa A. Vance. Lisa has high praise for her, pointing to her career as a JAG as well as a family lawyer, and noting in her own inimitable fashion, “She’s as smart as a tree full of owls.” Trinh has an incredible life story, and we’re thrilled that she’s here to help families — especially military families — with their family law needs.
I came to the United States from Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon, when I was just a kid. I also have come to understand recently that there’s a difference in the U.S. between being an immigrant and a refugee, and I’m definitely a refugee.
I left Vietnam in a U.S. Air Force C-130, and because of the kindness of a loadmaster who was on that flight out to safety – when my family and I left with just the clothes on our backs — I knew that someday, somehow, my path would cross with the Air Force once again.
I served for a while, and then wanted to take a path that would bring me back to the Air Force as a JAG. So I went to college, went to law school and served as a JAG in the Air Force for 17 years.
I’ve become interested in family law of late because I have a child of my own who is in the family law system. My story is similar to a lot of other people’s — I have an ex who wants to keep up barriers between myself and my child, even though I have the right to parent my child. My long career as a lawyer allows me perspectives and knowledge that puts me in a better place than most parents trying to navigate the family law system. But I would never say that what I’ve encountered is easy — I’m just better at handling it now that I’ve specialized it.
For military families, there can be challenges that go beyond family law issues for civilians. Complications can arise when parents are on active duty – especially when they’re in completely different countries and you’re trying to work out parenting time issues. Dealing with military pay systems and insurance requires a level of dotting Is and crossing Ts that go well beyond what civilians are used to doing.
That’s why I’m especially eager to help military families, knowing and being attuned to the challenges that they face when they’re married, and the extra level of challenges they must take on when divorcing or divorced. Of course, I’m here to consult with whoever might come through the doors of the Law Office of Lisa A. Vance to deal with all manner of family law issues. But if you’re part of the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and especially the Air Force, I’m all the more happy to talk to you, hear your story, and work on your behalf to settle your case.
This video (created when she was known as Trinh Peterson) tells a little more of that story, and it’s worth watching as well:
