Valentina Shaknes

Practice Areas

Valentina Shaknes is a founding partner at KSTM. She has practiced matrimonial and family law since graduating from law school, and represents clients in a wide variety of complex family matters involving high-conflict custody disputes, equitable distribution, child and spousal support, and pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.

A significant portion of Valentina’s practice is devoted to international child custody and international child abduction disputes, including proceedings in federal district and appellate courts, under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Valentina is described by clients to Chambers High Net Worth as “far and above the best matrimonial lawyer I have ever worked with. … brilliant, warm and hard-working,” “very thoughtful and creative in her approach.”

Career

Among other honors, Valentina has been recognized as a Notable Woman in Law (Crain’s New York Business), an Elite Boutique Trailblazer (The National Law Journal), a Best Lawyer for Family Law, a New York Super Lawyer, a Distinguished Leader (New York Law Journal), an Outstanding Young Lawyer (The New York Times) and a Divorce, Trust & Estates Trailblazer (The National Law Journal).

Before co-founding KSTM, Valentina served as co-chair of the matrimonial practice at McLaughlin & Stern LLP. After graduating from law school, she was an associate in the matrimonial department of Blank Rome LLP, where she worked with the other three founding partners of KSTM.

Valentina is a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Matrimonial Law Committee, the New York County Lawyers Association’s Matrimonial Law Section, the New York State Bar Association’s Family Law Section and the Children’s Rights Committee, and the Women’s Bar Association’s Family Law Committee.

Valentina graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 2007), where she served as the associate managing editor of the Journal for Law and Policy. During law school, she earned first place in the Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition. She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University (B.A., 1999).