Practice Areas
- Family & Matrimonial Law
Practice Locations
- Albany, NY
As Senior Counsel in Tully Rinckey’s Latham office, Lauren Sheeley, Esq., focuses her practice on family and matrimonial matters. After focusing on children’s rights and disability law in law school, Lauren spent much of her career in public interest law and as a public servant to the people living in her community. Lauren began her career at Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York in 2008, where she provided free civil legal aid to low-income upstate New Yorkers in the fight for fairness, dignity, and justice for those living in poverty. While there, Lauren started an In Court Attorney program in Saratoga Springs City Court for individuals or families facing homelessness. Lauren also worked with senior citizens needing general civil legal assistance, and she successfully represented individuals in social security appeals.
In 2011, Lauren began working at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, where she started as a staff attorney and in 2015, became Attorney in Charge of the Ulster County office. As a non-profit law firm, she offered free comprehensive services in most civil legal issues, aimed at securing the well-being and rights of low-income communities. Lauren represented individuals and families, including people with disabilities, the elderly, LGBTQIA+ individuals, survivors of domestic violence, and veterans and military families to protect rights, promote justice, and ensure equal access to legal assistance. She provided legal assistance in housing matters (evictions, foreclosures, and landlord-tenant disputes), family law (domestic violence, child custody, support, and matrimonial matters), public benefits (unemployment benefits), disability advocacy, consumer law, and more. As Attorney in Charge of the Ulster County LSHV Office, Lauren was also actively engaged in the community; she served as a Board Member and Vice Chair of the Ulster County Continuum of Care; Board Member of the Ulster County Bar Association; Member of the Ulster County Interagency Council on Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking; Member of the Ulster County Enhanced Multidisciplinary Team; Member of the Ulster County Older Adults Empowerment Council; and Member of the Ulster County Department of Social Services Advisory Council. More recently, Lauren served on the Board of Directors at the Hudson Valley LGBTQIA+ Community Center for several years.
In 2020, Lauren was on the assigned counsel panels in Columbia Family Court where she represented adults and children in custody and visitation disputes. Most recently, Lauren was a Senior Assistant Attorney at the Columbia County Department of Social Services. At DSS, Lauren worked over two years in family court protecting children and fighting to keep them safe at home or in the community. She litigated numerous Article 10 abuse and neglect petitions, navigated related custody and visitation matters in court, represented the county in administrative legal proceedings, and more. Lauren also served as First Assistant County Attorney in the Ulster County Attorney’s Office, and as a Hearing Officer for disciplinary matters in Ulster County school cases. In addition, Lauren managed the Ulster County Legal Services office during which time the organization tripled in size and obtained more local funding than ever before.
For the past 17 years, Lauren has dedicated her career to providing high-quality legal services to all her clients, no matter who they were or where they came from. Lauren is a zealous advocate, committed to achieving positive outcomes for her clients, and is passionate about helping families through difficult times with dignity and a clear path forward.
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