New York—October 1, 2020—Krauss Shaknes Tallentire & Messeri LLP founding partners Caroline Krauss and Valentina Shaknes have been named to The National Law Journal’s list of 2020 Elite Boutique Trailblazers. This award honors movers and shakers in the legal industry who have made an impact through new types of strategies or innovative court cases. Caroline and Valentina are two of only 24 individuals honored in this year’s report.

Caroline is a fierce advocate for individuals in all matrimonial and family law matters, often protecting the interests of clients whose legal issues are complicated by their significant assets and heightened public profiles. Among other successes, she secured a landmark decision in New York’s highest court that overturned longstanding prejudicial rules toward same-sex parents in custody matters.

Valentina is a well-established leader of the matrimonial bar and represents clients in a wide variety of complex matrimonial and family law matters, particularly specializing in international child custody disputes. In a matter heard before the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit, Valentina created new legal precedent in cases arising under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Earlier this year, Caroline and Valentina were two of only 23 attorneys named to the New York Law Journal’s Distinguished Leaders list – an annual award that honors attorneys in leadership roles who have achieved impressive results within the past year. This is also the second time that Caroline and Valentina have been recognized as Trailblazers by The National Law Journal, as they were both selected as Divorce, Trusts & Estates Trailblazers in 2017.

The full 2020 Elite Boutique Trailblazers issue, including Caroline and Valentina’s profiles, can be viewed here.