Where We Practice
We are located in Northern Virginia. We routinely practice in Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, and the
City of Alexandria, and we also litigate and accept cases from all over Virginia, including: Albemarle County,
Augusta County, Caroline County, Fauquier County, Frederick County, Goochland County, King George County,
Loudoun County, Middlesex County, Rappahannock County, Rockingham County, Shenandoah County, Stafford County,
and Spotsylvania County.
Areas of Practice: Family Law & Related Matters
- Divorce
- Custody and Visitation
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Separation and Property Settlement Agreements
- Equitable Distribution
- Military Pensions and Entitlements relating to divorces
- Domestic Violence
- Vacating fraudulent/unconscionable Prenuptial and Property Settlement Agreements
Our Philosophy
Our first priority is zealous advocacy of our clients' goals while at the same time providing our clients with a
practical expectation of the outcome of litigation so that a realistic assessment of settlement may be made. The
only "won" case is a settled case, but in order to decide upon any settlement, the client must be provided with an
evaluation of all options, including the option of litigation, to properly make a settlement decision.
We try to understand each client's emotional situation and needs, while at the same time championing the financial
needs of each. We emphasize the importance of understanding how each decision affects the overall and long term
goals of the case, and we help the client to look beyond their emotions to determine the best course of action
needed to accomplish their goals.
Where children are concerned, we must focus on what the courts focus on -- the best interests of the children --
but in the process we also promote the interests of our client, the parent. As in all situations, we give advice
based upon our long history of advocacy and litigation in many courts in Virginia, so that each parent may decide
whether to settle, or to entrust a custody decision to a judge.
While we attempt to settle all cases, many cases do go to court. Therefore, we prepare for that possibility so
that our client's rights are not lost. We place equal importance on each case and client, and give each and every
client the individual attention required by their unique situations.
Marcia M. Maddox (Founding Partner)
Marcia Maddox has been a trial attorney for over 17 years, and has focused solely on Family Law since 1983.
Prior to law school, she worked in the White House as an Assistant Press Secretary to Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson.
Since then, she has represented clients on every issue found within family law. She has argued before the
Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. She has lectured to numerous groups on the subject
of family law, including Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Seminars, Virginia Bar Association Family Law
Seminars, the National Business Institute regarding Virginia Divorce Litigation, and Virginia's Continuing
Legal Education program on Domestic and Tax/Bankruptcy Related Issues. She is a Certified Fellow of both
the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She has
served on the Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association Board of Governors. Additionally, she is a member of
approximately 8 different law and family law organizations, and is active in the Fairfax Bar Association.
She has been appointed as a neutral case evaluator for the Fairfax County Circuit Court, where she evaluates
divorce and property matters, and she has also functioned as a court appointed Guardian ad Litem. She graduated
from Smith College where she received a B.A. in government, and she received her J.D. (cum laude) from the
Washington College of Law, American University.
Teresa S. Cole (Partner)
Teresa has extensive experience in cases involving domestic violence.
She has served as the treasurer and on the Board of Directors for the
Services to Abused Families (SAFE), and has served as a member of the
Family Law Task force at the Virginia Poverty Law Center in Richmond,
Virginia. Prior to joining the Maddox & Cole, P.C., Teresa worked for
the Rappahannock Legal Services where she dealt with a wide range of
family law issues. While there, she organized the first Culpeper County
Domestic Violence Task Force, assisted in organizing a similar task
force in Orange County, and organized a Sexual Assault Task Force in
Culpeper County. She also has provided domestic violence and family
law training for Culpeper law enforcement and assisted the Culpeper
Town Police Department in developing a domestic violence protocol. Additionally,
she participated in training volunteers for the local domestic violence
shelter. In addition to her extensive work in Culpeper, Teresa has represented
many clients in Fauquier County. Locally, she has worked for the Commission
on Domestic Violence for the American Bar Association and has recently
argued an important child support case before the Virginia Court of
Appeals. Teresa received a B.A. in Government/Public Policy from the
University of Virginia, and she received her J.D. from Hastings College
of Law.
Michael C. Miller (Partner)
Michael practiced law in the Military (US Marine Corp) for 7 years,
and his expertise is divorce law applied to military pensions and entitlements.
While in the military, Michael spent a year and a half as Defense Counsel,
where he dealt with a wide range of issues including child and spousal
abuse and sex crimes. He also spent over a year as Officer in Charge
of Legal Assistance. As Officer in Charge, he dealt with many family
law issues, including divorce, support, wills and consumer law. Michael
also served as an instructor for the Naval Justice School where he instructed
attorneys and paralegals on the civil law aspects of family law and
estate planning. Michael has an undergraduate background in accounting,
and has experience analyzing complex financial arrangements. Michael
received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Utah, and he received
his J.D. from the University of Akron.
Katharine W. McGregor
(Associate)
Katharine McGregor has worked in family law since she was
in high school when she worked for Betty A. Thompson and Marcia Maddox.
Prior to law school she was a Paralegal at Covington & Burling where
she worked on insurance recovery cases and the successful appeal of
a Florida death penalty conviction. Throughout law school she was a
law clerk at Maddox, Cole & Miller, assisting with all aspects of
family law cases including the preparation of briefs for the Virginia
Court of Appeals. She is a board member of Young Lawyer's Division of
the Fairfax Bar Association. Ms. McGregor received her B.A. in psychology
at the University of Virginia and her J.D. (with Honors) from The George
Washington University. There she served as the Chairperson of the Law
School Academic Integrity Committee.
Disclaimer: No information or materials posted here are intended to constitute
legal advice, nor can we guarantee the accuracy of posted information, especially as to each individual situation.
This site does not constitute an attorney-client relationship; local counsel should always be consulted.
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