Jessica L. Vinnik

Ms. Vinnik joined Hostetter Strent in September 2023 after having practiced family law in New York City since 2011. Ms. Vinnik has been lead counsel on simple and complex domestic relations cases and has extensive experience resolving matrimonial, custody, child support, alimony, protective order, and paternity actions, both in and out of court. Ms. Vinnik’s legal experience also includes other substantive areas which enhance her family law practice, including real estate, bankruptcy, consumer debt, and foreclosure defense. Her depth of knowledge in these legal areas enables her to more effectively identify and resolve financial and real estate issues for her domestic relations clients. 

Ms. Vinnik believes that an effective family law attorney must combine technical prowess with genuine empathy, and that gaining trust requires client-centered communication.  Prior to her legal career, Ms. Vinnik worked with parents and children touched by the New York City foster care system. Throughout her years in that role and later as a legal services attorney, she was thoughtful and energetic as she offered concrete support, honest counseling, and bold advocacy. 

Ms. Vinnik earned her Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004, where she trained to be a peer counselor and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She earned her Juris Doctorate from City University of New York Law School in 2011 as a Haywood Burns Graduate Fellow. During and after law school, Ms. Vinnik researched for two family law professors and interned for Diana Adams Law, Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis (Southern District of New York), Urban Justice Center’s Peter Cicchino Youth Project, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Law Project, and MFY Kinship Caregiver Law Project. Upon graduating, Ms. Vinnik worked in the Office of Legal Affairs in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Ms. Vinnik is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York. She is collaboratively trained and a member of the Family Law Community of the DC Bar Association, the DC Women’s Bar Association, and the Family Law Section of the Montgomery Bar Association. While in New York, she was a member of the Steering Committee of the Family Law and Matrimonial Section of the LGBT Bar Association of New York.  Ms. Vinnik researched and authored the DC section of the International Academy of Family Lawyer’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Guide.

Ms. Vinnik relocated with her family to the DMV area in 2023 and is eager to continue helping clients seeking to preserve or dissolve their families. Ms. Vinnik is highly proficient in Spanish.