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Marina S. Barannik

Partner

202-466-8960
mbarannik@ftlf.com

“I guide my clients through difficult family transitions and complex divorce challenges to help them embrace new roles and achieve positive results for the future.”

Marina S. Barannik

A partner of the firm, Marina excels in dealing with international and complex family law matters. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and has been consistently named a Washingtonian Top Lawyer since 2015.

Always emphasizing the importance of family, Marina is skilled at resolving complex custody and property division cases. Marina serves a wide range of clients, including accomplished career executives, stay-at-home spouses, and international families who face additional cross-cultural challenges of going through a divorce in a foreign country. Another area of Marina’s expertise is drafting and negotiating prenuptial and postnuptial agreements that help clients create solid foundations for successful marriages.

In her practice Marina strives to preserve relationships, recognizing that they are especially fragile during difficult family transitions. A careful listener and a strategic thinker, Marina offers a hands-on and practical approach to resolving disputes and encourages clients to focus on long-term goals that are important to them. By seeking to understand the priorities and needs of her clients, Marina works to achieve positive results through negotiation, mediation, collaborative law, and litigation.

Outside of her practice, Marina enjoys spending time with her family and has a passion for international travel, architecture and music.

Languages

  • Russian
  • French

Honors/Awards

  • Best Lawyers® in America (2018-2021)
  • Selected to the Washington, DC, Super Lawyers list – Family Law (2013-2020)
  • Top Lawyer, Washingtonian Magazine (2015-2019)

Past Employment

  • Institute for U.S. & Canadian Studies, Research Fellow (1982 – 1992)

Introduction

A partner of the firm, Marina excels in dealing with international and complex family law matters. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and has been consistently named a Washingtonian Top Lawyer since 2015.

Always emphasizing the importance of family, Marina is skilled at resolving complex custody and property division cases. Marina serves a wide range of clients, including accomplished career executives, stay-at-home spouses, and international families who face additional cross-cultural challenges of going through a divorce in a foreign country. Another area of Marina’s expertise is drafting and negotiating prenuptial and postnuptial agreements that help clients create solid foundations for successful marriages.

In her practice Marina strives to preserve relationships, recognizing that they are especially fragile during difficult family transitions. A careful listener and a strategic thinker, Marina offers a hands-on and practical approach to resolving disputes and encourages clients to focus on long-term goals that are important to them. By seeking to understand the priorities and needs of her clients, Marina works to achieve positive results through negotiation, mediation, collaborative law, and litigation.

Outside of her practice, Marina enjoys spending time with her family and has a passion for international travel, architecture and music.

Languages

  • Russian
  • French

Honors/Awards

  • Best Lawyers® in America (2018-2021)
  • Selected to the Washington, DC, Super Lawyers list – Family Law (2013-2020)
  • Top Lawyer, Washingtonian Magazine (2015-2019)

Past Employment

  • Institute for U.S. & Canadian Studies, Research Fellow (1982 – 1992)

Videos

How Do Cultural Differences Impact Pre-Nuptual Agreements

Posted By: Marina S. Barannik

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Click to Read Transcript

How Do Cultural Differences Impact Pre-Nuptial Agreements?
Marina Barannik -Partner Family Law

Washington, DC Divorce Lawyer, Marina Barannik discusses the special challenges, including cultural differences, in representing clients with prenuptial agreements.

A pre-nuptial agreement is a private contract between future spouses who want to create their own set of laws for their future marriage. There are many additional challenges in representing a foreign national that is presented with a pre-nuptial agreement. Other cultures are not as familiar with pre-nuptial agreements or the concepts of pre-nuptial agreements. I have expertise in working with international clients and try to explain as much as possible how the concept of marital property works in the jurisdictions where I practice.

My goal in working with international clients who are entering into pre-nuptial agreements is to make sure they understand what rights they are waving by signing this contract. I want to make sure my clients are protected and feel secure in their position as a future spouse of a foreign national.

Practices

  • Family Law

Education

  • J.D., The George Washington University Law School, With Honors (2003)
  • Ph.D., Institute for U.S. & Canadian Studies (1989)
  • M.A., Moscow State University of International Relations (1981)
  • B.A., Moscow State University of International Relations (1979)

 

Bar/Court Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland

Publications / Blog Posts

  • Washingtonian Names Four FTLF Attorneys Top Divorce Lawyers
    December 21, 2020
  • FTLF Selected as 2021 “Best Law Firm” by U.S. News & World Report-Best Lawyers®
    November 24, 2020
  • FTLF Proudly Announces Nine Attorneys Named to the 2021 Best Lawyers® in America List
    November 20, 2020
  • Marina Barannik and Sarah Zimmerman Named Top Women Super Lawyers
    August 06, 2020
All Articles by this Attorney

Professional Memberships

  • American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, DC Chapter, Fellow (2017 to present)
  • American Bar Association, Family Law Section, Member
  • American Bar Association, International Law Section, Member
  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow (2019)
  • Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland, Member
  • D.C. Bar, Regulations/Rules/Board Procedures Committee, present
  • International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Member
  • Montgomery County Women’s Bar Association, Member

Pro Bono Activities

  • Featured in issue of Washington Lawyer for pro bono work (March 2019)
  • D.C. Bar, Family Court Self-Help Center
  • D.C. Bar, Pro Bono Advocacy and Justice Clinic, Mentor
  • Family Law Career Development Program, Mentor

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