In May 2007 Clarissa Harrell entered her fifteenth year of practicing law in Brevard County, Florida. Five years ago she opened her own law firm close to The Moore Justice Center in Viera. She concentrates her practice in the areas of family law and business litigation, handling the following types of cases: divorce, injunctions, child custody and visitation, child support, paternity, modifications of final judgments, step-parent adoptions, replevin, landlord-tenant disputes, juvenile dependency, and contract disputes.
In addition to operating her own firm, since 2006 Ms. Harrell has been of counsel to The Law Firm of William G. Sayegh, P.C. in Carmel, New York, and has represented that firm's clients who have legal needs in the state of Florida.
Ms. Harrell was a member of the inaugural group of Brevard County attorneys who obtained training to practice in the area of Collaborative Law, an innovative new process for resolving dissolution of marriage cases designed to reduce stress, costs, and hostility for divorcing parties. For more information about Collaborative Law, please visit the Collaborative Association of Brevard's website, www.cab-brevard.com.
Prior to opening her own firm, Ms. Harrell enjoyed positive and strongly beneficial experiences working as an attorney at two other well-respected local law firms: The Law Office of Joan Berry Nassar, P.A., where she focused exclusively on family law cases; and the firm now known as O'Brien, Riemenschneider, Wattwood & Cantwell, where she and her colleagues represented business owners and companies in complex business litigation cases and related appeals, with a side focus on divorce cases encompassing significant business interests.
She began her legal career as a criminal prosecutor, gaining valuable trial experience in the Juvenile, Misdemeanor, General Felony, and Sex Crimes & Child Abuse Divisions of the State Attorney's Office. During her tenure there she was awarded the annual "Pride In Excellence" Attorney Award for 1996 and was recognized for her outstanding prosecution of domestic violence cases in 1995. She has also worked as a Trial Court Staff Attorney for the judges of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, an academic position requiring extensive legal research and writing.
In addition to her 1993 admission to practice in Florida's state courts, Ms. Harrell was admitted to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 1994.
Ms. Harrell is a Brevard County native. She was born in Cocoa Beach and is a graduate of Palm Bay High School. Her late father served as an engineer with the space program, and her mother is in her fourth decade of teaching elementary school in Brevard. Ms. Harrell is married to a law enforcement officer and is proud to have four other police officers in her extended family. As a child of divorce who is now the mother of two young children and the stepmother of three, Ms. Harrell is personally familiar with many of the issues and concerns encountered by her family law clients.
Attorney Duana Lara Boyles
Attorney Duana Lara Boyles joined the office in September 2007, bringing notable experience in the Florida family law and criminal law arenas to our firm. This combination of skills is particularly valuable in those cases in which divorcing clients are coping with companion injunction for protection and/or domestic violence cases, either as victims or defendants. Ms. Boyles handles the same scope of family law matters as Ms. Harrell, and she accepts criminal case referrals on a case-by-case basis. She completed training qualifying her to practice in the area of Collaborative Law in November 2007.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Boyles worked as an attorney at two other family law firms: The Law Office of Joan Berry Nassar, P.A. in Melbourne; and the Thompson Family Law firm in Fort Meyers, Florida. She also gained valuable, "in-the-trenches" courtroom and trial experience while working at The Law Office of Douglas R. Beam, P.A., and at the Brevard County Public Defender's Office. During these work experiences she was entrusted with a large degree of case responsibility; she had the opportunity to become acquainted with the courtroom environments and preferences of many different Brevard County judges; and she enjoyed establishing a network of contacts with premier attorneys in the community who have served as ongoing sources of expert advice and referrals.
In addition to her admission to practice in Florida state courts in 2004, Ms. Boyles was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court in January 2008, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in February of 2007, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in January 2007.
Prior to attending law school Ms. Boyles served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the United States Army, attaining the rank of Captain. During her four years of military service, she was awarded three Army Commendation Medals and three Army Achievement Medals for exceptional performance.
Ms. Boyles is bilingual; she is fluent in Spanish. She is married to an aerospace engineer who works for Harris Corporation. Her father served 27 years in the United States Air Force, is a veteran of the Gulf War, and is presently working in a civilian capacity in Iraq. Her mother has been a devoted homemaker and strong advocate for family members; she continues to volunteer her energy and time in full support of her daughter's entire "office family."
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