New law firm finds focus in family

SANDUSKY — Paige Hacker considers her parents' divorce a "unicorn." "My mom is remarried, and all of my parents get along very well, and I have a great relationship with my stepdad," Hacker said. "I was able to acknowledge, at a later age, it is in my best interest that my parents are divorced." She attributes the legal process to inspiring her to become a lawyer. "Their relationship and putting me first really helped cultivate who I ended up being and my decision to be a family attorney," Hacker said. "I am hoping that by being a family lawyer I can help encourage parents to do the same." Hacker recently opened Lakeshore Law at 504 W. Jefferson St., across the street from Sandusky Central Catholic High School. "My intention long-term with our office here in family law is to be a little bit more resolution-focused in divorces, especially when children are involved," Hacker said. In addition to family law, she practices misdemeanor criminal law and adoptions. Hacker plans on expanding into estate planning. She is currently in a rigorous estate planning-focused education program to provide her clients with the best experience possible. "I've kind of fallen in love with doing estate planning because I think it blends really well with family law," Hacker said. "Honestly just planning for your future goes hand in hand with handling your family the best way you can in divorce." The beginning Hacker decided to pursue law while attending Perkins High School. She graduated from there in 2016. She chose to attend BGSU Firelands for her last two years of high school to get a head start before attending Kent State University after graduating in 2016. She double-majored in philosophy and criminology with a focus in legal studies. Hacker attended the University of Toledo College of Law and graduated cum laude in 2022. Making the jump Hacker originally planned to train under others for at least five years before opening a firm. But in May, she began to fall in love with the idea of opening her own firm. "I've been an attorney for two years in November, so not nearly as long as I anticipated," Hacker said. "Because it's all I've really done, I've completely immersed myself in family law for the past two years." Hacker's professional experience includes working at Kademenos, Wisehart, Hines Dolyk & Wright Co. She first worked as a law clerk. After passing the bar exam, she worked as a lawyer under criminal defense attorney Troy Wisehart. "Paige is a very hardworking intelligent young lawyer with a passion for helping people through domestic issues," Wisehart said. "I am excited to watch her new practice grow." After talking to local lawyers about opening her own practice, she made the jump. "I knew, at the end of the day, this was inevitable," Hacker said. "This was a passion of mine to be on my own and provide a unique experience to clients." What's in a name? Lakeshore Law's name was only recently made possible. In 2020, the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Co. changed its regulations on firm names. After the amendment, firms were no longer required to have the partner's name in the title. "I also love being in downtown Sandusky, so I wanted to try and pull in a name with the community in some way so that it would be catchy for clients and people would remember it," Hacker said. "'Lakeshore' popped up, and I kind of fell in love with it right when I picked it." The experience so far Hacker loves being a business owner. "It's been really great, very stress-free surprisingly," Hacker said. "Now that I'm on my own, there are a lot of additional tasks because I'm a business owner now, and there's a business to run and clients to attend to but it's been really fun, I love the new journey." Now that she's established, she hopes to give others the same level of guidance that she has gotten from community members. "One of my passions, I would say, is being a mentor as much as I possibly can to potentially future lawyers, and I'm hoping to get involved with some of the school systems in mock trial," Hacker said. "I'm hoping now that I'm out on my own I can provide as much mentorship as much as I possibly can." Visit lakeshorelawfirm.com for more information