Stillman Law PLLC

1 Best Lawyers award

Awarded Practice Areas

Elder Law Litigation - Trusts and Estates
*Named the "Lawyer of the Year" in this practice area in the 2026 edition in Norfolk.

Biography

Vanessa Macias Stillman is a Senior Associate at Midgett Preti Olansen concentrating in the area of estate and trust litigation. Ms. Stillman serves as guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults and has experience litigating in several areas of fiduciary law, including contested guardianship and conservatorship actions, will contests, partitions of property, suits for breach of fiduciary duty, and a variety of complex trust and estate matters.

Ms. Stillman graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish. She earned her law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and is admitted to practice law in New York and Virginia. Prior to joining Midgett Preti Olansen, Ms. Stillman served as a Volunteer Law Clerk for Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller (ret.) of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Before moving to Virginia, Ms. Stillman was a Staff Attorney for the Manhattan Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York.

Ms. Stillman was named Chair for the Trusts and Estates Section of the Virginia State Bar for 2022-2023. She is a member of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council and a former member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA South Hampton Roads. Ms. Stillman is fluent in Spanish.

Stillman Law PLLC

1 Best Lawyers award

Overview

  • Spanish

  • Syracuse University, J.D.
  • Loyola Marymount University, B.A. in Political Science and Spanish

  • Virginia, Virginia State Bar, 2012
  • New York, New York State Bar Association, 2015
  • California, The State Bar of California

  • Certified Guardian ad litem for Incapacitated Adults - Member
  • Virginia State Bar - Chair, Trusts and Estates Section
  • Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council - Member
  • Norfolk/Portsmouth Bar Association - Member
  • Virginia Beach Bar Association - Member

  • Virginia Surpreme Court
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
  • New York Supreme Court
  • Spanish
  • Virginia, Virginia State Bar, 2012
  • New York, New York State Bar Association, 2015
  • California, The State Bar of California
  • Certified Guardian ad litem for Incapacitated Adults - Member
  • Virginia State Bar - Chair, Trusts and Estates Section
  • Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council - Member
  • Norfolk/Portsmouth Bar Association - Member
  • Virginia Beach Bar Association - Member
  • Syracuse University, J.D.
  • Loyola Marymount University, B.A. in Political Science and Spanish
  • Virginia Surpreme Court
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
  • New York Supreme Court

Client Testimonials

Awards & Focus

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2026 - Elder Law
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Elder Law, Norfolk (2026)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
  • Elder Law
  • Litigation - Trusts and Estates
Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America from 2024-2024 for work in:
  • Litigation - Trusts and Estates - 2024
Awards:
  • Virginia “Super Lawyer” Rising Star

  • National Order of Barristers

  • Frank H. Armani Advocacy Award

  • Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite, Young Lawyers

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