Phone : 205-729-6685

Email : Email me

Family Law Philosophy

All families are created equal, and the firm believes in equal treatment for litigants and their children regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity, or sexual orientation.  Ms. Fann’s practice has always focused on civil rights aspects of family law, leading up to same-sex marriage and family victories in the Strawser v. Strange matter in federal court (striking down unconstitutional Alabama statutes prohibiting same-sex marriage) and the United States Supreme Court’s recognition for equal treatment of same-sex adoptive parents in V.L. v. E.L.(requiring Alabama’s recognition of a Georgia same-sex parent’s second-parent adoption).  The National LGBTQ+ Bar awarded Heather its Leading Practitioner award for these efforts in 2017, and Heather continues to stay abreast of emerging family law issues for the LGBTQ+ community through her work with the LGBTQ+ Bar’s Family Law Institute.  You can read about Heather’s work on these issues here.

Heather’s practice seeks to preserve the dignity of clients through healthy paths for their changing families, employing both modern and traditional means of resolution including collaborative practice and methods such as use of Parenting Coordinators, as well as mediation, though she stands ready to litigate where necessary.

Family Law Practice

A native of Piedmont, Alabama, Heather left her high-school teaching career in 2003 to pursue her law degree, and began volunteering for the Alabama State Bar Family Law Section before graduating cum laude from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2006.  Heather served as Chair of that Section from 2014-2016.  Heather is active in her state and community, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Alabama and having additionally been active and in leadership positions for the Birmingham Volunteer Lawyers Program Board of Directors for eight years in addition to the Family Law Section Board and as Director of its annual seminar for several years.

Heather is an adjunct professor at Cumberland School of Law, teaching regular and advanced Domestic Relations courses.  At her previous firms, Heather contributed to both the Lexis (Family Law in Alabama: Practice and Procedure) and West (Alabama Family Law) family law reference books, and publication of a regular column in the Birmingham Bar Bulletin.  In law school, she published “Desperately Clinging to the Cleavers: What Family Law Courts Are Doing About Homosexual Parents, and What Some Are Refusing to See” in the Law & Psychology Review.

Leadership / Recognition

• Vice-Chair, American Bar Association Family Law Section Custody Committee (2021)
• Founding Member/Development Committee Chair, Pride Bar Alliance of the Southeast (2021)
• Super Lawyers (2020-2021)
• B-Metro Top Attorneys and Top Women Lawyers (2016- present)
• Birmingham Magazine Top Attorneys: Family Law/Rising Star (2011-present)
• Leading Practitioner Award, National LGBTQ+ Bar (2017
• Class 12, Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum (2016)
• Vice-President, Birmingham Volunteer Lawyers Program (2015)
• B-Metro Magazine Women Attorneys to Watch (2015)
• Vice-Chair, Birmingham AIDS Outreach Board of Directors (2011-2013)
• Super Lawyers Rising Star (2011-2013)
• Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program Special Projects Recognition (2012)
• Birmingham Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Executive Board (2012)
• B-Metro Magazine Rising Star (2012)
• Birmingham Bar Association Future Leaders Forum (2011)
• Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program Volunteer Lawyer of the Year (2011)

Professional Experience

5 Points Law Group, LLC
Birmingham, Alabama
Founding Member/Shareholder, 2017-2021

Boyd, Fernambucq, Dunn & Fann, P.C.
Birmingham, Alabama
Shareholder, 2014-2016; Associate, 2008-2014; Law Clerk, 2006

The Crittenden Firm, P.C.
Birmingham, Alabama
Associate, 2006-2008