Donelle H. Ratheal

Firm: Ratheal, Maggard & Fortune, PLLC
Location: Oklahoma City - OK

  • 4045 N.W. 64th Street, Suite 210
    Oklahoma City, OK 73116
    USA
  • Tel : 405-842-6342
  • Fax : 405-842-6708

Donelle H. Ratheal is a renowned litigation attorney in Oklahoma City and Western Oklahoma and is the managing partner of Ratheal, Maggard & Fortune, PLLC. From 1993 to 2011, she was the senior attorney at Ratheal & Associates. Donelle has accrued over 25 years of trial and appellate experience.  The majority of her practice centers around complex family and probate law, both trials and appeals. Representation has included relocation of children, grandparent custody, business valuations, international enforcement of domestic relations orders, contested adoptions, guardianships, wills and trusts.  She has represented clients in numerous appellate matters, many resulting in published opinions that clarified or modified existing law.

Education

Donelle H. Ratheal earned her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1992.  Her law school honors include the Order of the Barristers, Crowe & Dunlevy Law Day Moot Court Award, American Jurisprudence Award – Appellate Advocacy, and the Hardin Ballard Memorial Award – Legal Writing.   She served as Assistant Managing Editor of the University of Oklahoma’s Law Review and Vice-President of the Board of Advocates.  She was selected as a National Moot Court Team member.

Established Guardian ad Litem

Donelle has represented children in custody and guardianship cases for over 10 years.  She was honored for her efforts with the “Outstanding Guardian ad Litem Award” from the OBA Family Law Section (2006).  She was appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Guardian ad Litem manual committee and was one of the founders of Oklahoma County’s Guardian ad Litem project.

Honors

Donelle’s honors from peers and clients include: A member of Lawyers of Distinction (2018), top 25 Women Lawyers in Oklahoma (2006), Oklahoma Super Lawyers (2006-2013), Journal Record’s Leaders in the Law (2008), Oklahoma Magazine’s Best of the Best (2010, 2013-2017), American Institute of Family Law Attorneys Top Ten Oklahoma Family Law Attorneys (2015-2018), National Advocates’ Top 100 Trial Attorneys (2016-2018) and the  exclusive representative attorney for Oklahoma City for Premier Litigation Lawyers (2018-2019).

Author and Seminar Presenter

Donelle has been an author and seminar presenter at the state (OBA and OBA-FLS) and national (ABA Solo/Small Firm, ABA Family Section and NBI) levels for over a decade.  Topics include substantive family law and probate matters, trial & appellate practice, legal writing, and law practice management and technology.  She has contributed to the Oklahoma Bar Journal on family law issues, receiving the OBA’s 2014 Golden Quill Award (excellence in legal writing) for her article “Children and Their De Facto Parents: Past, Present and Future Third-Party Custody and Guardianship Law in Oklahoma.”

Donelle H. Ratheal cherishes her time with her spouse and family members. A former classical pianist with two degrees in piano performance, she still shares music with friends, at church, and in her community.


Ratheal, Maggard & Fortune, PLLC

At Ratheal, Maggard & Fortune, PLLC, our team of senior and associate attorneys bring decades of combined family law experience. Since establishing the firm in 1993 as Ratheal & Associates, the firm has since earned trust and respect among clients and the legal community. Whether you’re seeking representation for issues related to divorce, paternity, child custody, third-party rights, estate planning, or any other issues requiring a family law attorney, we will dedicate the time necessary to build your case and help you achieve an outcome that supports your goals and your children’s best interests.