M. Ella Russell is a divorce and family law attorney with Sevila, Saunders, Huddleston & White, P.C., in Leesburg, Virginia. She represents clients in divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, and equitable distribution matters throughout Northern Virginia, including Loudoun and Fairfax counties. Licensed in Virginia and Maryland, Ella also handles select family-based immigration and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status matters.

Ella combines careful preparation with candid advice and practical problem-solving. She helps clients identify their priorities, understand the strengths and risks of their case, and make informed decisions about settlement and litigation. Her approach considers the available evidence, likely outcomes, financial costs, and long-term consequences of each course of action.

Divorce and Family Law in Leesburg and Loudoun County

Ella represents clients in contested and uncontested divorce proceedings, separation agreement negotiations, and related family law disputes. Her practice includes:

• Divorce and legal separation

• Marital settlement agreements

• Equitable distribution and division of marital property

• Marital and separate property classification and tracing

• Child custody, visitation, and parenting schedules

• Child support and spousal support

• Protective orders

• Post-divorce enforcement and modification

• Parental relocation and custody modifications

• Paternity and parental-rights issues

When settlement offers a practical resolution, Ella negotiates terms designed to protect her clients’ long-term interests. When litigation is necessary, she prepares cases through careful development of the evidence, financial analysis, and focused courtroom advocacy.

Child Custody and Visitation

Ella represents parents in disputes involving legal custody, physical custody, visitation, parenting schedules, and parental decision-making authority. She also handles relocation cases and requests to modify existing custody and visitation orders.

Her approach considers how proposed arrangements will work in a child’s daily life. School schedules, transportation, medical needs, extracurricular activities, communication between parents, and geographic distance can all affect a parenting plan. Ella helps clients identify the legally significant facts and present a clear, organized account of their child’s needs and family circumstances.

Complex Divorce and Equitable Distribution

Ella represents clients in divorce matters involving substantial assets, high-income households, income disparities, and disputed marital and separate property claims. These cases may involve:

• Real estate, mortgages, and household obligations

• Retirement accounts, investments, and business interests

• Separate property contributions and tracing of commingled assets

• Marital debt and allocation of financial obligations

• Bonuses, commissions, and other variable compensation

She reviews the financial records underlying property and support disputes, including tax returns, income documentation, bank statements, investment records, retirement accounts, and business records. This analysis helps clients evaluate settlement proposals and prepare disputed financial issues for trial.

Child Support and Spousal Support

Ella represents clients seeking or responding to child support and spousal support claims, including temporary support during divorce proceedings and modification or enforcement of existing support orders.

She helps clients understand the role of support guidelines and the financial evidence relevant to their case. Her analysis addresses income, childcare expenses, health insurance costs, variable compensation, and other circumstances that may affect support.

Protective Orders and Related Family Law Disputes

Ella represents individuals seeking or defending against protective orders involving allegations of family abuse, threats, harassment, or other conduct.

She evaluates the evidence, requested relief, and potential effect of the proceeding on related divorce and custody matters. When protective orders overlap with parenting arrangements or possession of the marital residence, she helps clients understand how those issues affect their broader legal strategy.

Practical Advice and Focused Advocacy

Ella believes clients should understand both their legal options and the practical consequences of pursuing them. She provides candid advice about the benefits and risks of negotiation, court intervention, and trial.

Her representation emphasizes a strategy proportionate to what is at stake, with attention to the issues most likely to affect the outcome and her clients’ lives after the case concludes.

Family-Based Immigration and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

In addition to family law, Ella handles select immigration matters involving family-based petitions and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), including related state court predicate proceedings. Her immigration experience informs her work when immigration concerns intersect with divorce, custody, or other family law issues.

Serving Leesburg, Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and Northern Virginia

Ella practices from the Leesburg office of Sevila, Saunders, Huddleston & White, P.C., near the Loudoun County Courthouse. She represents family law clients throughout Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and Northern Virginia.

Contact the office to schedule a consultation about your divorce, custody, support, property division, protective-order, or immigration matter.

Honors and Recognition

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America — Family Law, 2026–2027

• Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars — 2024–2026