Donelle H. Ratheal

Donelle H. Ratheal is the senior attorney of Ratheal Family Law. From 1993 to 2011, she was the senior attorney at Ratheal & Associates. From 2011 to 2019, Donelle was the managing partner of Ratheal, Maggard & Fortune, PLLC.

Donelle has over 30 years of trial and appellate experience in family law. Her practice focuses on complex matrimonial and family law issues, both trials and appeals. Client representation includes divorce, contested custody, relocation of children, valuation of family-owned businesses, identifying and locating hidden assets, above-the-guidelines support, prenuptial agreements, grandparent rights and custody, domestic and international enforcement of domestic relations orders, stepparent adoptions, guardianships, contested wills and trusts.

She has represented clients in numerous appellate matters, many resulting in published appellate judicial opinions that either 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.

Organizations

Donelle served as the Continuing Education Committee Chair (2001 & 2006) and the Section Chair (2007 & 2013) for the Family Law Section of Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA-FLS). She was one of the authors and editors of the OBA-FLS Practice Manual and served as OBA-FLS’s first Trial Advocacy Institute Chair in 2012.

Honors

Donelle’s honors from peers and clients include: Oklahoma Lawyers of Distinction – Family Law (2018-2021), 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 (2015-2021), and National Advocates’ Top 100 Trial Attorneys (2016-2021).

Donelle has represented children in custody and guardianship cases for over 20 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.

Donelle’s service to the community is through the arts. She is one of the co-founders and a board member for Buffalograss Arts Institute, which funds and manages ArtSpace, an immersive summer arts camp for elementary school-age children. A classical pianist, she enjoys sharing music with loved ones and friends.