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Leslie B. Spoltore

Partner
Located in

Wilmington, DE

“I listen carefully to my clients’ goals and concerns. Then I take an efficient and cost-effective approach to achieve them.”

- Leslie B. Spoltore

“I listen carefully to my clients’ goals and concerns. Then I take an efficient and cost-effective approach to achieve them.”

- Leslie B. Spoltore

Delaware Family Law and Commercial Attorney.

Leslie focuses her practice on family law along with commercial and corporate litigation.

In her family law practice, Leslie assists clients with divorce, adoptions, child support and alimony, custody and guardianship, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, litigation, and property division, including the valuation of closely-held businesses. In addition to her work as a family law litigator, Leslie is a Family Court certified mediator. She is also a Delaware State Bar Association Certified Domestic Relations Arbitrator. 

In her commercial and corporate litigation practice, Leslie focuses on breach of contract actions, books and records demands, matters involving fiduciary duties and corporate governance, non-competition agreements, summary proceedings such as temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.

Leslie enjoys the intellectual challenge of litigation, particularly appellate practice. She is a skilled and supportive divorce lawyer and became an attorney to help families through difficult times. While she naturally brings a personal touch to family law matters, she also makes a point to bring the same attention to her commercial and corporate litigation practice. Leslie proudly serves the Wilmington area along with all of Delaware.

Leslie is an avid sports fan, following the Virginia Tech Hokies, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Phillies and NCAA basketball. She enjoys spending time with her family, baking, hiking with her dog, genealogy, and listening to U.S. Supreme Court and Delaware Supreme Court oral arguments.

Leslie has experience in all Delaware courts, including appellate practice in the Delaware Supreme Court. She has handled numerous cases involving the valuation of complex business assets, as well as complex analysis of income available for support. Some of Leslie’s more notable cases include:

  • Successfully appealing a custody decision and obtaining sole custody for the client;
  • Serving as amicus curiae in support of the Family Court’s conclusion that the rebuttable presumption of the Delaware Sex Offenders Act does not operate outside of Family Court custody proceedings;
  • Obtaining sanctions for spoliation in a property division matter;
  • Successfully establishing that a client’s business was premarital in nature, thus excluding it from the marital estate;
  • Successfully tracing seven years of funds dissipated during a marriage; and
  • As guardian ad litem, successfully arguing that Delaware’s guardianship statute requires the Court to consider a child’s best interest in determining a petition for guardianship, even when a parent consents to the petition.

Prior to joining the firm, Leslie was a partner at a large Philadelphia law firm where she practiced in their litigation department. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Legal Affairs for the Family Court of the State of Delaware. As Director of Legal Affairs, Leslie served as a Special Master and conducted temporary contact and divorce hearings, provided counsel to the Chief Judge and Court Administrator, drafted Family Court rules of civil and criminal procedure, and drafted various legislation.

Leslie serves as a board member and volunteer attorney for Delaware Volunteer Legal Services. She is also a volunteer attorney for the Office of the Advocate and has served as a coach for the Delaware Futures High School Mock Trial team.

Leslie is a decorated attorney. She has a 10-star rating on Avvo, has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America® for Family Law every year since 2019, and was selected by Best Lawyers® as the 2023 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” in the Wilmington area. She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers® for Family Law Mediation since 2020. Leslie was also named one of Delaware’s top lawyers in Delaware Today magazine (2012, 2013, 2019, 2023), and was selected for inclusion in “Women Leaders in the Law” by ALM in 2015. Leslie was awarded the Christopher W. White Distinguished Access to Justice Service to Children Award (2018). The award is given by the Delaware State Bar Association to a lawyer who demonstrates outstanding commitment to children in the provision of legal or community service. Leslie was recognized in the 2023 Chambers and Partners guide in the Family/Matrimonial: High Net Worth category. 

Additionally, Leslie is an active blogger on Obermayer’s Family Matters blog, where she often reports on a variety of topics, including custody matters, adoption, divorce, and other updates in Delaware.

Awards Won*

*Click here for a description of the standard or methodology on which the awards and honors are based. No aspect of this advertisement is approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.