A respected leader of the bar for more than three decades, Al Bonin is today one of the top divorce and family law attorneys in Northern Virginia. His personal traits of pragmatism, business acumen and dedication to work and family have led to his position as senior counsel and past president at the Fairfax firm of ShounBach, long regarded as a powerhouse of Virginia divorce law. Bonin’s mid-career move 18 years ago from Colorado to the Washington area is viewed with both awe and respect (“You can’t just pick up and move a successful practice,” says a colleague. “Few of us could ever do that.”), but it has given the progressive Bonin unique perspective and a broad worldview that will maintain his status as a positive influence in Virginia’s fast-evolving legal circles.

A native of Flushing, New York, Bonin majored in economics at Queens College, and attended William Mitchell College of Law. (Its most renowned alum: Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger.) Bonin didn’t practice law right away. With the instincts of an entrepreneur, in 1980 he launched with a colleague The National Center for Legal Education., and helped build the business into a national presence before it was sold. In 1983 Bonin met at a party the renowned Denver divorce attorney Robert T. Hinds, Jr.; Bonin worked with the veteran attorney (“A great mentor to me”) for ten years. He then launched his own practice, and through the 1990s emerged as a leader of Colorado’s divorce bar.

As Bonin’s practice thrived, so too did the career of his wife, a managing director at KPMG. As Ginger Bonin endured the weekly strain of commuting to the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, the family resolved the matter by Al agreeing to relocate - a move virtually unheard-of among top independent lawyers, who usually spend a lifetime building their reputation in a single locale. Yet with much at risk, Bonin has managed to succeed by all expectations in his Virginia locale. Throughout his career Bonin has been known for his skillful advocacy in custody and parenting matters, his ability to settle complex issues - and for shrewdly and capably handling complex business valuation and property issues. Scores of clients in Virginia have already benefited from his expertise.

Today he and his wife live in Fairfax County, Virginia. They enjoy travel, tennis and the theater; Bonin has two grown daughters from his first marriage, one of whom is a lawyer, the other holds an MBA and works in human resources.