David Marple and Melissa Davis Strickland have each left established family law firms to start their own shops. Both lawyers—midway through their careers with four children apiece—said it was time to try going solo.

Marple left Davis Matthews & Quigley, a general-practice firm with a family law focus, to start the Marple Law Firm. Strickland left Levine Smith Snider & Wilson, which handles family law exclusively, to launch Strickland Family Law.

The two also happen to be opposing counsel on a divorce case; Marple is representing the wife, and Strickland is representing the husband. “In the family law community we all tend to know each other,” Marple said.