Our Team

Marjorie Desmond was motivated at an early age to pursue a career as an estate planning attorney.   Her grandfather was lost in WWII, and left his death benefit to his brother instead of his wife and two children, creating extreme hardship for his young family.

Marjorie determined to establish her own law practice in order to help people avoid costly mistakes, and properly protect their families after seeing a number of young parents die unexpectedly.

Marjorie Desmond grew up in San Diego, California, graduated at the top of her class, and attended Stanford University, where she double-majored in history and German studies.

Upon earning her bachelor’s degree with departmental honors, Marjorie set forth to achieve her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer and attended law school.

After receiving her J.D. degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1992, Marjorie was admitted to the California Bar and began her first job at a maritime law firm in L.A. As a member of the Maritime Law Association, she wrote for the Maritime Law Association Recreational Boating Law newsletter and handled a broad spectrum of maritime litigation matters in both state and federal courts in California. She was recruited by a large international law firm in downtown L.A., where she continued to do maritime law, but also handled a wider-range of non-maritime commercial litigation matters. Broadening her scope of practice, Marjorie joined the United States Customs Service as in-house counsel, advising on issues of trade, law enforcement, labor matters, and import/export issues.

Marjorie and her husband moved their family to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1999. Excited about the lifestyle change from L.A., she immediately dove right into the duties of an active school-involved parent. For the next 11 years she was involved in the school PTO and was active in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, sports, and music programs in Scottsdale.

In 2010, Marjorie took the Arizona Bar Exam and was admitted to the Arizona Bar. She got a job with a firm in Scottsdale, handling a large range of commercial collection matters all over Arizona. After seeing the devastating effects of the economy and a failure to plan on families, Marjorie chose to transition towards helping people prepare their family for the future. Passionate about helping people create their legacy, she went into estate planning.

Marjorie established Desmond Law, PLLC in May 2015. She has gone through a wealth of legal education and continues to expand her legal knowledge while helping clients prepare and protect themselves and their families to leave a lasting legacy. She has offices in Scottsdale and Tempe to serve her clients.

Marjorie lives in Scottsdale and has two children–one in college and one planning to go to medical school.

In her free time, Marjorie loves to read and play the piano. But you won’t catch her playing in front of crowds; she prefers to play alone to relax, or for very close friends and family. Marjorie is fluent in German and has many friends in Germany who she loves to visit.

Education

• Stanford University, B.A., 1989. History and German Studies, with departmental honors.
• Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D., 1992. Loyola Law Review, Note & Comment Editor 1991-92, and published author in the Loyola Law Review.

Experience

• Marjorie began her legal career in 1992 in Los Angeles, California, practicing with a boutique maritime firm as well as a premiere international law firm, handling all aspects of commercial litigation in the areas of product liability, personal injury, creditor’s rights, transportation, maritime and contract law.
• Marjorie moved to the public sector in 1998, working in-house for the U.S. Department of Treasury/U.S. Customs Service in Long Beach, California. She handled legal questions from federal law enforcement agents, trained customs inspectors, and prepared cases for trial in the Court of International Trade and federal district courts.
• Marjorie passed the Arizona bar in 2010. She directed the commercial litigation department of the Scottsdale office of a Minnesota law firm until 2013, when she switched to a field more conducive to helping families.
• Marjorie transitioned her practice to estate planning and family law in 2013 in association with a local family law attorney. She opened her own firm in 2015.

Memberships

• State Bar of California, 1992
• State Bar of Arizona, 2010
• Admitted to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; Northern, Eastern, Southern and Central Federal District Courts of California and the Federal District Court of Arizona, as well as all state courts in California and Arizona
• United States Supreme Court, 2019

Professional Organizations

Maricopa County Bar Association, Scottsdale Chamber Member, Disabled American Veterans, estate planning volunteer; Wills for Heroes, volunteer; BNI, Scottsdale Referral Partners Chapter, founding member, former president and current mentor.

Personal Organizations

Marjorie has been actively involved in a number of community organizations since moving to Arizona. She has held numerous positions in PTO and school organizations, church groups, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She is also a member of the Stanford Alumni Association.

Personal Interests and Family

Marjorie has been married for 28 years. She enjoys playing classical piano, horseback riding, traveling, exercising and reading. She and her family and their horse Sunny make their home in Scottsdale.

Mission

• Develop long-term relationships with clients and their financial advisers by earning their confidence and trust
• Fully understand my clients’ circumstances, needs, goals and concerns
• Provide affordable estate plans to individuals and their families that address their very personal needs
• Stay updated on current legal developments in the area of estate planning and marital agreements to provide my clients with exceptional service
• Help parents develop a plan for their minor children should the parents become incapacitated
• Provide clients with peace-of-mind that they have engaged the very best attorney to accomplish their goals

Leah McKeever is an associate attorney at Desmond Law. As a mother of two young children, she has a passion for helping families prepare for their future and achieving their wishes.

Prior to joining Desmond Law, Ms. McKeever was a civil litigation attorney working on both sides of the aisle. She represented clients in personal injury cases including general liability, auto and premise liability, trucking accidents, dog bites, wrongful death, as well as property damage and defamation cases. She also defended insurance companies and their insureds—both corporations and individuals, in claims brought against them for a variety of reasons. This broad perspective of litigation motivated Leah to help families prevent litigation if something happens to them.  Ms. McKeever has over ten years of experience in the handling of conservatorships for her clients, which she continues to do at Desmond Law.

Ms. McKeever achieved her J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in 2017, where she was a member of the Student Bar Association, served on the Arizona Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, and participated in the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Law School Certification Programs for patents and trademarks, receiving an Intellectual Property Certification. She obtained her B.S. in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 2013.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, family, and friends. She also enjoys traveling, running, reading, and riding her horse, Rosie.

Ally Oliver grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, where she enjoyed the cultural opportunities available there.  She headed for warmer weather in 2008 and moved to Arizona.  She loves it here and has never looked back. 

She met the love of her life on a blind date shortly after moving to Arizona.  He immediately recognized his good fortune, and they are now married with two beautiful daughters who are currently in elementary school.  After spending some time at home, Ally started several businesses.  She has an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for helping young families.  She worked for a law office specializing in estate planning and found her true calling.  When COVID hit, she took the opportunity to go back to school and became a certified paralegal.

After meeting Marjorie in 2022, she transitioned to Desmond Law where she enjoys working alongside women who are just as passionate about protecting and educating families as she is.

Ally is a fantastic mother (and cook) and enjoys hiking, social events, spending time with her family (which includes 2 dogs and a cat), and volunteering in her community.

With more than 25 years of customer service experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, Katrina prioritizes understanding each client's needs. She is the first point of contact and is responsible for creating and nurturing relationships that begin with the first phone call. As the Client Services Director, she is the key liaison and prides herself on providing outstanding service.

Katrina was born in Landstuhl, Germany, while her parents served in the United States Air Force.  She continued the tradition of service as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent for almost 6 years in Southern California and D.C. She has traveled extensively and lived in 8 different states.  

Service to her country and others has always been her passion as demonstrated by her many years of public service and volunteer positions. Katrina has raised funds for Multiple Sclerosis research & services, has held leadership roles in a local non-profit entity supporting a charter school, and has served as Girl Scout Co-Leader, volunteer Sunday school teacher, and Vacation Bible School leader.

Katrina graduated from Georgia Southern University and had lived all over the country before settling in Palm Desert, California fourteen years ago with her husband and their two daughters. In her spare time, Katrina enjoys spending time with her family and dog, hiking, and traveling.

Katrina works remotely and is available to make your experience at Desmond Law exceptional.