Priyal Thakkar

Meet Priyal Thakkar

Priyal Thakkar is an associate attorney at HRKA who combines relentless advocacy with a steady, patient presence for her clients. She represents individuals in appeals, divorce, custody and allocation disputes, prenuptial agreements, and mediation, bringing both sharp litigation skills and an empathetic approach to each matter. She frequently collaborates with financial experts, child specialists, and forensic professionals to build evidence-driven strategies tailored to each client’s goals.

Priyal began her career clerking for Chief Judge David B. Gass at the Arizona Court of Appeals, where she developed deep experience in appellate writing and judicial decision-making—training that now allows her to anticipate issues, craft persuasive arguments, and guide clients through the challenges of appellate review.

She graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where she served as an International Rule of Law & Security Fellow and contributed to matters in active litigation across Timor-Leste, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone, and India. Prior to law school, Priyal worked as a Research Associate for the Centre for Equity Studies and the Centre for Social Justice, publishing several papers and co-editing the 2018 Child Rights Manual used to train paralegals throughout India.

Licensed in both Illinois and Arizona, and fluent in Hindi, Gujarati, and Urdu, Priyal brings cultural competence to her practice and a thoughtful, client-centered approach to resolving disputes. Outside the courtroom, she is also a published poet and co-founder of a poetry organization where she taught survivors of abuse how to use poetry as a tool for reclaiming narratives and in partnership with Teach for India, led poetry workshops for under-resourced students.

Outside of her practice, Priyal enjoys immersing herself in Chicago’s rich arts landscape, volunteering to support immigrant and low-income families, and being a regular at the Gene Siskel.

Areas of Practice

• Appeals
• Family Law
• Complex Settlement and Litigation
• Negotiating Marital Settlement Agreement and Custody Agreements
• Complex Financial Issues, including asset tracing
• Civil Unions
• High Net-Worth Divorce
• Legal Separation
• Maintenance or alimony, including modifications to existing maintenance agreements
• Prenuptial, post-nuptial, and cohabitation agreements
• Property Division
• Child custody, including modifications to child custody, and non-parental custody
• Child Support and Medications to Child Support
• Grandparent Visitation
• Paternity
• Removal
• Domestic Violence and Orders of Protection
• International Cases

Education

• Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (2022)
• Gujarat University
  • Bachelor of Arts – BA, Political Science and Government (2017) (First Class with Distinction)

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 2023
• Arizona, 2023