Associate Attorney
Gretchen Nicole Hedke came to The Adoption Law Firm in May 2021 as an intern during her 2L summer at the University of Alabama School of Law. She then stayed with us as part-time paralegal through the remainder of law school and as she awaited her bar results. Gretchen began practicing law in October 2022 and officially became an associate attorney with the firm. She is a member of the Alabama State Bar and is a licensed Guardian ad Litem.
Gretchen comes from Oak Forest, Illinois, and moved across the country to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to seek her undergraduate and legal education. She received her B.S. in Political Science and French, summa cum laude, from The University of Alabama in 2019, graduating one year early. During her undergraduate education, she was a member of St. Francis University Parish and advocated for the unborn as a member, Tabling Chair, and Vice President of Bama Students for Life.
Gretchen then earned her J.D. from The University of Alabama School of Law in 2022. There, she was a member, Secretary, and then President of the Saint Thomas More Society. As a 3L, Gretchen spent a semester working for the UA Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, using her 3L practice card to assist victims of domestic violence in Tuscaloosa County in legal proceedings, such as Protection From Abuse petitions. Gretchen also earned a CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Advanced Family Law.
Gretchen is a practicing Catholic and attends mass at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church with her family in Birmingham.
Gretchen sought out work with The Adoption Law Firm because of her background advocating against abortion. She felt that adoption was the other side of the pro-life movement, in which she had not yet gotten to participate. Gretchen focuses primarily on foster parent, stepparent, and relative adoption petitions, and appellate writing.
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