Attorney Sarah Welch was born in New York and lived in Connecticut and Washington State before settling in Virginia. She attended Virginia Tech, graduating in 2003 with a degree in Political Science, with a concentration in Law. During her undergraduate years, Sarah participated in several internships. She served as a mentor at the Tekoa Residential Treatment Facility, a group home in Floyd County, where she aided abused and troubled youth from the New River Valley, helping them understand and navigate the criminal justice system. She also worked as a summer legal intern for two local firms, assisting attorneys with their criminal defense and family law practices.
In 2004, Sarah returned to New York to pursue a law degree at New York Law School. During her time there, she received the Government Fellowship Award in 2005 and 2006 for her work in the public interest sector, clerking with the Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office and the King’s County District Attorney’s Office. In these roles, she represented clients in trial and on appeal. Sarah also gained extensive experience and insight by clerking for the Honorable Rosemarie Annunziata of the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Honorable Robert W. Wooldridge, Jr., of the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Following law school, Sarah volunteered as a pro bono attorney with Legal Services of Northern Virginia, where she represented domestic violence victims in obtaining protective orders. From 2009 to 2020, she worked for local firms focusing her practice on criminal defense, protecting and defending the rights of individuals charged with criminal and traffic offenses throughout Virginia. In 2020, she joined the Prince William County Public Defender’s Office, where her expertise and skills continued to grow. Her experience as both a highly knowledgeable and fierce advocate has resulted in the successful resolution of cases including, but not limited to: Manslaughter, Malicious Wounding, Violent offenses, Sex offenses, Narcotics offenses, Financial crimes, Juvenile crimes, DUIs, Reckless Driving, and a variety of other felony, misdemeanor, and traffic charges.
Sarah has extensive experience practicing before all courts throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as in federal court in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She is also licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Sarah’s current practice areas include:
- Criminal felonies and misdemeanors
- Traffic misdemeanors and infractions
- Family law, including custody, visitation, petitions for paternity, child support (including DCSE cases), premarital agreements, and separation agreements
- Divorces, including contested and uncontested divorces for both opposite and same-sex marriages
- Civil litigation, including landlord / tenant matters and contract disputes.
Sarah is currently accepting cases in Prince William County/Manassas, Fauquier County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, … and other jurisdictions on a case-by-case basis.
