Alisa Cummins

Alisa Cummins, Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny LLC

Alisa Cummins leads the Family Law practice at Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny, LLC, an AV-rated regional law firm based in Howard County. She provides advocacy and solutions for adults and children requiring representation in legal matters including separation and divorce, alimony and spousal support, child custody and support, adoptions, guardianship and collaborative family law.
Cummins previously founded and served as principal of the Law Offices of Alisa G. Cummins, PC. She earned her law degree from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and graduated from Case Western Reserve University.

What’s the most important thing you do in your job?

Even though family law is complex and intellectually demanding, I am passionate about putting the people at the heart of my cases first, tailoring my work to their specific needs and objectives. I also endeavor to resolve family law disputes through alternative dispute resolution techniques, such as collaborative practice and mediation, whenever possible.

What qualities do you need to be a successful family law practitioner?

When I meet with a client and am granted the privilege of helping them solve their problem, I need to understand what they perceive to be the problem, and what an ideal situation looks like for them. It doesn’t matter what an ideal situation might look like for me, or for the client I represented six months earlier with an almost identical set of circumstances. What matters is what matters to the client and, in particular, what constitutes a must have – or a hard no – for that client.

A great family law practitioner must not only consider the facts, but the tools available to address them – in each scenario. Is the case appropriate for mediation? Are there safety or other emergency circumstances that warrant the immediate court intervention? Is the opposing party represented and, if so, by whom? And that’s just to name a few.

While a successful family lawyer must have an exceptional command of relevant statutes and precedents, and develop a cache of skills to have available at her disposal, these are meaningless unless she understands at least as well the person she is privileged to represent. Always take the time to listen, to educate, and then to carefully chart the best path forward, together.

Outside of your legal practice, what activities or interests are you passionate about?

I believe it is important to give back to the communities in which I live in work, whether by offering pro bono services for those who could not otherwise afford legal representation, or volunteering with impactful nonprofit organizations. I’m also passionate about traveling and experiencing as much of the world as I can (especially those places where the sun shines bright and the water is blue), with my husband and children by my side.

This profile is part of The Daily Record's Family Law Power List for 2025. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. See the full list at thedailyrecord.com.