Best Lawyers in California, United States for Family Law Mediation
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Cities
Judi Curtin was born in New York City, New York in 1951, and has been an Orange County resident since 1979, following her graduation from law school and admission to the California Bar Association in 1978. She is married and has three children (Jessica is a lawyer, Jordan is a clinical social worker, Jillian is a second-year student at NYU and has her black belt in Shaolin Kempo). Judi is a Certified Family Law Specialist, admitted to the US Supreme Court, and has been rated AV by Martindale ...
Paula J. Swensen, who was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1955, has been an Orange County resident since 2000 after relocating to California from New England. Ms. Swensen lives in Trabuco Canyon and has three children. She is an avid sports fan, supporting any and all teams from the Boston area. Ms. Swensen graduated from the University of New Hampshire (B.S., Behavioral Science, highest honors, 1996) and Franklin Pierce Law Center (J.D., 1999; M.A., Intellectual Property). Between her second a...
As a certified Family Law Specialist and the founding partner of Shebby Hirashima LLP, David Shebby brings more than three decades of trial experience to his Los Angeles Family Law practice. In addition to being a Certified Family Law Specialist, David is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Family Law Executive Committee, and an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, where he teaches marital property. David recei...
In her representation of Silicon Valley’s high earners or their spouses, Jennifer Crum draws upon nearly 20 years of experience untangling complex assets acquired in the unique tech economy.Jennifer combines her mastery of high-asset marital dissolutions with compassion for the emotional and personal transition her clients are experiencing. She is among an elite group of California attorneys recognized as a Certified Family Law Specialist. Jennifer is highly experienced in divorces invo...
Michael Bonetto is a San Francisco, California family law attorney with Moradi Neufer LLP . He has been practicing family law since his admission to the California Bar in 2007 and focuses his work exclusively on this area of law. Michael represents clients in a wide range of family law matters, including divorce , spousal and child support , complex property division , business valuation, separate property tracing, child custody and visitation , and the prosecution and defense of domestic vio...
Natalia Lopez-Whitaker is a Partner at Nachlis Cohade Lopez-Whitaker LLP in San Francisco, California. She practices exclusively in Family Law and Family Law Mediation , representing individuals and families in a broad range of matters involving divorce , child custody , child support , parentage , premarital agreements, postmarital agreements, cohabitation agreements , and complex family law disputes. Natalia also works extensively in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, Coll...
Kimberly A. Madigan is a Certified Family Law Specialist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She is a founding partner of Madigan & Lewis, LLP, a woman-owned and operated law firm serving families of all circumstances in the Silicon Valley. Ms. Madigan has been practicing law for over 20 years. As a Fellow of the Academy, Ms. Madigan is among a distinguished group of family law attorneys in the United States. She litigates some of the most complex family law matte...
Joseph P. Crawford is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Joseph P., who practices law in San Mateo, California, has been recognized since 2009. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joseph P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Sarah T. Schaffer, CFLS is a family law attorney and mediator, holding the prestigious Certified Family Law Specialist designation from the State Bar of California. Schaffer Family Law Group, APC is a full-service Mediation, Divorce, and Family Law firm dedicated to delivering practical & effective results to high net-worth clients. Ms. Schaffer builds her practice on a thorough knowledge of the law, excellent research skills, superior presentation to the court, and most of all calm, comp...
Nicole Schmidt is a partner and Certified Family Law Specialist at Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara. Nicole Schmidt focuses on divorce and family law matters in Newport Beach and San Diego. Ms. Schmidt has experience in a plethora of issues arising in the general area of family law, including prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, child custody and visitation, spousal support, child support, divorce, and complex asset and debt division. She specializes in cases involving non-traditiona...
Vanessa Soto Nellis is a Certified Family Law Specialist as designated by the California Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Nellis typically represents high net worth clients in the west San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles; in all aspects of divorce, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, and family law mediation.
Samantha Klein is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Samantha, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Samantha is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Belinda Hanson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Belinda, who practices law in San Mateo, California, has been recognized since 2003. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Belinda is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael A. Morris was born in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Michael was named Best Family Law Lawyer of the Year - Orange County in 2013 and 2018 by Best Lawyers in America. He has been listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America by Best Lawyers in America Orange County - Family Law since 2007 and by Super Lawyers each year since 2004. Michael is also listed in Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers (USA) - 2020. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.) and Western State Un...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.