Best Lawyers in California, United States for Family Law
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Kathleen Carothers Paone, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been an Orange County resident since 1980. She and her husband, Tim Paone, have 3 adult children. Ms. Paone graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, (cum laude, 1977) and received her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University (J.D., 1980). While in law school, she was a member of the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1980 (and the Northern, Central and Southern Fe...
Jacqueline A. Whisnant, born in Burbank, California in 1960, has been an Orange County resident since 1985. She and her husband, Bruce Whisnant, have two children. Ms. Whisnant graduated from California State University, Northridge (B.A., 1984) and Loyola Law School of Los Angeles (J.D., 1987). While in law school, she was a member of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Honors Program and held the position of judicial extern for the Honorable Allan E. Broussard of the California Sta...
With over 17 years of experience practicing family law throughout California, Marc H. Garelick is a preeminent highly rated Orange County family law litigation attorney recognized for representing high-asset and high-income clients in complex and high-conflict family law matters. He has extensive expertise in divorce, child custody, move-away cases, child and spousal support, visitation, paternity, and domestic violence cases, as well as sophisticated cash flow and compensation structures in ...
Jonathan T. Little is an attorney with Minyard Morris, a family law firm in Newport Beach, California. Board-certified as a specialist in family law by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, Mr. Little has more than 17 years of legal experience, and he provides outstanding representation, advice and support to clients throughout Orange County who are going through a divorce or other family law issues. With both litigation and transactional experience in the first decade of...
In 2023, Mark E. Minyard received the Orange County Bar Association's Franklin G. West Award, the OCBA's highest honor, presented to outstanding attorneys and judges whose lifetime achievements have advanced justice and the law. In 2023, Mark was selected by the Daily Journal as the only Orange County lawyer listed as a Top 20 Family Law attorney in the State of California. In 2024, Mark E. Minyard was appointed to the Orange County Collaborative Courts Foundation. The foundation provides sup...
Claudia Ribet is one of only four attorneys in California recognized by the State Bar as a certified specialist in both appellate law and family law. This dual qualification gives Claudia deep insight into effective presentation of complex arguments in high-stakes family law appeals. She wins most of the California family law appeals she litigates. Some of Claudia’s published family law appellate victories are listed below, and Claudia has served as counsel in many more unpublished fami...
Nicole Whyte has been identified by the well-recognized Daily Journal as one of California’s top 100 women attorneys. Ms. Whyte is a Certified Family Law Specialist and a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). She is also a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Ms. Whyte is a founding principal of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP. Admitted to the South African Supreme Court in 1990, the California State Bar in ...
Maricela Alvarez Lambe is a *Certified Family Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. She brings over 20 years of experience as a strong client advocate and has handled all aspects of family law cases including business and property division, child custody, complex spousal support, child support, child visitation, prenuptial agreements, and High Asset Divorce. Throughout her career, Maricela has partnered with expert consultants including Foren...
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...
Robert A. Benavente was raised in Orange County and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma. Mr. Benavente received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Whittier Law School in 2000, where he was a member of Law Review, a Dean's List honoree, and the recipient of several merit scholarships. He is a Certified Family Law Specialist, which is a level of achievement reserved for those attorneys who have the requisite level of trial experience and have passed a special examinatio...
Robert E. Blevans received his Juris Doctor in 1977, and was admitted to the practice of law in California that year. He has been a Certified Specialist in Family Law for over 35 years, having been certified by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization in 1983. After practicing law for 18 years in Los Angeles, Robert moved to the heart of the wine country, Napa, California. Robert is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is a past President of the Northern C...
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.