Best Lawyers in California, United States for Family Law
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Brian G. Seastrom is President of Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader in Irvine, California, where he represents business owners, executives, and high-net-worth individuals in complex family law matters. A California Certified Family Law Specialist and Fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Family Lawyers, he brings more than two decades of experience to cases involving multi-entity business structures, contested business valuations, real est...
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...
Born in Great Neck, NY, Jordon moved west to southern California in 1981. He graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1994 and from the Whittier School of Law in 2000. Jordon is a Certified Specialist in Family Law, as per the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. During law school, Jordon was a member of the Moot Court Honors Board and also served as its Chief Justice in 2000. He was placed on the Dean's List for achievement in academics as well. Upon his graduation, Jordon rec...
Robert A. Roth is widely regarded as one of the leading family law appellate specialists in California. He has over 30 years’ experience as an appellate practitioner and more than 25 published (and scores of unpublished) appellate opinions to his name. Robert has won twice in the California Supreme Court, and notably represented the successful respondent in In re Marriage of Ostler and Smith (1990) 223 Cal.App.3d 33, a seminal case that established the method California courts use every...
Shane R. Ford is a family law attorney with The Ford Firm PC in Oakland, California. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in the area of Family Law since 2019, based on peer-review evaluations from attorneys practicing in the same geographic region and legal field. Mr. Ford represents clients in a wide range of family law matters and is actively involved in organizations connected to the practice of family law throughout California. His professional involvement includes service on the Board...
Peter M. Walzer is the founding partner of the Southern California law firm Walzer & Melcher LLP focused exclusively on family law. He is the current president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is a past president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is a former chair of the executive committee of the State Bar Family Law Section. Mr. Walzer has been a Certified Family Law Specialist for 23 years and is a former president o...
Taylor B. Wallin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Taylor B., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2027. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Taylor B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Janet Dockstader is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Janet, who practices law in Irvine, California, has been recognized since 2027. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Janet is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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...
Mark P. Gross is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Mark P., who practices law in Sherman Oaks, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Leslie is a partner in the family law team at Withers. Her practice focuses on handling all aspects of family law, concentrating in the area of complex financial issues and custody disputes. While Leslie is adept at litigating cases, she prefers to utilize her experience to achieve settlement whenever possible. Leslie is also experienced at negotiating and drafting cohabitation, prenuptial, and postnuptial agreements. Leslie has been recognized as a Best Lawyer by US News and World Report sin...
Rachel R. James is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Rachel R., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Rachel R. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Victoria K. Lewis is a Certified Family Law Specialist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She has been a member of the California Bar since December 1988. Ms. Lewis has practiced family law exclusively since 2009. Ms. Lewis’ family law practice focuses on complex family law matters both in mediation and through all stages of negotiation or litigation, including trial and appeal. Ms. Lewis is recognized in her field not only for her sophistication in family law,...
Ronald F. Brot is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Ronald F., who practices law in Sherman Oaks, California, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ronald F. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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.
Leslie Ryland is a seasoned attorney who has spent the last three decades representing clients in all types of family law matters, with a special focus on custody issues. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist, a special designation from the State Bar of California reserved for attorneys who have “demonstrated a high level of experience in the specialty field, fulfilled ongoing education requirements and been favorably evaluated by other attorneys and judges familiar with their work.&...
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.