Best Lawyers in California, United States for Family Law
Cities
John Benedict Phillips—known as Ben Phillips for all his life—received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and his Juris Doctor degree from Chapman University School of Law. Mr. Phillips is a Certified Family Law Specialist by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, and rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale Hubbell—the highest rating attainable for legal ability and professional ethics. Mr. Phillips practices exclusively fam...
Monica Mazzei is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Francisco office and the chair of the Firm’s Family Law group. Monica is a Certified Family Law Specialist representing high net worth clients. She represents clients throughout California, with a concentration in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, as well as Los Angeles.
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...
Marc M. Stern is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Family Law, Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Trusts and Estates. Marc M. practices law in Los Angeles, California Best Lawyers has recognized Marc M. Stern since 2010. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Marc M. Stern is held by other lawyers.
Douglas A. Hatherley is an Orange County family law attorney and California Certified Family Law Specialist. He is the founder of The Hatherley Firm, Inc. , a family law firm in Aliso Viejo, and has practiced family law exclusively since his admission to the bar. Certification as a Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California's Board of Legal Specialization requires passing a written examination, demonstrating substantial family law experience, and completing ongoing specialized educa...
Kelly Woodruff is a seasoned appellate advocate, having represented clients and amici curiae in dozens of significant writs and appeals in the state and federal appellate courts in her 25 years of practice. Over the course of her career, Kelly has gained experience with appellate matters in nearly all subject areas related to business and civil litigation, including intellectual property, breach of contract, torts, probate, and trust matters. Recently, Kelly preserved a multi-million-dollar i...
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...
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...
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...
Joseph P. Crawford is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Joseph P. practices law in San Mateo, California Best Lawyers has recognized Joseph P. Crawford since 2009. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Joseph P. Crawford is held by other lawyers.
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...
Ariel Sosna is a family law attorney serving clients in San Francisco, California through Van Voorhis & Sosna LLP . Before establishing her own practice, she worked at a San Francisco law firm representing individuals and families in a wide range of family law matters. Her practice includes divorce , child custody , child support , spousal support , property division, and other complex family law disputes. In addition to litigation, Ariel has substantial experience in mediation and collab...
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...
Jan C. Morimoto-Gee received her undergraduate education from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a UCLA Merit Scholar, UC Regents Scholar, and UCLA Alumni Scholar. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, magna cum laude, along with the honors of Phi Beta Kappa and College Honors. Jan graduated from the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall). Jan limits her practice to Orange County Family Law matters.
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.
