Best Lawyers in America for Family Law
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State
Before joining the firm in 2013, Joel H. Brown was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chief Judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida in 2009. Joel was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1971 and had been practicing personal injury law as a civil trial lawyer prior to his appointment by former Governor Bob Martinez to the County Court in 1990. Following his appointment, Joel served as Associate Administrative Judge of the County Court, Criminal Traffic Division, and then served as Adminis...
Mary Martinelli, C.F.L.S.* leads the Family Law Practice Team at Murphy Austin. She is a State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 35 years of experience representing clients statewide in complex family law matters. Mary’s practice focuses on dissolution of marriage, legal separation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, domestic violence, writs, appeals, and corporate consulting...
Kathryn Deckert is passionate about guiding clients through what are often challenging, emotionally fraught cases. Kathryn focuses her practice on issues related to divorce, child custody and support, domestic violence and pre- and post-nuptial agreements. Kathryn is motivated by a desire to help her clients move beyond difficult times and into more positive phases of their lives. She wants them to feel heard and supported throughout their case and she works assiduously and compassionately to...
Conflict is at the core of many divorces and can produce volatile emotions. Divorcing clients appreciate the combination of strength and compassion Katherine brings to her cases, especially when substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence or contested child custody issues are involved. Katherine firmly believes in putting the children first in every divorce situation and in trying to reduce conflict between divorcing parents. A skilled problem-solver, Katherine acts decisively on behal...
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...
Richard A. Harris is President of The Harris Law Firm, one of Colorado’s largest divorce and family law firms. A passionate advocate who prioritizes personal attention, Mr. Harris has been named among The Best Lawyers in America®, Colorado Super Lawyers®, and a Top Lawyer of Colorado by The Denver Post. Outside of the courtroom, Mr. Harris has published articles across a range of family law topics. He is a co-author of the Colorado Family Law Deskbook, and is actively involved i...
Judith E. Galeano is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Individuals, Family Law and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Judith E., who practices law in Dublin, Ohio, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Judith E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael Fried is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Michael, who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Confident, yet compassionate, Amber Liddell Alwais protects her clients, making them feel safe and secure while fighting for them from beginning to end. Amber is a staunch advocate for clients, committed to providing highly personalized legal services in all Family Law matters, including traditional and nontraditional divorce, custody issues, property division, child support, and adoption matters. Prior to joining Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, Amber had the honor of being the firs...
Marie-Louise Ramsdale is the principal lawyer of the Ramsdale Family Law firm in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and practices solely in the area of family law. She has served as President of the South Carolina Bar Foundation and as a member of numerous committees of the SC Bar. Marie-Louise holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Marie-Louise was the volunteer attorney-coach for the Moultrie Middle School Mock Trial Team from 2012 to 2016, taking the team to first place in the State comp...
Amy Ford’s commitment to family law began before she was licensed by the State Bar of Texas, while she was still a law student at Texas A&M University School of Law. During law school, she worked in the school’s legal clinic, where she assisted individuals who otherwise lacked access to legal representation. That experience shaped her professional focus, and when Amy opened her own practice, she dedicated her work exclusively to family law—a focus she continues today at ...
Jennifer M. Cohen is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Jennifer M., who practices law in Highland Park, Illinois, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jennifer M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
A seasoned litigator and mediator with more than 20 years of experience, Tremain L. Stanley is regularly called upon by individuals engaged in family and matrimonial disputes to mediate and to help negotiate, settle and enforce agreements involving divorce, child support and custody, alimony and domestic violence. In 2015, Tremain participated in the Supreme Court of New Jersey’s Domestic Violence Pilot Program, which sought to explore the possibility of economic mediation in disputes i...
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.