Find Lawyers in Newport Beach, California for Family Law

Matthew S. Buttacavoli was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Matthew graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Irvine (B.A., 1995) and cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law (J.D., 1999), where he served as Executive Editor of the San Diego Law Review and received the General George W. Hickman, Jr. Award for excellence in Constitutional Law. Matthew was admitted to the California Bar in 1999, and was admitted to the United States Supreme Court Bar in 2003. ...

Helen Cayton received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (summa cum laude), and her Juris Doctor from Chapman University, Fowler School of Law. While at Chapman, Helen was on the executive board of the Federalist Society, on the Nexus Law Journal, and was a staff writer for the campus newspaper, The Courier. Helen is currently on the Chapman Law Alumni Advisory Board. Before joining Minyard Morris, Helen practiced civil litigation primarily in the mortgage...

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 ...

Mr. Gazin graduated from San Jose State University with honors in 1971, earning a BA degree in Political Science. He attended the University of Santa Clara School of Law where he earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1974. Mr. Gazin was admitted to the California State Bar in 1974, when he commenced his practice in Orange County. In Mr. Gazin’s early years of practice, he handled a broad spectrum of cases ranging from criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation and family law. Comme...

Gary S. Gorczyca was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1951, and has been an Orange County resident since 1960. He and his wife, Patti, have two sons. Mr. Gorczyca graduated from the University of California, Irvine (B.A., 1973) and Loyola University School of Law (J.D., 1976). He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1976 and has practiced law in Orange County ever since. Mr. Gorczyca is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available for legal ability an...

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...

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.

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...

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...

James (Jim) Parke has practiced law in California for nearly 41 years. Jim graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 1975 and from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1978. An esteemed expert in all areas of family law, Jim has also served as an adjunct professor of Family Law at Trinity Law School. He has spoken on several family law-related topics throughout Southern California, and regularly contributes to divorce recovery workshops. He has also written several articles r...

Born and raised as the only Chinese-American on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin where his family still calls home, Alex had brief stints throughout the Caribbean and South America where he attended schools taught only in French, Spanish, and Papiamento. Alex eventually migrated to the United States and earned his undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and his Juris Doctorate in Virginia from George Mason University School of Law, a Tier...

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...

Michelle Ralph received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, majoring in Social Ecology, with a minor in Psychology. She then earned her Juris Doctor degree from Western State College of Law, graduating summa cum laude and Valedictorian of her graduating class. While at Western State College of Law, Michelle clerked for Justice Edward Wallin at the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three. Before joining Minyard Morris, Michelle practiced civil litigatio...

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...

Lonnie K. Seide was born in Huntington, New York. He was recognized as the Best Family Law Lawyer - Orange County 2020 by Best Lawyers in America. Lonnie graduated from Northeastern University (B.S., with honors) and St. John's University School of Law (J.D.). He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, the New York Bar, the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Ba...

Sheila Stiles is a partner in the Newport Beach office of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP. Ms. Stiles joined the firm in 2009 and limits her practice to family law matters. Ms. Stiles is certified as a Family Law Specialist by the California Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. She has extensive experience in handling all aspects of family law matters, including divorce, complex custody and visitation matters, complex business valuation and income determina...

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...

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...

Nicole Whyte has been identified by the well-recognized Daily Journal as one of California’s top 100 women attorneys. She has also been selected as one of America’s Top 100 attorneys (a lifetime achievement). 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 1991, the Nevada State Bar in 2000, the Washington D.C. State Bar in 2011, and the Washington State Bar in 2012, ...

Jennifer Corona earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, her Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University, and her Juris Doctor from Western State College of Law. Ms. Corona was born and raised in Orange County and the first lawyer in her family. Before law school, Ms. Corona was a bilingual educator in the state of Texas through Teach for America . During law school, Ms. Corona was President of her school’s Latino Student Bar Association...

Denise H.D. Koeller earned her Bachelor degree at the University of California Irvine in Sociology, while also completing a minor in Political Science. She then earned her Juris Doctor from Chapman's Dale E. Fowler School of Law, graduating cum laude in the top 15% of her class. Her time at Chapman was spent actively involved with the Asian American student associations and earning a certification in Chapman's Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Emphasis Program. Denise has been dedicated to the ...

Aditi Murillo earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Berkeley and her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles. During law school, Aditi interned at a boutique personal injury law firm in Westwood and at Verizon's San Francisco office. Aditi also participated in mock trial competitions, was a staff editor for the Women's Law Journal, and was a member of the Intellectual Property and South Asian law student's associations. Following law school, Adi...

John P. Murillo earned his Bachelor of Arts and graduated magna cum laude and with high honors from the University of California, San Diego. John earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles. During law school, John participated in mock trial competitions and completed internships with a boutique civil litigation firm and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. After law school, John briefly practiced in Los Angeles before moving to Orange County where ...

Janani Rana is a Partner, a Certified Family Law Specialist and an experienced trial attorney. She handles complex family law issues and high net worth matters. She commits significant time to her ongoing family law education, and in addition to attending typical monthly/annual family law seminars, she is a three-time graduate of the Kolodny Family Law Trial Institute, a national program that provides advanced education and training for family law attorneys (she has completed the 7-day progra...

Shab Saadatkhah received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law, with a concentration in children’s rights. While in law school, Shabnam became a certified law student and advocated for children while interning at the San Diego Public Defender’s Office -- juvenile division. Shabnam also received the Joel and Denise Golden Merit Award in Child Advocacy during her law school career. Pr...

Scott M. Savage received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Arizona State University and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. While at Southwestern Law School, Scott was a Dean's Fellow, he received the Witkin Award in Business Planning, and was a finalist in the Negotiations Honor's Program Competition. Prior to beginning his career in Family Law at Minyard Morris, Scott worked as a teacher and also has owned his own business. Scott now limits his practice...

Samantha graduated with honors from Western State College of Law, having been involved in Law Review and serving as its Editor in Chief. In her final year at Western State, Samantha externed at the California Court of Appeals (4th District) in Santa Ana. She also participated in a study abroad program, where she studied international and European law in Madrid, Spain. Prior to obtaining her law degree she graduated from Utah Valley University with a focus in Marketing and Business. Having wor...

Jackie Uberin earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Chapman University and earned her Juris Doctor from Western State College of Law, where she graduated cum laude and with a Family Law Practice Certificate. During law school, Jackie was most fortunate to have clerked for the Honorable Glenn R. Salter, Judge of the Orange County Superior Court. There, Jackie learned the importance of preparation to prevailing in a case. Her outstanding advocacy and writing skills gained her me...

Vicky Zuberi earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the Pacific and received her Juris Doctor from the McGeorge School of Law. While attending law school, Vicky studied abroad under Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Oxford University Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott, earning an International Legal Studies Certificate in Fundamental Rights in Europe and the United States. Vicky has limited her practice to family law prior to joinin...