Sonoma County Lawyers

Before starting my family law practice, I worked for 5 years at a non-profit, where I successfully litigated in court on behalf of survivors of domestic violence and their children. I obtained Temporary and Permanent Restraining Orders, Child Visitation and Custody Orders, as well as Child Support. Since 2007, I have offered amicable, uncontested divorce and separation options for those who want to stay out of court, including high conflict and complex cases involving domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness. I provide services as a Mediator (neutral third party), Collaborative Divorce attorney (using a team approach),...

I have practiced immigration and naturalization law exclusively since 2003. My practice emphasizes immigration and naturalization for applicants with criminal convictions, removal defense, and working with criminal defense counsel to minimize the immigration harm from convictions. I am licensed by the State Bar of California (license #227178) and received my juris doctorate degree in 2003 from the University of California, Davis, School of Law.

In my early years as a financial planner, I realized that estate planning was an often-overlooked area of planning not only by clients but by their financial advisors. The reason I became an attorney was to help people make sure that their wishes are carried out during incapacity and after death. I had seen too many people impacted by the lack of estate planning or poor estate planning. I did not want to see the government or the courts take control of a person's property in a way that was not consistent with the person's wishes and intent. I am passionate...

Advising and representing national insurers on coverage issues for over 35 years, handling complex,high exposure claims under standard form and broker-manuscript policies, including primary, umbrella, excess and surplus lines. Strategic evaluation and management under property policies (including builder’s risk, boiler and machinery, difference in condition), personal and commercial general liability, and professional liability and directors and officers policies. Handles multi-layer, multi-insurer insurance programs for North American, UK and Bermuda market insurers. Drafts insurance contract endorsements.

Advises and defends national insurers in state and federal court throughout the western states , and handles inter-insurer claims having secured recoveries exceeding...

I am a native San Franciscan and have been an advocate for the accused since 2003. My office handles felony and misdemeanor criminal cases. I have represented clients in cases involving life exposure, violent crimes sex offenses and domestic violence, DUI vehicular manslaughter, DUI's with priors, white collar embezzlement, grand theft, drug offenses including possession for sale, Fish & Game violations, Juvenile offenses, expungements, DMV issues and more. I have had many difficult cases over the years with excellent results for my clients. Here are just a few: 1) A jury trial acquittal on a felony assault GBI; 2)...

Patrick Delahunty is a former federal prosecutor and a seasoned trial attorney with more than 15 years of experience litigating in federal and state courts. Patrick’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal investigations and litigation resulting from them, including regulatory issues and corporate litigation. He guides his clients with clear advice about their options, legal risks, and—most importantly—the full spectrum of their rights that he will vigorously protect. At each step of the way, he looks for efficient and cost-effective solutions. He has a long track record of securing successful outcomes for his clients with this approach. Prior to...

Recognized as one of the top plaintiff’s lawyers in California and founder and Chief Legal Counsel of the Dolan Law Firm, Chris Dolan spearheads significant and challenging lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts against insurance companies, Fortune 500 companies, cities and other public agencies, and product manufacturers.

Under Chris’ leadership, the Dolan Law Firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for its clients and become one of California’s premier plaintiffs’ firms serving clients injured due to the fault of another or were discriminated against or treated unfairly in the workplace.

We are a small law office offering family law and divorce related services to the people of the San Francisco Bay Area. We provide individuals and families with the help they need to resolve family law issues surrounding dissolution of marriages or domestic partnerships (divorce), adoption and surrogacy, prenuptial agreements, child custody, spousal support (alimony), and offer counsel and legal services to couples contemplating marriage or domestic partnership. We pride ourselves in being able to offer resposive and personalized service at affordable rates. By eliminating the crippling overhead and high management salaries that are common among larger Bay Area law firms,...

NEIL HALLINAN is a third-generation trial attorney in the San Francisco Bay area, with offices in San Francisco and Oakland. Prior to founding the Hallinan Law Firm, Mr. Hallinan spent a decade as a public defender, mostly in Oakland, CA, during which time he represented thousands of clients in matters ranging from high-stakes felony prosecutions, including murder and white collar fraud, to low level misdemeanors, including hundreds of DUI cases, more than fifteen of which he tried to verdict. His victories include full acquittals in 3-strikes prosecutions as well as a discharge of a murder case at preliminary hearing.

In...

Shelley M. Kennedy is a family law attorney and private mediator with Lawhon Law & Mediation, P.C.

Shelley's mediation practice includes high-asset dissolution of marriage matters including division of property, preparation of complex financial models, calculations for various settlement options, as well as determination of support. In addition to Shelley’s experience in financially complex matters, her practice also includes mediation for couples with smaller estates.

Shelley serves as a Settlement Conference Master for the San Francisco Unified Family Law Courts and as a volunteer attorney for the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Pro Bono Family Law Project.

Shelley has participated in over 200...

I have been in solo private practice representing plaintiffs in the areas of environmental, land use, and elections law for almost thirty years. My clients are usually local environmental groups, neighborhood associations, homeowner associations, and occasionally individuals or government agencies. In addition to my law degree (New College of Calif., 1990) have undergraduate and masters of science degrees in biology from Brown University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University. I spent ten years working as a researcher in agricultural biotechnology before doing a career change and getting my law degree.
I represent clients...

Mr. Cross is an expert in the field of criminal law. Mr. Cross will fight more aggressively than anyone to bring you the best outcome possible. He passionately cares about defending his clients and does everything within his power to help them. Having attended the University of California, Berkeley for Undergraduate studies, he received a B.A. in Legal Studies. He subsequently attended the prestigious San Francisco Law School to receive his J.D. He is a member of many associations, including the State Bar Association, the Alameda County Car Association, the San Mateo County Bar Association and the Delta Theta Phi...

Mark T. Koo’s work includes Corporate Compliance and Governance, Estate Planning, Family Law, Non-Profit Formation and setting up the 501c3 Non-profit designation. Mark also helps companies file incorporation as well as other corporate legal assistance. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mark T. Koo has been involved with Silicon Valley’s technologies such as data warehousing, wireless software and hardware technologies, and internet technologies. Mark is a graduate of McGeorge Law School and is a member of the California Bar. Mark received his bachelors of science degree in electrical engineering and masters of science degree in materials science from University of California,...

Dave Crow combines broad life experience and deep personal commitment as a tenant advocate and homeless services attorney that make him uniquely qualified to resolve a wide range of legal issues. Dave earned his Juris Doctor from New College of California Public Interest School of Law in San Francisco. Employed at the Homeless Advocacy Project of the Bar Association of San Francisco from 1997 until 2002, his last two years there were spent as a National Association for Public Interest Law (Equal Justice Works) fellow. Mr. Crow’s award-winning advocacy included work on the myriad of complex legal...

Kate Reder is an associate attorney at Wald & Thorndal. She specializes in family formation, divorce, and dissolution for both traditional and non-traditional families. Firm practice areas include: Divorce, Dissolution & Contested Parentage Actions for all families; Custody Disputes; Mediation; Marvin Actions. Legal services provided at both the TRIAL and APPELLATE level. Assisted Reproduction; Adoptions of All Kinds; Family Contracts; Parenting Law including Surrogacy; Donor Contracts for Egg and/or Sperm Donations; Pre-Nupital Agreements; Co-Parenting Agreements; Domestic Partnership Agreements; Name Changes.

John Hyland is a partner with Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP. He practices exclusively in the area of employment law. John was Of Counsel with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in the firm’s San Francisco office where he advised and represented companies in State and Federal court actions covering all areas of employment law, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, disability law, employee privacy, employee leaves, and wage and hour issues. John regularly conducts training seminars and presents on a wide array of employment law issues. Law & Politics Magazine selected John as one of its Northern California Super Lawyers...

Jessica is a partner at Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP and specializes in litigating employment law cases on behalf of employees. From violations of wage and hour laws to sexual harassment and discrimination, Jessica has represented both individuals and groups of people in class actions. She also advises executives in pre-litigation matters such as severance agreements and employment agreements. If you have an employment law issue in the Bay Area, please contact her office today and set up a free consultation.

As a partner with San Francisco's Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP, Peter Rukin represents Bay Area clients in a wide array of complex litigation matters, including employment, wage and hour, and business disputes. Mr. Rukin has built a reputation as a thoughtful and strong advocate for his clients, whatever their disputes may be. Mr. Rukin specializes in complex litigation, with a focus on wage and hour and equal employment opportunity claims. Since 2003, as class counsel he has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of thousands of California employees and consumers. Peter also represents clients with respect...

CANADIAN IMMIGRATION SOLUTIONS FOR THOSE TRAVELLING OR SEEKING TO MOVE TO CANADA.

Pavan Dhillon is an experienced Canadian attorney who can assist you with your or your company's long-term or short-term immigration goals. She is the founder and managing attorney at Dhillon Immigration Law. She is licensed in both Canada and the United States to practice federal immigration law.As a full service law firm, her office provides Canadian Immigration advice to individuals and clients seeking to temporarily or permanently reside in Canada.

Pavan has over ten years of experience assisting clients in securing either Canadian temporary or Canadian permanent status for both...

Mark A. Pearson is a founding partner at ARC Law Group (www.arclg.com), a law firm focused on counseling Creative, Talented and Entrepreneurial clients. His primary practice areas involve forming business entities, counseling on trademark & copyright issues, and drafting contracts for music, film & new media clients. His list of interesting and eclectic clients include entertainment industry tech firms, social media outlets, online content providers, film, radio & television producers, live entertainment companies, publishers and video game developers. Mark and his partner, Anne Yarovoy, have also been known to associate with various theater producers, musicians, industry execs,...

Will Edelman is a former federal prosecutor, a former police officer, and a Stanford Law graduate who clerked for two federal judges. Will’s practice focuses on white-collar and regulatory matters, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigation. As a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of California, Will acted as first or second chair in ten trials. He also handled numerous contested evidentiary hearings and dispositive motion hearings. As a prosecutor, Will was the primary attorney responsible for a variety of complex matters, including multi-defendant RICO cases and fraud cases. Will also served as a police officer for a large southern California...

For 22 years, I have devoted my career as a lawyer to helping parties resolve their conflicts efficiently, effectively and respectfully. I believe the quality of a mediated resolution, and of the mediation process, to be as important to the parties as the fact of resolution.

Gerry Goldsholle is a nationally known expert in insurance and insurance law who uses his decades of knowledge and industry "insider" experience to help his firm's clients stop being taken advantage of by insurance companies and others seeking to wrongfully delay or deny claims or pay pennies on the dollar.

An honors graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Columbia University School of Law, Gerry later completed the Senior Executive Program at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and the coursework for a Masters of Liberal Arts at Stanford. He also served in the Army...

Robin M. Birnbaum practices exclusively family law, having done so since 2010. Robin’s experience as a mediator, litigator and Minor’s Counsel gives her a unique perspective into the practice of family law and she is able to offer creative and strategic solutions to address the most challenging and complex family law matters, including child custody, domestic violence and support.

Robin is a Certified Family Law Specialist, having been certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization in July 2016. Robin is currently serving on the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, Family Law Section...

A resident of Oakland, Len spent much of his legal career with prestigious, top-ranked, San Francisco law firms. Mr. Watkins brings the same level of expertise, and standard of excellence, to his practice in the East Bay. Focusing on consumer bankruptcy and business law, Mr. Watkins’ depth of experience and training include: A Masters of Business Administration, concentrating on finance, from the University of California, at Davis A stock brokerage license (inactive) from the National Association of Securities Dealers A California Real Estate Broker’s license Previous Experience Business Attorney Norris & Norris (now...

The Choyce Law Firm- Sacramento DUI Lawyer Dionne Choyce has acquired a great reputation for being a passionate and hardworking trial attorney. His courtroom development began at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he helped lead the McGeorge trial competition team to a Regional Championship in the American Trial Lawyers Association Competition (ATLA). After graduating from law school, Mr. Choyce went to work for the Alameda County District Attorneyâs Office (Oakland, CA), where he gained extensive courtroom experience prosecuting all phases of criminal cases, including jury trials, felony preliminary hearings, juvenile felony trials, as well as...

Having come to law as a second career, I bring a broad perspective to client needs. I am honored to work with a wide range of single people and families to create estate plans that will achieve the goals that are important to them, and do everything possible to avoid the problems they are concerned about.

Whether you want to craft a plan that will avoid fighting among a blended family, protect your disabled child with a special needs trust, or pass your assets to your favorite charities, we will work together to plan and implement your ideal estate plan.

I help clients with their employment, business, and start-up needs. I also represent clients involved in civil litigation. Please contact me to find out how I can help you with your legal needs.

Family law issues, being deeply personal, can significantly disrupt your life. I approach these sensitive matters with compassion and care. I will be straightforward in evaluating the unique aspects of your case, clearly outlining your options, and providing realistic advice on how to proceed. For over 32 years, I have committed myself to assisting families in navigating the complexities of their legal issues. I have encountered a diverse range of families and challenges, which has broadened my knowledge and allowed me to offer high-quality representation to my clients. I ensure that each client receives the focused attention they deserve and strive...

Hornstein Law Offices, Prof. Corp. is a 20-year old California-based law firm concentrating in business, securities, intellectual property and related transactions and litigation. We have served clients across the country and in abroad. Our client base ranges from individuals. start-up companies to multi-national corporations in all fields of business. Mr. Hornstein has been in practice for 30-years. Prior to HLO, he was with large international law firms and in-house corporate counsel. Please call to discuss any questions in these areas.

Mr. Crawford established The Crawford National Immigration Law Firm in 2019. He started this firm because he wanted to make a difference in the lives of his clients while providing them with tailored, convenient service.

Having grown up in the Southwest, and having lived in the incredibly diverse Bay Area, he has become familiar with the struggles faced by immigrants and their families and the positive effects that immigration has on our communities, both culturally and economically. He decided that he wanted to use his education and legal experience to help people and businesses by assisting them in navigating the...

I am an attorney with over 20 years of experience representing consumers and businesses in bankruptcy and debt resolution, real estate, probate (i.e. Wills, Trusts, and Conservatorships), criminal, and general civil matters. I pride myself in providing personal service to each of my clients. Complimentary consultations are available at any of my offices throughout Northern California and the Bay Area, and I am available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your legal matter. It would be my pleasure to assist you. I can be reached by phone at (916) 337-8066, (415) 971-2524, or...