In 1981, I became a member of the Bar of the State of Florida. I immediately began trying high stakes jury trials. I practiced with my husband and partner, Richard Hamar. We were unique in that we tried our cases together, dividing up the responsibilities equally.
Our cases soon brought me to almost all regions of the United States. We also managed world-wide litigation in several countries in Europe, South America and Asia.
After we had children, we moved to Los Angeles. I became a member of the California Bar in 1990.
I became involved in the entertainment industry writing, producing and directing a film that won two awards at an international film festival. That experience not only taught me about the entertainment industry, it developed my ability to tell a story in a dramatic and credible way; which is what I do in court every day.
As our daughters grew into fine young ladies, and I began to increase my volunteer in the community, I recognized that many other families did not have the strength and stability of my own. I am proud that Cassie is a third year law student at Fordham Law School in New York City and is a summer associate for a prestigious law firm and that Diana is a second year law student at American Law School in our Washington, D.C. and works this summer for the United States Justice Department, anti-terrorism division. It gave me great pain to see wonderful people embittered due to the dissolution of their families. I heard horror stories of escalating costs and mean spirited litigation.
In 1996 I decided to devote myself to a family practice. I knew that it would be difficult to learn a specialty as complex as family practice would be at the level I wanted to practice. However, I had the confidence that I would eventually have the advantage of using my litigation skills honed in complex jury trials.
These skills have allowed me to investigate creatively and thoroughly, use experts in almost every area of special knowledge including extensive experience with psychologists, research and write compellingly and confidently, and address every judge knowing that I have had to prepare endless arguments to appeal to twelve different mind sets at the same time to jurors in high stakes cases.
I am fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
I also had confidence that the lessons I learned to build my strong and loving family could be an asset in my relationships with my clients and the end goal of seeing that they were either better off with a reconciliation or could move on to find the right person with the minimum of emotional and financial damage from the legal proceedings I was retained to handle.
Besides the endless seminars and case-by-case experience, I began to volunteer at Sojourn, a counseling center for women who had been battered in their marriages and badly needed legal advice and support.
I was asked by Sojourn to provide information to the volunteers and I have also been asked by bar associations to lecture on family law issues to the general public and at legal seminars.
Today my family law practice involves the representation of mostly professionals, persons in the entertainment industry and business owners. I represent men and women on an equal basis. I charge on an hourly basis and require a minimum retainer. At the outset, I work with my client to establish a budget that allows me to remain in the case throughout and have access to first class experts and investigators. Family law is expensive. However, I have handled cases against some of Los Angeles’ most fierce and finest family lawyers. When discovery is complete and fees are compared for doing essentially the same amount of work, I am proud that me fees are generally much less and a value to my clients.
Although family law practice has had the difficult emotional issues and conflict , I am happy I have made this my area of concentration and feel much rewarded by the positive client relationships I have developed and the success we have achieved together. And by the way, even though my family law practice caused my trial partner/husband and me to find different paths in the law, Richard still supports all my family law cases and provides all of my clients with a second person to talk to and a team approach for all of us.
I am also proud that I have recently been made co-chair of the Women Lawyer’s Association Family law Division.
If you are in need of a family litigator in a complex case and my experience and philosophy interests you, do not hesitate to contact me with total discretion and confidence at: (310) 550-0460;
