Encinitas Family Lawyers

Our tagline, "When you want your case done right the first time," evolved as a result of continued client feedback expressing frustrations with past dealings with the process. Divorce is a difficult process. We are mindful of the emotional aspect as well as the costs involved with each case. Andrew P. Johnson, APC makes every effort to apply the right resources to each task so that we can keep costs at a minimum while still accomplishing your goals.

I am a licensed California Attorney and Certified Family Law Specialist with an office located in Vista directly across from...

I began my legal career as a juvenile dependency attorney. I spent nearly five years working full-time for dependency parents and children. That experience taught me how to be a strong and compassionate advocate, both in the courtroom and out. When Child Protective Services are involved, it is crucial to have a skilled dependency attorney working for you. The same goes for a family law case where you finances and valuable time with your children are at risk. Whether it's a juvenile dependency case or a family law matter, you deserve the time and attention necessary to ease your fears about the...

I’m Scott Levin, a dedicated family law attorney and mediator based in San Diego, California. As the only family law attorney in the greater San Diego area who is also a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, I focus exclusively on mediation, helping clients achieve fair, amicable resolutions without the high costs of litigation. My approach is backed by extensive experience and education: I hold a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from New York University. With a deep background in finance, law, and dispute resolution, I’m equipped...

For nearly 30 years, San Diego family law attorney Roy M. Doppelt, Esq. has been providing clients in Southern California with comprehensive legal services. He is currently an active member of the California and San Diego Bar Associations, and he is admitted to practice law in both California and Illinois state courts, as well as the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California.

Roy was raised in Chicago and attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He relocated to California to attend the California Western School of Law, where he obtained his J.D. in 1988, graduating with honors....

Dennis Temko provides exceptional representation in appellate matters in California State Courts in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and elsewhere. His appellate practice is focused on family law matters including custody, property division, child and spousal support, stock options, high income earners, Ostler Smith (bonus support orders), domestic violence restraining orders, and imputation, among other issues. Most of his practice has been devoted to family law appeals and writs since his 2013 admission to the California State Bar. Super Lawyers Magazine recognized Mr. Temko as a rising star in 2017, and again in 2018.

Mr. Temko has...

Xinia L. Williams, a dedicated attorney at Holstrom, Block, and Parke, brings a wealth of legal experience and a compassionate approach to her clients. Before joining the firm, Xinia delved into a diverse range of Family Law cases, fearlessly tackling challenges in divorce, child custody, guardianships, unlawful detainers, bankruptcy, criminal cases/DUIs, and more. This varied background has shaped her into the compassionate, professional, and selfless attorney she is today. In the realm of Family Law, Xinia stands out for her real-world understanding, stemming from her role as a mother of two young children. She believes in being not just a legal advocate...

Edward Castro is a seasoned family law practitioner with an unwavering commitment to the field throughout his career. In 2021, he joined Holstrom, Block & Parke as a Partner, overseeing the San Diego County office. Initially focusing on domestic violence prevention, he collaborated with SDVLP and later directed FLAP, a courthouse-based family law clinic. At the YWCA Legal Advocacy Program, he served for six years as a senior staff attorney, handling diverse family law matters, emphasizing cases involving domestic violence. In 2010, Mr. Castro joined BLSAPC, where he became a partner in 2014. Specializing in high net-worth cases, he addressed complex...

The mission of the attorneys at The Sullivan Law Firm, APC, is to counsel clients in finding common sense solutions to complex family and bankruptcy legal problems by providing a full spectrum of legal services. Attorney Michelle Sullivan, CLS-F, is a specialist in counseling clients regarding divorce, mediation, collaboration, adoptions, prenuptual agreements, and other legal issues. Located in Rancho Bernardo, a neighborhood of north San Diego, our family law and bankruptcy practice especially caters to residents of San Diego and North County.

Ms. Curran has been a licensed as an attorney for 32 years. Rated among the top 1% of Attorneys in the U.S. ~ National Association of Distinguished Counsel. 2016 - 2021 Rated Top 100 Lawyers in the U.S. ~ The National Trial Lawyers Association l. 2014-2021 - Top Lawyers in California. Ms. Curran is a very experienced lawyer who has successfully tried, mediated, and appealed many hundreds of complex cases, including constitutional, civil, family, and criminal law cases, in both the state and federal courts. At The Curran Law Firm, APC, she leads an extraordinary team of lawyers, law clerks, paralegals and administrative staff,...

Ms. Snider was one of eight women in a class of 423 when she graduated from California Western School of Law in 1973 with a Juris Doctorate.
The family law act of 1975, coupled with her desire to help clients in need, solidified her decision to specialize in Family Law. In 1980, Ms. Snider was one of twelve in the first class of attorneys to be board certified as a Certified Family Law Specialist in the State of California. Ms. Snider is a member of the State Bar of California, Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, San Diego Family Law Bar...

MS. SICKLER joined Beatrice L. Snider, APC in 1985 and is the managing partner of the firm. Ms. Sickler obtained her Juris Doctorate from Hastings College of the Law in 1976 and her Bachelor of Science from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1973. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Sickler was engaged in the general practice of law, including obtaining substantial civil and criminal trial experience. Ms. Sickler was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1976 and became a Certified Specialist in Family Law in 1991. She is a member of the State Bar of...

Mark is a licensed attorney with the State Bar of California. Headquartered in Riverside, California, Mark strives to provide effective, quality legal representation for men in the Inland Empire and Orange County with a focus on building strong personal relationships to help guide men through the most challenging chapters of their lives. Prior to founding Reel Fathers Rights, Mark spent nearly a decade as a sports and fitness industry executive, working for multiple Major League Baseball Franchises, and one of the biggest fitness brands in the country, as well as founding and operating multiple startups in the sports and fitness...

Board Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 35 years of litigation experience. Attorney Scott represents clients in a wide variety of family law matters. This includes military cases, complex cases in contested matters of divorce, alimony, child custody, child support, paternity, representation of families of professional baseball and football players, business evaluation and division. Mr. Scott is skilled and experienced with the treatment of professional practices and separately held businesses in divorce.

Mr. Scott also has more than 35 years of litigation experience in the following family law areas of practice:

Domestic Violence
Post Judgment Family Law
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
Grandparent Visitation Rights
Legal...

Mr. Mesnik has dedicated 100% of his practice to family law cases such as divorce, child custody and support, domestic partnership dissolution, post judgment enforcement, and modifications of support and custody. Mr. Mesnik appears in all San Diego County Family Courts including North County in Vista, California, East County in El Cajon, Downtown Central Court, Dontown Family Court, Madge Bradley Building, and Southbay in Chula Vista. Mr. Mesnik has appeared in front of each Family Court judge in San Diego County and is knowledgeable of each judicial officer currently on the bench. Throughout Mr. Mesnik's years of practice he has...

Steven R. Kampf is the founder of the Kampf Law Firm and has dedicated his career exclusively to the practice of family law. As a family law attorney who has been practicing for over 4 years, Mr. Kampf has handled hundreds of dissolution and paternity cases from inception to resolution with exceptional results. He has served as lead counsel on countless dissolutions and cases involving paternity disputes, child custody and visitation conflicts, child support, spousal support, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements, and many other family law issues. Mr. Kampf has proven success both in and out of the...

MS. HEISKALA joined the firm as a supervising attorney after spending 24 years as a sole practitioner in her own firm primarily devoted to family law. Ms. Heiskala obtained her Juris Doctorate from Western State School of Law (now Thomas Jefferson School of Law) in 1976. She was admitted to the State Bar of California and the Federal District Court for the Southern District in 1976, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal in 1986 and became a Certified Specialist in Family Law in 1988. Ms. Heiskala is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the Family Law Section...

James F. Sexton first worked as an attorney for the insurance companies he now opposes. Having worked this side of personal injury and worker’s compensation cases, James understands the goals, motivation, and tactics employed by the insurance companies and the lawyers who protect their interests. He uses that knowledge to better serve and protect his clients’ interests. As CEO of a company and owner of his own law firm, James Sexton’s success reflects the positive experiences his clients have had and continue to have at The Sexton Law Firm. His expertise is extensive and includes California bankruptcy law, California...

Family Law Attorney Michael Spiekerman is a highly qualified attorney whose practice is exclusively devoted to dissolution of marriage and domestic partnerships, and all manner of family law related issues. He has represented clients with both complex and simple disputes involving the division of community property assets, the allocation of marital and non-marital debt, obtaining and terminating spousal support awards, setting and modifying child support orders, custody, parenting issues, and much more.

Michael recognizes that the circumstance of ending a marriage or any once intimate relationship is an extremely traumatic experience. In order for people to actually be supported...

Michael Fischer is a licensed California attorney licensed to practice in both state and federal court. Mr. Fischer has handled hundreds of contested and uncontested family law matters. He is known for his ability to guide his clients through the tumultuous processes of family court in an aggressive yet compassionate manner. Mr. Fischer graduated Cum Laude from Saint Joseph’s College in Rensellaer Indiana with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing and a minor in Political Science. For twenty-two years he oversaw the growth of his photography studio and photo processing laboratory in Soldotna, Alaska as well as owning and...

The only San Diego State Bar Certified Family Law Specialist who was also a Former Federal and County of San Diego Prosecutor with Over 20 Years of Experience!

Dahann Bowers was born in Panama and immigrated to Southern California at a young age. She is fluent in Spanish. She attended California State University San Marcos where she double majored in Political Science and Spanish. Dahann then attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. During law school, Dahann interned with the Department of Child Support Services where she gained insight into child support issues and parental rights. She began working at different family law firms and was exposed to the complexities of family law. At the end of 2022, Dahann took the step to go out on...

Ashley L. Dudley is a Partner at The Curran Law Firm APC. Her law practice focuses on family law and criminal defense - primarily high conflict child custody cases, child and spousal support, domestic violence restraining orders, high value asset division, and DUI defense. Her goal is to provide quality legal services not only to those who can afford it, but to all those who need an advocate to navigate the legal system on their behalf. She offers affordable payment plans to those who may not typically be able to afford an attorney.

Her first and foremost priority is to figure...

Attorney Thomas D Sands is a prominent and respected transactional and litigation attorney licensed in the State of California and Hawaii. Thomas is the founder and CEO of The Sands Law Group, and has dedicated his entire legal career to high-quality but cost-conscious representation to individual consumers and businesses in a variety of complex and challenging cases. Thomas is committed to serving his clients with attentive, timely, and effective representation. Throughout his career, Attorney Thomas D Sands has been a fierce advocate of those in need of legal representation. Thomas’ commitment has helped create a positive reputation in the legal and...

MS. BASHAR obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in Management Information Systems in 1987 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona College of Law in May 1990. She joined the firm after 7 years as a sole practitioner focusing on civil litigation, business and family law. Prior to opening her own office, Ms. Bashar was an associate attorney in a civil litigation firm where she represented financial institutions as well as individuals with personal injury, fraud and contract matters. She has also worked as a Volunteer Attorney with the Family Law...

I spent over a decade learning from two of the top Family Law attorneys in San Diego County. After being licensed I immediately began handling all areas of Family Law matters and building what became one of the best and well regarded practices in the field. My knowledge of the law often results in attorneys that have been in practice for more than 20 years regularly seek my opinion in their own cases.

At the beginning of 2019 I decided to join the law firm of GARWOOD ATTORNEYS, ALC primarily as a litigation attorney.

The core values in my practice are...

San Diego Attorney Brian A. Victor has litigated complex family law matters ranging from child custody issues to community property debts resulting from loans. Brian A. Victor is the only attorney in San Diego County with prior work experience at Family Court Services (FCS) where for more than eleven years he worked with the most challenging child custody visitation matters and crafted more than 4000 child custody recommendations for Family Court judges. Attorney Victor sets himself apart from other family law attorneys in his ability to prepare clients for their FCS custody and visitation session when there is a custody dispute...

Education
Ms. Blair graduated from the Menlo College, Atherton, California where she was a magna cum laude graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business. Ms. Blair then received her juris doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California and was admitted to the California and Federal bars in 2002.

Professional Associations
Family Law Section, California Bar Association
San Diego North County Bar Association

Family law attorney and mediator with substantial trial experience in both family law and other fields, including business, real estate, and other civil matters.

Born into a military family in Quantico, Virginia, Ms. Miles attended California Western School of Law, graduating in 2006. While at Cal Western, Ms. Miles studied Family Law and Community Property. Ms. Miles clerked for a family law firm and civil litigation firm while in law school. Ms. Miles also served as a judicial extern for the military judges at Camp Pendleton. Ms. Miles started with our firm in 2012. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Miles worked for the law firm of Moore, Schulman & Moore for four years, practicing exclusively in the area of family law. She is trained...

Born in Pomona, California, Ms. Teuchert is a graduate of California Western School of Law. While at California Western, Ms. Teuchert studied Family Law and was the Vice President of the Child, Family and Elder Law Society. In addition to receiving Academic Achievement Awards in Mediation Advocacy and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Ms. Teuchert graduated at the top of her class on the Dean’s Honor List. During law school, Ms. Teuchert received a State Bar of California Commendation and the Bonnie Reading Scholarship for her work in family law. Ms. Teuchert also holds an English degree from the University of California, Santa...

Born and raised in Michigan, 2nd of eleven children. Electronics Technician in the U.S. Navy from 1968-1975. Prior to limiting practice to Family Law about 20 years ago, I practiced in many other areas of the law including: Real Estate, Personal Injury, Civil Litigation and Bankruptcy.

Attorney Amelia Mattis is committed to helping clients effectively navigate the legal process, particularly in cases involving sensitive issues like domestic violence and child abuse. With a strong educational background, including graduating cum laude from law school and receiving scholastic honors, she brings both expertise and empathy to her practice. Amelia's focus is on ensuring clients understand their rights and options while working closely with them to advocate for their interests in court.

MR. SCHREYER joined the firm during his 25th year of practice in 2011. He earned his degree in Economics from Revelle College at the University of California at San Diego, after spending his junior year in France at the Université de Bordeaux. He then attended the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco where he earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1986. He was admitted to the State Bar of California later that same year and to various Federal District Courts and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal shortly thereafter. Mr. Schreyer gained substantial experience in civil litigation...

Ms. de Leon graduated from Dartmouth College in 1982 magna cum laude with a degree in German. In 1987, she commenced law school at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, VA. She graduated in 1990 and moved to San Diego, CA. Ms. de Leon is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar. Ms. de Leon became licensed to practice law in December 1990 and became a Certified Legal Specialist-Family Law with the State of California Board of Legal Specialization in 2004. Her passion within the Family Law arena is custody...

TIMOTHY L. ALLEN obtained his Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law in 2009 where he graduated with Honors in the Child, Family and Elder Law concentration. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Communication/Journalism from Virginia Tech in 2006, graduating magna cum laude, and was inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha, journalism and mass media honor society. During law school, Tim conducted an internship with the Family Law Facilitator's Office at the South Bay and Central San Diego courthouses where he assisted self-represented parties with family law matters. Tim also served as a research assistant...