Our In-Depth Knowledge of California Family Law

The California Family Code is the foundational law for every divorce and parentage case in the State. Its pages contain the rules that govern community property and separate property, child support and spousal support, child custody and parenting time, splitting assets and debts, and significant rules of procedure.

Our family law firm has an in-depth knowledge of the California Family Code. We know its rules and how to apply them to each client's case.

California Appellate and Supreme Court Decisions

It is not enough to read and understand the California Family Code. Our California appellate courts and Supreme Court, which interpret California law, often guide how the law should be applied in divorce and parentage cases. That means an effective family law attorney must always stay up-to-date on new California cases.

It is rare that a year goes by without a ruling by our appellate courts or Supreme Court that significantly impacts family law. Our family law firm is on top of everything.

Rules of Procedure

We stated that the California Family Code contains significant rules of procedure. But the rules of procedure do not begin and end with the Family Code.

Other code sections, including the California Code of Civil Procedure, set forth significant civil rules that apply to family law cases. The civil rules can impact many different aspects of family law practice, including, but not limited to, the formal discovery process and the request for order process.

The California Rules of Court

We continue to be amazed at how many family law attorneys are unaware of the impact the California Rules of Court can have on family law litigation.

The California Rules of Court often provide significantly more detail on the procedure and how certain issues must be presented and handled by the court in family law cases.

A deep understanding of the Rules of Court is important to any good family law attorney's skill set.

The Rules of Evidence

B. Robert Farzad came from the civil arena before he started practicing family law, and one thing he noticed immediately was that many family law attorneys simply did not understand or know the rules of evidence. The rules of evidence control how evidence is presented and what evidence is admitted or rejected by a court.

A family law judge, like any other judge, must marshal the evidence presented to him or her. To marshal the evidence, a judge must determine whether it was properly received.

Family law attorneys who understand the rules of evidence are effective courtroom litigators. It is one of the reasons they are so effective inside the courtroom.

Our Constant Continuing Education

Most lawyers probably think of continuing education as attending a few seminars yearly. For us, it is much more.

While attending seminars is important, and we do regularly (Mr. Farzad has been a frequent presenter and speaker at family law seminars), we also have frequent internal meetings on family law.

Any time a new decision comes down from our appellate or Supreme Court, we have a dialogue about it to determine how it impacts our representation of family law clients. If a decision is significant, we have in-person meetings to discuss these issues and plan and prepare how it may impact the cases we handle.

In addition, our attorneys constantly find ways to improve our clients' representation by applying existing and new laws.

Our family law firm believes the education process is a constant and never-ending endeavor, and that is why we regularly study family law, our codes, and procedures. Nobody can know everything. However, the best family law attorneys strive to learn more and use that knowledge to help their clients.