Direct Examination with Dan and Lauren

Christopher C. Melcher is a partner with Walzer Melcher & Yoda LLA. Business owners, celebrities, and trust beneficiaries across California turn to Christopher for assistance in protecting their most valuable assets in high-stakes divorces. With deep experience in complex family law litigation, he provides tactical representation in the most challenging family law disputes. His clients include...

Samantha is a partner and head of the California family law practice of Withers Bergman LLP. She has 20 years of litigation experience representing high net worth and high-profile clients in diverse fields including the entertainment and sports industry, executives, entrepreneurs, doctors and attorneys, as well as their spouses. She represents clients in all aspects of family law, concentrating mu...

Lisa Helfend Meyer is a founder and the senior partner of Meyer, Olson, Lowy & Meyers, LLP. Lisa is a certified Family Law Specialist and has built a reputation for taking on the toughest cases — matters other attorneys reject — and prevailing in high-asset and high-conflict family law matters. Lisa represents both men and women in high-stake/bet-the-company divorce, custody and paternity case...

Ms. Mandles has exclusively practiced family law with the firm since passing the bar in 1997. She became a partner with the firm in 2007, and a named partner in 2016. During her years of practice, Ms. Mandles has represented high net worth individuals in many different fields, including the entertainment and sports industry, business executives, doctors and attorneys, as well as beneficiaries of s...

Adam Philip Lipsic is a Partner at Summers Levine Lipsic & Hersh, LLP and a Certified Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. After graduating from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2005, Mr. Lipsic immediately commenced practicing at Hersh Mannis LLP, where he had been interning since his sophomore year of college at the University of Michigan-...

For nearly two decades, Kristina has dedicated her practice to advising distinguished individuals involved in high-stakes, complex financial and custody matters. Her work has involved valuations, tracings and cash flow analyses, move-aways, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, and mediation. She is well known for winning difficult cases, finding solutions to complex matters, and for her steadfast dis...

Mr. Ginsberg is a co-founder of Harris • Ginsberg LLP. He specializes in the representation of high net worth individuals in high conflict situations, while also being "mediation friendly." Mr. Ginsberg has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer for years 2004-2021, and a Top 100 Super Lawyer for 2010 and 2011, through peer nomination and an independent research and review process. Fu...

Presented by UBS No CLE is provided for this program.

Judge Shelley Kaufman was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in December 2013 by Governor Jerry Brown, and brings a wealth of legal expertise to her role. She has excelled in family law, having been assigned to Family Law Department 60 at Stanley Mosk since her swearing-in on January 17, 2014. Prior to her judgeship, Judge Kaufman managed a demanding and complex civil case load as a partn...

With nearly 40 years of professional practice in the area of Family Law, Mr. Hersh is nationally known for discreetly representing public figures, celebrities and high asset individuals. Mr. Hersh has exceptional expertise in international matrimonial law matters involving cross border wealth protection of the international elite. In June of 2020, Mr. Hersh was elected President of the Southern Ca...

On Direct Examination, hosts Dan Bemel and Lauren Youngman interview leading Family Law practitioners, judicial officers, and mediators to unpack the technical realities of practice: building a case from the ground up, navigating client relationships, crafting arguments that resonate with the bench, and avoiding common procedural and strategic missteps. They also explore how to work productively w...

In this episode, San Francisco family law attorney Jill Hersh joins Direct Examination for a candid conversation about real-world lawyering, professional judgment, and the human dynamics that shape legal outcomes. Drawing on practical experience, the conversation explores how attorneys navigate client expectations, strategy decisions, and the realities of practice beyond the textbooks. On Direct E...

This special episode of Direct Examination brings together three giants of California Family Law—Larry Ginsberg, Neal Hersh, and Alexandra Leichter—for an in-depth, candid conversation about the practice, the profession, and the evolution of the field. On Direct Examination, hosts Dan Bemel and Lauren Youngman interview leading Family Law practitioners, judicial officers, and mediators to unpack t...