JoAnne M. Biernacki is the founder and principal attorney at Law Office of JoAnne M. Biernacki and is a member of the Contra Costa, San Francisco, Alameda, El Dorado, and Sacramento County Bar Associations. She focuses on family law and has extensive experience in personal injury and criminal law cases. She has trained as Minors’ Counsel and the role of Juvenile Dependency Attorney for Children and Parents. Ms. Biernacki was admitted to the California State Bar in 2011 and has since handled more than 250 cases. Ms. Biernacki earned her B.A. degree from San Francisco State University, and her J.D. degree from John F. Kennedy University.
Andy Cook heads up a two-attorney firm, the Law Offices of Andy Cook, in San Diego, where he handles family law matters exclusively. He has handled more than 1,000 cases during the 26 years since he started the practice, including more than 40 matters that he has tried to judgment. Mr. Cook has been certified as a Family Law Specialist for over 19 years by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Cook has testified in court as an expert witness in legal malpractice as it relates to family law. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Vermont and his J.D. degree from California Western School of Law. Mr. Cook is a former member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Bar Association and is a member of its Family Law Section. He is also a member of the California Lawyers Association (Family Law Section); the California Association of Certified Family Law Specialists; and the San Diego Family Law Bar Association. He was recently named as a "Top Family" California lawyer by the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
Hon. Sharon L. Kalemkiarian is a Superior Court Judge in the Family Court Division of the San Diego County Superior Court. Previously she was a Juvenile Dependency Judge of the San Diego Superior Court. Judge Kalemkiarian was appointed to the bench by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in December 2014. Prior to her appointment, Judge Kalemkiarian was a certified family law specialist and partner at Ashworth, Blanchet, Christenson & Kalemkiarian for 14 years. She served as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law from 2010 to 2014, where she taught both child advocacy, community property, and family law. Judge Kalemkiarian graduated from Princeton University, magna cum laude, in 1979 and the University of San Diego School of Law, magna cum laude in 1989. She is the recipient of numerous public service awards, including the California Women Lawyers Fay Stender award, for outstanding service on behalf of underserved women and children, and was named legal professional of the year by the San Diego County Bar Association in 1997. She served by appointment of Chief Justice Ronald George on the California Judicial Council’s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee from 2000 to 2009. In 2022, Judge Kalemkiarian was honored by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Southern California Chapter, as the Judicial Officer of the Year. Judge Kalemkiarian was the director of Project Heartbeat from 1996-2000. This project helped push for the integration of treatment options for children in the court system, which were “really outdated, bureaucratically heavy, and stuck in the stone age,” according to Robert Ross, President and CEO of California Endowment. She founded the Juvenile Court Emancipation Clinic in 1991 while a Skadden-Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego. From 1989-1991 she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gordon Thompson, Jr., Chief Judge of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California. She served as the clinical director for the Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of San Diego School of Law from 1993 to 1996.
David M. Lederman is the managing attorney of the Law Offices of David M. Lederman, where he practices in the areas of family law. He is a Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Lederman was appointed to the State Bar of California, Family Law Executive Committee (FLEXCOM) in 2013. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and his J.D. degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific.
Brenda Lopez is a partner in the law firm of Patterson, Lopez, Banuelos, Khiterman, LLP in San Diego. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist, who has represented family law clients in a variety of cases in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and Imperial Counties. Ms. Lopez has successfully litigated many complex family law cases, touching upon both economic and non-economic issues. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the San Diego County Bar, after previously serving on the Family Law Section as Chair, Vice-Chair and Member at Large. Ms. Lopez also currently serves as Vice President for San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association as well as a Board of Directors for the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association Scholarship Fund. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Gender Equity Committee of Lawyers Club of San Diego. She earned her B.A. degree from San Diego State University, and her J.D. degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
