Barbara Hammers

My path to becoming a lawyer was anything but conventional, and I believe that path has made me a better family law attorney and mediator.

I became a mother at 16, left high school, and married at 17. After nearly ten years in a difficult marriage, I earned my cosmetology license and built an independent life for myself and my daughter. I spent the next 20 years as a hairstylist and business owner, a career that taught me lessons about people that could never have been learned in a classroom.

At 32, while working full time, I returned to school to study psychology. I originally planned to become a psychologist, but a college course introduced me to the law and changed my direction.  At 37, I entered UCLA School of Law, graduating and passing the California Bar at age 40.

During law school, I was drawn to family law because it combined the law with what had always interested me most: people. Family law affects people's children, homes, financial security, and futures. It requires not only legal knowledge, but judgment,  empathy, perspective, and an understanding of human nature.

Those principles continue to guide my practice today. As both an attorney and mediator, I believe that people facing divorce and other family transitions deserve sound legal advice, honest guidance, and the opportunity to resolve their differences without unnecessary conflict whenever possible. Litigation is sometimes necessary, but conflict  should never become an end in itself.

My own life has taught me that change is inevitable, but growth is always possible. My goal is to help clients move through one of the most difficult chapters of their lives with dignity, clarity, and the ability to look forward.

Outside the law, I am an avid gardener and rosarian, a passionate cook who spent six months in culinary school, and an enthusiast of wine, flower arranging, reading, animals, and the outdoors.