Mediation, complex asset division, MSC/JSC representation, and strategic consulting for self-represented parties.
Learn more → Pillar TwoStandard of care analysis, liability and damages assessment, and "trial within a trial" consulting for legal malpractice claims.
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We will mediate your case for the results you deserve and can live comfortably with.
We serve the greater San Francisco area as well as Marin County, San Mateo County, Santa Cruz County, and Orange County.
Ruben Family Law Resolution Services offers expert mediation and strategic consulting across the full spectrum of family law matters — serving clients throughout San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, and Los Angeles counties.
Divorce, custody, support, and property division — resolved through expert-led mediation without the cost and conflict of litigation.
The only Bay Area attorney offering ENE — an authoritative early case assessment that grounds negotiations in reality before positions entrench.
Limited-scope appearances at Mandatory and Judicial Settlement Conferences — delivering expert advocacy without full-scope representation cost.
Strategic guidance for unrepresented parties in mediation — reviewing agreements for hidden traps and providing a second opinion before signing.
Structuring settlements involving business entities, real estate portfolios, retirement accounts, stock options, and deferred compensation.
Bulletproof Marital Settlement Agreements, stipulated orders, and prenuptial agreements reflecting California family law's full complexity.
When family law cases go wrong — through attorney negligence, poor strategy, or failure to protect a client's interests — courts require an expert who can identify exactly what happened and why it fell below the standard of care.
In Steve's words: "Serving as an expert, I point out the screwball things that happen with cases." After 40+ years practicing and presiding over family law matters, he knows precisely what responsible representation looks like — and when it isn't.
Evaluating whether the defendant attorney acted as a reasonably prudent family law attorney would under similar circumstances.
Analyzing whether alleged negligence — failure to trace assets, poor MSA drafting, missed deadlines — caused actual economic harm.
Simulating the original case to provide expert opinions on what outcomes a competent attorney would have achieved.
Analysis of attorney errors in identifying and dividing complex assets — stock options, real estate, business entities.
Evaluating conflicts of interest, failure to disclose community assets, and settlement negligence during mediation.
Steve is the only attorney in the Bay Area offering Early Neutral Evaluation — providing clients with an authoritative, unbiased assessment of their case at the outset, frequently preventing costly litigation before it begins.
With more than 40 years of legal experience, Steve has served for over 20 years as Senior Settlement Master and Judge Pro Tem in the Unified Family Courts in San Francisco and Marin County — a judicial perspective that gives his clients an analytical edge no standard mediator can offer.
He holds a Certified Family Law Specialist designation from the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and an LLM in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University's Straus Institute — the #1 ranked ADR program in the world.
Deneen has worked in the legal field for over 40 years, with more than 28 years of focused experience in family law as a paralegal. She has assisted clients with dissolution proceedings, custody and support disputes, and domestic violence restraining orders — working both under attorney supervision and independently.
Across her career, Deneen has served as paralegal, legal secretary, word processor supervisor, office manager, and legal administrator across a wide range of practice areas: civil litigation, labor and employment, family law, estate planning, probate, products liability, patent, intellectual property, and more.
Deneen received her Bachelor's degree and Paralegal Certificate from California State University, East Bay, Hayward in 1994.
Ruben Family Law Resolution Services
50 California Street, 15th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Monday – Friday · 9 am – 5 pm
Consultations by appointment
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