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• Attorneys,
Paralegals and Legal Staff
Stephen
B. Ruben
Profile
Stephen B. Ruben has been practicing law for over thirty years,
with extensive experience in a wide variety of family law cases.
Steve has also been certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization
as a Specialist in Family Law. Certified Family Law Specialists
have recognized experience in the areas of California Family Law
including divorce, child custody and visitation, property division,
domestic partnership agreements, domestic partnership dissolution,
child and spousal support, tax consequences, settlement negotiations
and trial litigation. Certified Specialists have also passed a rigorous
written examination, demonstrated a high level of experience in
family law, fulfilled ongoing education requirements and have been
favorably evaluated by peers and judges who are familiar with their
work.
Steve has a wealth of legal experience, a deep-rooted commitment
to the betterment of the community, and is active in the betterment
of the legal profession through membership and leadership roles
in several bar associations. He has a reputation as a creative attorney
who is sensitive enough to care yet tough enough to be an exceptionally
able advocate.
Education
Steve earned a B.A. with honors in history and political science
from Bethany College in 1970 and earned his law degree from Illinois
Institute of Technology Chicago - Kent College of Law in 1973.
Experience
After being admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1973, he spent three
years prosecuting civil and criminal cases for the city of Chicago,
Cook County Illinois. After leaving the city attorney's office,
Steve joined the prestigious law firm of Jann and Carroll, Ltd.
By 1977 he opened his own law practice, handling a wide variety
of real estate, family law, probate litigation, business, and intellectual
property cases.
While engaged in private practice in Illinois, Attorney General
Neil Hartigan appointed Steve as a Special Assistant Attorney General.
For eight years Steve handled a variety of complex and challenging
civil litigation matters on behalf of the state of Illinois in both
state court and state agencies. Steve also served as the Special
Administrator to the Presiding Judge of the Probate Division of
Cook County Courts, conducting investigations of wrongdoing by personnel
representatives and attorneys in the administration of decedent
and guardianship estates.
In 1992, after relocating to California and passing the California
Bar, Steve opened his own law practice. Drawing upon his extensive
experience in Illinois, Steve has specialized in family law matters
while also capably handling matters in the areas of corporate and
intellectual property law. He has been certified as a mediator by
the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University
School of Law and serves as an arbitrator for the Bar Association
of San Francisco resolving attorney client fee disputes for family
law matters. Steve has been appointed and serves as Judge Pro-Tem
and Settlement Judge in the Family Law Division of the San Francisco
Superior Court.
Practice Areas
Family Law, Premarital and Postnuptial Agreements, Family Business
Law, Marital Property Settlement, Domestic Violence, Spousal Support,
Child Support, Child Custody Disputes, Mediation, Estate Administration,
Cohabitation Agreements, Estate Planning, Wills, Living Trusts,
Business Law, Business Litigation, Business Formation, Partnership
Law, Closely Held Businesses Law, Mergers and Acquisitions and,
Intellectual Property.
Articles
Steve has authored several articles in the family law field. These
include "I
Now Pronounce You Separated!" appearing in the State Bar
of California, Family Law Journal in 1994 and in 1998 in "The
Bankruptcy Aspects of Dissolution under California Law," published
by The National Legal Institute. His article, "Collaborative
Divorce: A New Paradigm," published in the winter of 2002 in
the California State Bar Litigation Journal. Additionally, Steve
has also published several documents in the California State Bar’s
Business Litigation Magazine, Family Law News publication, and in
The National Business Institute.
Steve has also been a part of several lectures that deal with issues
specific to Family Law. Most recently, he served as a panelist at
a Family Law forum on October 29, 2006 entitled “Handling Move-Away
Cases, Recent Developments and Legal Strategies – Pre and Post Dissolution.”
In 2004 he was a speaker on “Collaborative Family Law Process” in
Louisiana in front of the Louisiana Clerks and Judicial Officers.
He has also published several documents in the California State
Bar’s Business Litigation Magazine, Family Law News publication,
and in The National Business Institute.
Bar Admissions
Steve is admitted to practice in all the Bars in the State of California
and Illinois, the U.S. District Court, the Northern District of
Illinois, including the Trial Bar, and the U.S. District Court,
the Northern and Central Districts of California, and the United
States Supreme Court.
Community Service
Steve has dedicated time to a wide range of community efforts, both
in Illinois and California. His activities have included:
- Past President and Board Member, Lawyer's Club of San Francisco
1992 to present
- Executive Committee, Conference of Delegates, State Bar of California,
State bar legislative initiatives or family law and civil litigation
matters
- Judge Pro-Tem, Unified Family Court of San Francisco, Law and
Motion, Domestic Violence and the Settlement Calendar
- San Francisco Community Board – Special Mediator for neighborhood
disputes
- Arbitrator and Mediator; Bar Association of San Francisco and
San Francisco Superior Court, Family Law Dispute Resolutions, and
Attorney/Client Fee Disputes
- Aid Foundation
- Board Member, Boy's and Girl's Club of San Francisco
- Music In Schools Today, past Board Member
- Current KQED Signal Society Board Member
Interests
Steve an accomplished pianist and singer. Steve enjoys music, performing,
golfing, racquetball and hiking.
Memberships
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Illinois
- U.S. Supreme Court
- American Bar Association: Family Law Section
- Association of California Certified Family Law Specialists
- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Lawyer’s Club of San Francisco: Former Board of Directors and
State Bar Delegate Chair
- Bar Association of San Francisco
- Family Law Section, State Bar of California
- DuPage County (Illinois) Bar Association
- San Francisco Collaborative Family Law Group
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SARAH VAN VOORHIS,
Senior Associate Attorney
Profile
Sarah Van Voorhis is a Senior Associate Attorney at the Ruben Law
Firm, where she has worked since 2005. She has been exclusively
practicing family law in California since 2001.
Education
Ms. Van Voorhis received her J.D. from Stanford Law School and her
B.A. from the University of Utah, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
While in law school, she served as an intern with the U.S. Attorney
and the San Jose District Attorney.
Experience
Following law school, she worked as an associate attorney at two
highly respected California family law firms: Winter & Ross
in San Francisco and Flicker, Kerin, Kruger & Bissada in Silicon
Valley. Ms. Van Voorhis is currently the chairperson of the family
law section of the San Francisco Bar Association’s Barristers Club.
She served as vice-chair of the family law section in 2007. She
also serves as a settlement master (settlement judge) in the San
Francisco County Family Law Superior Court.
Practice Areas
Ms. Van Voorhis’ family law practice focuses on complex marital
and domestic partner dissolutions (including property allocation
and division), child custody, parentage, child and spousal support,
and the legal aspects of move-away in child custody cases. She has
successfully represented clients in move-away cases at the trial
level. She regularly drafts prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
and also serves as the reviewing attorney for such agreements. She
is a member of the family law section of the State Bar of California,
a member of the family law session of the American Bar Association,
an active member of the San Francisco Bar Association and an active
member of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF).
Interests
Ms. Van Voorhis’ interests include skiing, traveling and the San
Francisco Giants.
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ARIEL SOSNA,
Associate Attorney
Profile
Ariel Sosna is an Associate with Ruben Law Firm and handles cases
involving marital dissolution (including complex property allocation
and division), child custody, child and spousal support, domestic
partnerships and paternity issues.
Education and Experience
Ms. Sosna received her J.D., with a concentration in Family Law,
from U.C. Hastings School of Law and her B.A. in Psychology from
U.C. Berkeley.
While in law school, Ms. Sosna served as an intern with the San
Francisco Superior Court Family Law Facilitator's Office, the Law
Center for Families, and the Center for Families, Children and the
Courts, a division of the Administrative Office of the Courts. She
was also a research assistant for Professor Weisberg contributing
to Modern Family Law: Cases and Materials and California Family
Code and Related Provisions with Commentary.
Memberships
Ms. Sosna is a member of the State Bar of California, The San Francisco
Bar Association, The American Bar Association, Family Law Section,
and Queen's Bench.
Interests
Ms. Sosna's interests include swimming, traveling and following
family law issues in relation to public figures.
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ROBERT
GINDA, Paralegal
and Office Manager
SARAH
EILEFSON, Paralegal and
Legal Secretary |
