Family Law Attorney
Barbara K. Hammers
PARTNER
Greetings and thanks for your interest in who I am. If you are interested in knowing my professional background and credentials, you can see all of that on the right. If you are interested in who I am and what I believe, read on...
My road to becoming a lawyer was not the usual route. I was the typical “failure” that you were warned about by your parents. I didn’t like school mostly because I was an “outcast” as my family couldn’t afford the clothes, toys, nice home, and other material things all the “cool kids” had in the 1960s as I was growing up. I was an unwed mother at age 16, dropped out of high school and then married at age 17. I spent almost 10 years in an abusive marriage before I broke free after becoming a licensed hairstylist, mainly because “beauty school” was the only school my husband allowed me to attend as it didn’t threaten him. Once I got my cosmetology license, I got a job, secretly saved money and fled my abuser when I had enough to rent a home with my daughter.
I loved my career as a hairstylist because I really loved people. In a profession where you touch people who are strangers when they first come to you, there is a bond formed that can last a lifetime. Being a hairstylist for 20 years gave me an education money couldn’t buy. The more I interacted with people, the more I knew I wanted a career working with them beyond doing their hair. Even though I hated school as a kid, and vowed never to go back, I decided to pursue a degree in psychology at the age of 32. I went to school full time while working full time running my own hairstyling business and completed my degree in 5 years. I thought I wanted to be a psychologist.
During my junior year in college, I took a course in criminal justice and became interested in the law. I decided to take the LSAT that summer. Unfortunately, a horseback riding accident put me in a wheelchair the last semester of my junior year so my plans got delayed. After a complicated surgery, I could walk again and was able to start my senior year with the help of a cane and a brace on my leg. I took the LSAT that October and put in my applications to law school. I was accepted to UCLA Law School in my senior year of college and started attending UCLA Law at the ripe old age of 37. I graduated and took the bar exam when I was 40.
During my second year of law school, I clerked during the summer for a family law firm in Santa Monica. I also clerked for other firms practicing different areas of law but I was drawn to family law because of the people. Family law affected real people in a way a contract negotiation or business lawsuit did not. It could change the course of a child’s life in a positive way. I met wonderful people and the lawyers I met were dedicated and caring. I decided on a career in family law and never looked back.
So what do I believe? I believe that the only thing that is constant in life is change. I believe that growth can happen throughout one’s life. I believe that everyone brings something to the table if you just look for it. I believe that peace is almost always better than conflict and it comes from within. I believe I can make a difference by helping people through some of the most difficult times of their lives so they can come through it with dignity and peace.
My activities outside of the law include gardening (I’m an avid rosarian), gourmet cooking (six months in culinary school), wine, flower arranging, reading and being outdoors. I love animals and my current menagerie includes cats, dogs and rescued desert tortoises.
Los Angeles County Offices:
11661 San Vicente Blvd., Ste. 820
Los Angeles, CA 90049-5116
T: 310-458-0796 F: 310-393-9402
Email bhammers@hammersbaltazar.com
Costa Mesa Offices:
276 Victoria Street,
Costa Mesa, CA 92660
T: 949-631-2805 F: 949-631-2930
We work with our clients by Zoom and in person.
- 100% Family Law
- Family Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, 2006
- California, 1997 U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1997 U.S. Supreme Court, 1997
- University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Los Angeles, California, 1997 J.D.
- California State University, Fullerton, California, 1994 B.S. Honors: Summa Cum Laude Honors: Dean's List & Consecutive Semesters Major: Psychology.
- Citrus Community College, Glendora, California, 1991 Associate Science Honors:
- State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 2012 – 2014 Executive Committee advisor
- State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 2009 – 2011 Executive Committee member
- State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 1998 – 2008 Standing Committee member
- State Bar of California, Children’s Issues Committee, 2004 – 2009 Chairman
- State Bar of California, Children’s Issues Committee, 2002 – 2003 Vice Chairman
- State Bar of California, Children’s Issues, Committee, 1998 – 2001 Secretary
- Santa Monica Bar Association, 2010 President
- Santa Monica Bar Association, 2009-2012 Board of Trustees
- Santa Monica Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2006 – 2009 Chairman;
- Barbara coordinated and presented over 30 continuing education programs 2006-2009.
- Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2007– 2010 Executive Committee
- American Bar Association’s Family Law Section; Barbara assisted in the development of programs for the State Bar of California, Family Law Section. 1999-2002.
Association of Certified Family Law Specialist. Member 2006-present; 2008-2009, Executive Committee Board Member; 2020-current Executive Committee Board Member
Barbara has authored articles on most areas of family law; paternity rights, division of stock options, law practice management, domestic violence prevention, and various other topic of interest to the family law community.
Her volunteer efforts in the community have included assisting victims of Domestic Violence through volunteering at local Domestic Violence Clinics in Los Angeles County. She has been assisting the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Family Law, Traffic, Civil Harassment, and Small Claims in courthouses throughout Los Angeles County since 2007.
Early training as a litigator allows her to move comfortably in the family court system but her natural talents as a problem solver make her an excellent mediator. In her desire to transition her practice away from litigation, she expanded her practice to include Collaborative Divorce in 2003, which allows the family law client an alternative to the traditional legal model of litigation to resolve disputes.
Collaborative Divorce allows the clients and their counsel to fashion remedies that make the process of divorcing one with the potential of growth for both parties while preserving the resources of the couple and lessening the damage to children often experienced in the adversarial process. The outcome is usually better than can be obtained in the traditional litigation setting.
Additionally, Barbara offers support to people who want to handle their own Family Law/Divorce issues by preparing paperwork for self represented clients and helping to advise people in the process who just need to speak to a family law lawyer about their rights, the court process, or other issues they may have on an hourly basis.