DEGREES AND CERTIFICATIONS PETER M. WALZER WALZER & MELCHER LLP 21700 Oxnard Street, Suite 2080 Woodland Hills, CA 91367 (818) 591-3700 (310) 557-0915 E-Mail: pmw@walzermelcher.com Website:<http://www.walzermelcher.com> VITAE Certified Family Law Specialist, California Board of Legal Specialization, 1988 American Bar Association Trial Advocacy Institute, Denver 1987 Southwestern University School of Law, J.D. 1980 University of California at Los Angeles, B.A. 1975 AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell AWARDS Named Family Law Person of the Year for 2009 by the Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Named Fellow of the Year by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2011 Awarded the Spirit of CEB at the State Bar of California Annual Meeting (Long Beach, September 16, 2011) for his contribution to the education of attorneys in California. OFFICES AND MEMBERSHIPS Vice- President, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2012-2013 Secretary, Los Angeles County Bar Family Law Section, 2011-2012 Council, American Bar Association Family Law Section, 2010-2013 Co-chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee, American Bar Association Family Law Section, 2012-2013 Vice-President, U.S. Chapter, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2010-2013 1
Secretary, Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Section Executive Committee, 2009-2010 Appointed in 2008 to the Elkins Family Law Task Force, a new statewide panel whose charge is to propose measures to improve efficiency and fairness in family law proceedings and ensure access to justice for family law litigants. Currently on the Implementation Task Force Board of Directors, Southern California Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, (2010-2011) Board of Governors, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (2010-2012) Chapter Leaders Committee, Co-chair, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (2008-2010) Webinar Committee, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Chair and Founder (2008-2011) Website Committee, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (2007-2011) Amicus Committee, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (2009-2011) Member, Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2008-2012 (Editor, News and Review and E News) Chair of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 2005-2006 Board of Managers, US Chapter, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2007-2012 Newsletter Committee, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers American Bar Association, Family Law Section, CLE Committee (2007-2011) and Finance Committees 2009-2010 Co-Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 2004-2005. Executive Editor, Family Law News, State Bar of California., 2004-2005. Former member of the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2002-2004. President, Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2006-2007. 2
Vice-President Programs, Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2002-2005. Chair, Law Office Management Section of the Century City Bar Association, 1995-1997. Chair, State Bar Family Law Section Property Committee (South), 1996 and 1997. Member, State Bar Family Law Section Custody Committee, 1994. President and Member of the Board of Directors, Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS), 1993 Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors, ACFLS, 1989-1991. Co-Chair and Chair of the Family Law Section of the Century City Bar Association, 1988-1990. Member Executive Committee, Child Custody Section, American Bar Association, 1988-1990. Chair and Founder of the Solo and Small Partnership Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Barristers, 1983-85. Member of the Board of Directors for two years. Secretary of the Los Angeles County Bar Association s Family Law Section, 2011-2012. TEACHING POSITIONS Instructor, University of California at Los Angeles, Attorney Assistant Training Program, 1986-1988 Adjunct Professor of Business Law, California State University at Los Angeles, 1986. LECTURER Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Elkins for Experts, Legislative Update and Elkins Reforms, Peter M. Walzer and Judge Michael Convey, Balboa Bay Club, Newport Beach, February 4, 2012 San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Beyond Elkins Valley Style, Peter M. Walzer and Judge Michael Convey, Encino Glen Restaurant, Encino, CA, January 23, 2012 Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section Beyond Elkins: New Laws, New Forms, New Year, Peter M. Walzer, Judge Michael J. Convey and Judge Marjorie Steinberg, December 11, 2011 3
Strafford Publications, Webinar: Prenuptial, Postnuptial and Cohabitation Agreements: Strategies to Craft Enforceable Provisions and Attack or Defend the Agreement Peter M. Walzer, Richard Kent and Christopher C. Melcher, September 22, 2011 Los Angeles County Bar Family Law Section, Forensic Accounting Beyond the Basics: How to Prove Your Financial Case Through the Use of a Forensic Accountant and How to Oppose the Forensic Accountant, Peter M. Walzer, with Paul White CPA and Judge Thomas Trent Lewis Universal City Hilton, June 18, 2011 May 14, 2011, Goodwill: What Is It and What Is It Worth? Peter M. Walzer and Jeffrey Kinrich, CPA/ABV, Northern California Chapter of the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Sonoma Lodge, Sonoma, California International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Law in the Foreign Jurisdiction: The Strange, the Mysterious, and the Unusual, Peter M. Walzer, Walzer & Melcher LLP, Alexandre Boiché, Cabinet CBBC, Paris, France, William Longrigg, Charles Russell, London, England International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, U.S. Chapter Meeting, Miami, Florida, February 19, 2011 American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Southern California Chapter Remedies, Ethics, Deposition Tactics and Other Issues, Peter M. Walzer, Justice Sheila Prell Sonenshine [ret], and Harold Stanton, 18th Annual Trial Advocacy Institute, Casa del Mar, Santa Monica California, January 15, 2011 Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, Elkins: How to Litigate a Case Under the New Laws, Peter M. Walzer, Walzer & Melcher LLP, Judge Michael J. Convey, and Judge Mark A. Juhas, Hotel Delfina; Santa Monica, CA, December 16, 2010-6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Bias: The Enemy of Persuasion, Peter M. Walzer and Christopher C. Melcher, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Southern Califonia Chapter Meeting, Newport Beach, CA, December 11, 2010 Los Angeles County Bar Association, International Law Section, Transborder Divorce, its Tax and Immigration Consequences, Peter M. Walzer, Walzer & Melcher LLP, Albert Golbert, Golbert and Associates, Moderator: Qiang Bjornbak, December 3, 2010 Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS), Trial Techniques for Enforcing or Attacking Transmutations, Peter M. Walzer and Christopher C. Melcher, March 28, 2010 American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Developing a Comprehensive Strategy for High Profile Athletes and Their Lovers in Family Court, Peter M. Walzer & Richard West, March 19, 2010 4
UCLA Extension, Drafting and Litigating Premarital and Postmarital Agreements Peter M. Walzer and Christopher C. Melcher, February 20, 2010 State Bar of California, Webinar, Elkins Family Law Task Force Recommendations Peter M. Walzer, Stephen B. Ruben, Hon. Nancy Wieben Stock, Bonnie Hough, October 21, 2009 State Bar of California Annual Meeting, Elkins Family Law Task Force Recommendations Peter M. Walzer, Stephen B. Ruben, Hon. Nancy Wieben Stock, Bonnie Hough, September 12, 2009 Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation, Written and Demonstrative Evidence, August 6, 2009 ABA Family Law Section, Ten Ways That Attorneys Kill Their Own Experts, Moderator, August 5, 2009 (Teleseminar) American Bar Association, Family Law Section, Hot Tips from the Experts: Strategies for Business Valuation in a Depressed Economy, (Annual Meeting), July 31, 2009 National Business Institute, Your Family Law Practice in the 21st Century, June 24, 2009 Los Angeles County Bar, Family Law Section, Drafting and Enforcing Premarital Agreements with The Honorable Mark A. Juhas, Los Angeles Superior Court, Roberta Bennett, Esq., Bennett and Erdman, June 8, 2009. State Bar of California, Webinar: Evidence for Family Law Attorneys, May 6, 2009. Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, Strategies for Business Valuation in a Depressed Economy, Seventeenth Annual ACFLS Spring Seminar: Complex Property Characterization & Disposition Issues, with Jerry E. Randall, CPA, April 19, 2009. Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2nd Annual Family Law Trial Advocacy Program: The Support Trial, Panel, November 15, 2008. San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Electronic Evidence: How to Get It and How to Use It, October 27, 2008. Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Section, Evidentiary Issues in Divorce -- To Admit or Not Admit, Is that the Question, Saturday, May 31, 2008 UCLA Extension, Drafting Premarital and Postmarital Agreements, May 18, 2008 AFCC Conference, Co-Speaker, Effective Legal and Psychological Approaches to Parental Alignment, Estrangement, and Alienation, February 8-10, 2008 5
Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, The Art of the Trial, Ethical and Malpractice Minefields in Preparation of and During the Family Law Trial, Peter M. Walzer, Jennifer Saunders, and Judge Thomas Trent Lewis, January 20, 2008 New Mexico State Bar, Caring for the Child: What's Best for Children in a Family Law Case Discussion of Joint Legal Custody, Peter M. Walzer (By Special Invitation) October 19, 2007 The State Bar of California's Annual Meeting, Anaheim, California, Law for Lovers: Drafting Enforceable Premarital and Postmarital Agreements Co-speaker, September 28, 2007 Cal CPA Business Valuations Section, Los Angeles, Effective Valuations for Divorce, July 19, 2007 State Bar of California's Committee on Professionalism and Conduct presented, California State Bar's Annual Ethics Symposium, Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles Family Law Panel: Peter M. Walzer, J.A. Williams, Bonnie Rose Hough, Ethics at the Edges, May 19, 2007 Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, Legal Issues Involved in Business Valuation, March 18, 2007. American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Southern California Chapter, 2007 Trial Advocacy Institute- Family Law Tax Mysteries Solved, January 12, 13, and 14 2007. Continuing Education of the Bar, Family Law Symposium, December 8, 2006. National Business Institute, California Family Law Practice, July 24, 2006. State Bar of California, Crossborder Estate, Financial & Asset Planning Conference, International Premarital Agreements, June 15, 2006, Marina del Rey, California. Glendale Bar Association, Prudent Practices of Premarital Practices, May 24, 2006. UCLA Extension, Drafting Premarital, Postmarital and Cohabitation Agreements, May 17, 2006. Continuing Education of the Bar, Fundamentals of Family Law, April 28, 2006. Your Legal Rights radio program KLAW 91.7, Spousal and Partner Support: How Much and How Long?, April 26, 2006. Continuing Education of the Bar, Family Law Symposium, Premarital and Postmarital Agreements, Drafting and Enforcement, December 10, 2005, Los Angeles California. 6
National Business Institute, Obtaining the Best Result for Your Client in a Marital Dissolution: Procedures and Strategies for Effective Settlement and Litigation in California, September 16, 2005, Pasadena, California. State Bar of California, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Attorney s Fees, Sanctions and Collections, September 9, 2005, San Diego, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Crossover Issues in Estate Planning and Dissolution: When Death and Divorce Collide, July, 2005, Garden Grove, San Diego and Los Angeles. Your Legal Rights radio program KLAW 91.7, Family Law and Various Methods of Dispute Resolution, July 6, 2005. Your Legal Rights radio program KLAW 91.7, Domestic Partnerships, January 26, 2005. Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Custody Panel, 12 th Annual Advocacy Institute, January 15, 2005. National Business Institute, Fundamentals of Family Law, October 29, 2004, Pasadena, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Workshop on Drafting Pre-Domestic Partnership Agreements, October 23 and November 17, 2004, San Francisco and Los Angeles. State Bar of California, Annual Meeting, Hidden Secrets of Retirement Plans, October 9, 2004, Monterey, California. Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, Winning the Custody Dispute: Effective Legal and Psychological Strategies, September 18, 2004, Los Angeles, California. San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Family Law Section, Law Office Management Re: Family Law Practice, March 27, 2004, Encino, California. National Business Institute, Complex Issues in Dissolution of Marriage For The California Practitioner, January, 2004, Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles County Bar Association, Hell Hath No Fury Like A Duty Scorned: Fiduciary Duty, Disclosure, and Undue Influence, November, 2003, Los Angeles, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Drafting Enforceable Premarital Agreements, August, 2003, San Francisco, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Cross-Over Issues in Estate Planning and Dissolution: When Death and Divorce Collide, August, 2003, Los Angeles, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Drafting Enforceable Premarital Agreements - Family Law and Estate Planning Perspectives, July 2003. 7
UCLA, Drafting Premarital and Postmarital Agreements, May 21, 2003. CPA Education Foundation, Navigating the Hidden Dangers: New Issues in Disclosure and Fiduciary Duties, November 14, 2002. State Bar of California, Premarital Agreements for Attorneys and Lovers: Drafting Premarital Agreements After SB 78, October 12, 2002. National Business Institute, Tax Aspects of Divorce in California, October 2, 2002. San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Domestic Violence - Family Law and Criminal Law Considerations, September 23, 2002. San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Crossover Issues in Estate Planning and Dissolution, June 24, 2002, Encino, California. American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Tax Deductibility of Attorney s Fees, - Hot Tips, March, 2002, Sanibel Harbor, Ft. Meyers, Florida. California Society of CPA s, Business Valuation Section, What Family Lawyers Want From A Forensic Accountant in a Business Valuation Case, January 18, 2002, Los Angeles, California. California Society of CPA s, Family Law Section, The Accountant s Role in Premarital Agreements and Premarital Planning Under SB 78, January 17, 2002, Los Angeles, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Crossover Issues in Estate Planning and Dissolution: What Estate Planners and Family Law Practitioners Need to Know, December 8, 2001, Los Angeles, California. State Bar of California, Family Law Section, Speaker, Business Valuation for Family Lawyers: How to be a Quick Study, September 8, 2001, Anaheim, California. UCLA Extension, Drafting Premarital, Postmarital and Cohabitation Agreements in the New Millenium, May 19, 2001, Los Angeles, California. Continuing Education of the Bar, Innovative Premarital Agreements: Family Law & Estate Planning Perspectives, May 4, 5, 11, 12 and 18, 2001, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and Anaheim, California. Los Angeles County Bar Association, Panelist, Everything You Wanted to Know About Family Law, But Were Afraid to Ask, March 27, 2001, Los Angeles, California. State Bar Section Institute, Panelist, Drafting Premarital Agreements That Work, January 21, 2001, Berkeley, California. 8
Continuing Education of the Bar and the State Bar Family Law Section, Moderator, Fundamentals of Marital Dissolution, April 14 and 15, 2000, Los Angeles, California. NBI, Moderator, Child Custody and Visitation in California, September 15, 1999. Continuing Education of the Bar, Panelist, "Estate Planning in the Context of Divorce, September 1998, San Jose, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Los Angeles. San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Moderator/Panelist, "Domestic Torts, July 1998. Continuing Education of the Bar/State Bar Family Law Section, Moderator/Panelist, "The Fundamentals of Handling a Marital Dissolution" April 1998, Beverly Hills, California. State Bar Institute, Panelist, "Family Law and Bankruptcy: Will Debtor's Discharge Dump Divorce Debt?" November, 1997, Coronado, California. National Business Institute, Inc., Panelist, "Tax Aspects of Marital Dissolution, November, 1997, Los Angeles, California. State Bar of Nevada, "Psyching Out the Psychologist"/"Hot Tips, March 1997, Tonapah, Nevada. National Business Institute, Inc., Panelist, "The Impact of Bankruptcy on Dissolution of Marriage, March 1997, Los Angeles. Continuing Education of the Bar, Panelist, "Innovative Prenuptial Agreements: Family Law and Estate Planning Perspectives, March\May 1996, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Continuing Professional Education, "Estate Planning for Second Marriages, January 8, 1996, Los Angeles. California Department of Social Services, "Solid Foundations: Men in Their Families and Communities, June 28-30, 1995, Anaheim. National Business Institute, Inc., "Child Custody Litigation and Mediation in California, June 22, 1995, Los Angeles. Beverly Hills Bar Association, Presenter, "Hot Tips IV, April 26, 1995. Long Beach Estate Planning Council, "Transmutation, A Death Trap for Estate Planners, March 17, 1994, Long Beach. Continuing Education of the Bar, Panelist, "Selected Issues in California Community Property Law, MCLE Fair, January 15 and 22, 1994, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 9
Legal Education Systems, Inc., "In Which State Do You File for Divorce The Ins and Outs of Interstate Jurisdiction and Conflicts of Law, January 13, 1994, Vail, Colorado. Continuing Education of the Bar, Panelist, "Selected Issues in California Community Property Law, Fall 1993, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. American Legal Research Institute, Panelist, "Basic Family Law Seminar, July 8, 1993, Los Angeles. Santa Monica Bar Association, Family Law Section Meeting, "The New Disclosure Laws, May 26, 1993. Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, Panelist, "Fee Agreements and Strategies for Collecting Fees Before Trial, May 16, 1993. Best Seminars, "Money, Marriage and the Law, Panelist, Beverly Hills, July 21, 1992. UCLA Extension, Panelist, "Protecting Financial & Business Interests During Cohabitation, Marriage & Remarriage". Fall 1991 and Summer 1992. Santa Monica Bar Association, Family Law Section, "The New Child and Spousal Support Laws, 1992. ACFLS and Attorney's Briefcase, Inc., Panelist and Moderator, "How to Protect Your Client's Assets Before and During Marriage, October 1991 San Francisco and March 1992 in Orange County. American Bar Association, Family Law Section, Panelist, "Trial Tactics and Professionalism, Vail, Colorado, Fall 1991. Century City Bar Association, Family Law Section, "The Secret of Effective Negotiation, 1989. Century City Bar Association, Family Law Section, Panelist, "Tax Nightmares in Marital Dissolutions, 1988. California Society of Certified Public Accountants, "Prenuptial Agreements, February 8, 1988. American Bar Association, Family Law Section, San Francisco, Panelist, "Drafting Marital Settlement Agreements, 1987. California Society of Certified Public Accountants, "Divorce: Tax Planning After the Domestic Relations Tax Relief Act, July 27, 1987. California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists, "What Every Therapist Needs to Know About Divorce and Custody, August 3, 1985. 10
California Society of Certified Public Accountants, "Creative Accounting in Business Valuation, August 23, 1983, in the San Fernando Valley, February 22, 1985, in Beverly Hills and March 25, 1985, in Pasadena. UCLA Extension, Panelist, "Money and Marriage, Summer 1984. ARTICLES Los Angeles Lawyer, Foreign Affairs Enforceability of Foreign Prenuptial Agreements, December 2008 Family Law News, Point/Counterpoint Regarding Provisions for Payments at the Time of Marital Dissolution in Prenuptial Agreements, Peter M. Walzer and Franklin R. Garfield, California State Bar, Family Law News, Volume 29, Number 4 [2007] Los Angeles Daily Journal, Even Santa Needs a Lawyer - Gift Giving Raises Knotty Issues, December 2006. Family Law News, Prudent Practitioners Must Place a Premium on Careful Premarital Practices, Summer 2005. ACFLS Newsletter, Advice To A Client Before Signing A Premarital Agreement, Spring 2004. San Fernando Valley Business Journal, Borrowing Money Can Complicate Divorce, September 27, 2004. San Fernando Valley Business Journal, Divorce Can Get Complicated When There s a Business, August 2004. Family Law News, What Words Don t You Understand Fiduciary or Duty? In Amending Family Code Section 721 the Legislature Gives Couples Something to Fight About, Winter 2003. Family Law News, The Tax Deductibility of Attorneys Fees In A Marital Dissolution, September, 2002. Citations, Ventura County Bar Association Newsletter, Dangerous Liaisons, Spousal Support Waivers After Pendleton and Fireman, March 2001. Los Angeles Lawyer, Goodwill Hunting (Law Firm Valuation) co-authored, September 2000. International Family Law, September 2001, and FairShare, The Matrimonial Law Monthly, Making Foreign Divorce Judgments Enforceable in the United States co-authored with Laurel Brauer, March 2000. 11
Los Angeles Lawyer, "The Long Arm of Family Law, co-authored with Laurel Brauer, September 1998. Book Chapter, CEB, "Marital Settlement & Other Family Law Agreements, Second Edition, co-authored with Linda Gross, 1997. Program Handbook, National Business Institute, Inc., "The Impact of Bankruptcy on Dissolution of Marriage, co-authored with David Tillem and David Bloom, March 1997. Program Handbook, CEB, "Innovative Prenuptial Agreements, Family Law and Estate Planning Perspectives, co-authored with Marc Stern, March 1996. Los Angeles Daily Journal, "French Knots: Contrat de Marriage in California, Co-Author, Catherine Parker, March 1996. Beverly Hills Bar Hot Tips IV program book article, "Applying the Periera/Van Camp Line of Cases, April 1995. Program Handbook, Legal Education Systems, Inc., "The Ins and Outs of Interstate Jurisdiction and Conflicts of Law, January 1994. CEB Program Handbook, Selected Issues in Community Property, October 1993, articles: "Pensions Simplified and Not So Simplified, "Obtaining More Than Half of the Community Property for Your Client" and "The Ins and Outs of Interstate Jurisdiction and Conflicts of Law." Family Law Symposium, May 8, 1993, 25th Anniversary Issue, Practice Pointer, "How to Recover a Stolen Child." ACFLS Newsletter: One year of President's Columns, two articles entitled ACFLS Members." "Spotlight on California Lawyer, December, 1991, "To Catch a Child Thief." Daily Journal, 1991, Book Review, Divorce Reform at the Crossroads. Family Advocate, Winter 1990, "Jurisdiction - Maneuvering Through Complex Rules." California Lawyer, September 1990, "To Have and To Hold - Most Premarital Agreements are Binding and Enforceable." Family Advocate, Fall 1987, "When Fault Affects Fitness - How to Fight the Custody Battle." Evidence Program Handbook, CEB, 1984. Eighth Annual Family Law Symposium, Contributor, October 1982. 12
California Lawyer, February 1981, co-authored "Using Receiverships in California Marital Dissolutions. MISCELLANEOUS Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2007-10. Los Angeles Magazine, listed as one of the top 100 Los Angeles County Super Lawyers, 2005 National Center for Missing and Abused Children, 1997, Volunteer Attorney, (Successfully handled International Child Kidnapping Case under the Hague Convention for the Abduction of Children). California Lawyers for the Arts, Panel Attorney, 1995 and 1996. Los Angeles Superior Court Family Law Department Mediation Hearing Officer 1988-1991, 1995-2001. Los Angeles County Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem, 1987-1991. Pro Bono Mentor for the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law, 1994-1995. Volunteer Attorney for Alliance for Children's Rights, 1995-1997. (Successfully Handled Guardianship Matter). Delegate representing the Century City Bar Association at the 1996 State Bar Conference. 13