I first called Adam Gurley after being served with divorce papers on Valentine's Day, which I can…read moreonly assume was my ex's idea of a parting gift. From that first conversation, Adam was steady, sharp, and reassuring, and he has been ever since. If you're looking for a family law attorney in San Francisco, he's the call to make. What stands out most is his integrity. Adam tells you the truth and gives you advice you can actually trust. He leaves you feeling looked after rather than worked over. He also knows this world cold. He's seasoned and genuinely fluent in the local courts, the process, and the people in it, and it shows. Even when the other side gets aggressive, Adam stays calm and clear-eyed, translating all the legalese into plain, practical guidance you can act on. He's responsive, reachable, and steady exactly when you need someone steady, which, in a divorce, is roughly always. Just as important, he's consistent. His guidance never wavered, and he followed through, start to finish. He treats clients like people, not case numbers, or billable hours, and he clearly cares about how things turn out. I always trusted that his advice was in my genuine interest. I can't recommend Adam highly enough. If you want someone exceptionally competent, ethical, reasonable, and genuinely on your side, call him. Preferably or hopefully not on Valentine's Day.

The dude started my divorce thirteen years ago, then he handed off to some lady who wasn't an…read moreattorney for very long. Time went by and my divorce never got finalized, my ex husband is scamming me, using my soc sec number. I call Adam and all the dude lawyer did was insult me, telling me, (oh it's only a few thousand let it go) when all i really needed was help with the rest of my divorce. Im sorry but this dude is an @$$hole and then he tells me, oh it's going to be difficult to get a divorce now. Mind you im just a woman (human being) try ing to get help for myself to divorce my husband and all this jerk did was insult me and say bye. What kind of person acts like that? He couldn't even remember me. I dont care how many people think he's so great, as far as im concerned he in asshole in my eyes. And I dont care if he like my saying so or not. Screw him, never will I ever recommend this man for anything. He's a prick lawyer who thinks his $#!t doesnt stink. Pompous creep

I retained Diana's firm a year ago after watching dozens of her priceless YouTube videos on…read morenavigating the SF family law court system. Her firm is smart, mighty, and responsive. The team operates quickly, boldly, and in close coordination. I often hear them creatively problem solve our case issues on their walkie talkies during our calls, swapping legal codes, flagging new case law, and noting trends in Judges' recent rulings. The firm is not afraid of tricky cases. In our first ~6 months, they pulled off filing disclosures, responding to Discovery and two RFOs, appearing at an at issue status conference, filing for financial supports, and obtaining 10+ financial subpoenas going back ~10 years. Relatedly, although our case's complexity outpaced the affordability of continuing full scope representation, they've remained supportive. The firm's been gracious with transitioning to limited scope and consulting retainers. Billing is weekly, so there aren't month's end surprises. Diana, Javier, and Rachel's writing styles are professional, respectful, assertive, compelling, and legally grounded. Jessica's also been key administratively under tight timelines with lots of moving pieces. I've worked closest with Javier on custody issues, and I know he truly cares most about the best interests of our toddler. Javier has been a pillar of strength and hope in a legal system that plays out in unexpected ways. He's skilled in relationship building, structuring and focusing arguments, balancing many high needs cases while remaining responsive, and working collaboratively with clients. Javier makes difficult conversations easier, is persistent with attempts to build friendly bridges with opposing counsel, helps keep me on track with the overall case management deadlines, and pulls in team members when it helps. I also appreciate that the firm is tech forward in their processes and are early AI adopters. They've developed prompts and template libraries they've shared with me and leverage note taking and drafting tools to reduce billable hours. They too would rather bill for legal strategy then manually drafting 50 pages of tedious objections. They've also coached me how to save legal fees, for example teaching me about legal codes and procedures, encouraging me to craft my own first drafts, and sharing actionable Youtube Videos and content to empower clients like me to understand what's actually going on if you're interested in taking an active role in the process.

I'm really thankful for the support and guidance Diana Romanov provided at the very beginning of my…read morecase. This was my first professional experience working with an attorney, and only after being involved in these matters over the past few years did I truly realize how complex they can be and how much they require skilled legal guidance. From the start, Diana was clear, thoughtful, and made smart strategic decisions that helped put things on the right track. Her filing of joinders at the early stage was especially important and made a real difference moving forward. She combines strong strategy with professionalism and a practical understanding of how these cases actually work. I truly value the role she played at a critical moment and would recommend her to anyone looking for a capable and strategic attorney.

Bron helped so much making the process of divorce more approachable and took care of all the…read moretechnical aspects and paperwork so I felt confident that everything was filed correctly. She went above and beyond, and even would reach out after the proceedings completed to ensure I had all the paperwork I needed to feel confident it was finalized. She is professional, pragmatic, and easy to contact, and I would recommend her.

Bronwyn was nonpartisan and mediated a painful process with empathy and without judgment. I hope…read moreyou never need her services, but if you do, I recommend her.

I prefer to call him Robert because I respect him so much even though he prefers to go by Bob. A…read moretrue Oracle, gentleman and human being, who will push aside his personal life to make sure your urgent family situation (missing children!) is addressed -- even on Christmas Day. My wife physically assaulted me while on a court-ordered a EPO and then abducted my children the week before Christmas for a month. Bob spent four hours during Christmas Day with me laying out everything I would need to know and he was later proved to be 100% accurate on every single word that came out of his mouth. Bob is truly a nice guy. I don't think he'll ever retire because he loves what he does and he provides such a strong value to the local families who urgently need his expertise navigating the challenging family court situation often for the first time. I tried to find an attorney several days before Christmas and the entire industry was out of service until the second week of January. I believe my wife took my children that week specifically to make it very challenging for me, but Bob stepped up and saved the day in a huge way. I could ramble on for hours about how Bob and Carolyn are consummate professionals, and how they changed my perspective on family lawyers. Bob and Carolyn secured 50% parental access for me within three weeks. The opposing firm told my wife to run away with our kids after removing them from the home and was using every tactic in the book, but Bob played hardball in the most professional way during the most important time in my entire life. He stepped up like an athlete during the Olympics and I forever will love Bob.

Bob Goodman and his associate Carolyn Pettifer worked hard to help secure my community property…read moreinterest in my ex-wife's pension. It took a while but thanks to Carolyn's persistence we were finally able to get the matter resolved. Without her efforts I would never have been joined to my ex-wife's pension because the divorce was 28 years ago and the original court's order was not carried out due to pre-digital record keeping snafus. I'm also very grateful to Bob for helping me navigate through a very challenging time in my marriage. He is extraordinarily responsive and knowledgeable and I recommend him and Carolyn to anyone contemplating a divorce or other family law matter.

Marcel and Mary ... super, super helpful. Made the process of starting the divorce process so much…read morebearable. Very, very happy to have found Matcel and Mary! Well worth to have them during these times!

This service providers states they have/are mediators yet they pursue conversations with clients to…read moredispute instead of working with families in a positive fashion. Kinda like gossiping and it creates fear in the elderly so they will pay more out of pocket for their paperwork. This company has the worst president as staff. The quality of produced documents usually have errors, poor print quality.

I don't think I could have found a better team to help me through one of the most trying times of…read moremy life. They operate with integrity, professionalism, and genuine care for their clients. When you hire them, you can feel confident that you have a team that will give you realistic expectations, honest guidance, and work diligently toward the results you deserve. When it comes to family law in San Francisco, they are truly among the best.

Bill is currently assisting me with an ongoing case. We had wrapped it up years ago, but new…read morethings have come up and I can confidently say he continues to be incredibly thorough, professional, and supportive every step of the way. From the beginning, he brought clarity and structure to a very difficult situation, and he hasn't missed a beat since. He's patient, detail-oriented, and truly listens -- which is rare to find. Having someone like Bill in your corner during a stressful legal process makes all the difference. I continue to be grateful for his guidance and highly recommend him to anyone needing strong, compassionate legal representation.

Sean Joyce was an incredible support during one of the most stressful times in my life. I first…read morereached out to him after being denied a move-away request in San Francisco Family Court in 2024, and I was in a complete panic. He was calm, validating, and realistic about the challenges I was facing, which immediately helped me feel more grounded. He was always easy to work with and highly communicative, typically responding within 24 hours, which made a huge difference during such a difficult time. After reconnecting with him in early 2025, he represented me in a second move-away trial that was successfully granted in early 2026. Sean is honest, detail-oriented, and truly makes you feel heard and supported. He is also very mindful of costs and works efficiently, often checking in about where to focus his time, which I really appreciated. He took the time to thoroughly prepare me for trial, and I felt as ready as possible going into court. I truly can't thank Sean enough and highly recommend him for family law matters. He's the real deal!

I've been working with Sean Joyce for over a year now, and he's been incredible. It's been a very…read moretough divorce and we've dealt with some really difficult/complicated issues. I don't know what I would have done without him. When I first started looking for a lawyer, I worried about two things. That they'd never have time for me, and that they'd drag things out just to rack up costs. Sean has been the exact opposite. We mostly communicate over email and he's extremely responsive. And he genuinely tries to keep costs down and resolve things quickly. What I appreciate most is his calm, level-headed approach. He always tries to resolve things to avoid court. But when going to court is necessary, he's confident and effective. And when we have gone, we've won.

There's no way of making a divorce a pleasant experience - but Erin and her team did their best to…read morekeep things as straightforward as possible. They were approachable, easy to work with, and gave solid, easy to follow advice. I would say I'd use them again, but I hope I never have to experience another divorce... But I would certainly recommend them warmly. You'll be in good hands.

Absolutely amazing. I had stan who is sadly no longer there but this firmed helped me out so much…read moreduring the worst period of my life. It's expensive but worth every penny. I'm in the coast guard and I would recommend to any one of my fellow coasties.

It's rather embarrassing to be back writing another review for Arusyak & Bay Area Law Group 4 years…read morelater. But after my first divorce, Arusyak advised me to get a prenuptial agreement if I ever got married again. 4yrs later the prenuptial agreement was enforced and my divorce was handled with zero dollars exchanged and a simple dissolution. Even though I had the agreement in place it was still a scary process but Arusyak assured me & let me know upfront the worst and best case scenario so I knew what to expect. And in my case, it turned out to be the best-case scenario due to the prenuptial agreement. More of the story is to hire Arusyak and her team at Bay Area Law Group for all your family law issues. I highly recommend her & team. Thanks again Arusyak for your knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Let's all hope I am not back here again in a few years with another update. So stop reading and call or send them a message. Your future self will be much happier you did! Cheers

Great and professional work with clear communication and options …read more Quick turnaround and solid presentation at the family court house . Very grateful for their work and ethics.

I've had the pleasure to work with Norma two times over the same divorce settlement and all I can…read moresay is I am sure glad she was on my side of the Aisle! If you have been looking for an attorney that will not only pinpoint every detail like it is her own case, but make you feel comfortable sharing any and all details on a moments notice then this is right attorney for you. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without her! If you are in the market for an extremely diligent attorney, don't wait for the other party to find her! Retain her as soon as possible! Thank you again for all you do! Even when I can't sleep well at night, I'm at peace with knowing you've been working tirelessly on my behalf! Thank you!

Norma represented my ex wife in a divorce and I cant say I was very impressed. Google searches on…read moreNorma reveal numerous complaints about her filing frivilous DVROs which are laughed out of Court and run up the bills on her clients, I dont know if thats true but its all over Google. She also seems too old to practice law, my guesss is the pic on her website is at least 20 years old, if you are seriously considering hiring her I suggest meeting with her in person and asking basic questions about what day of the week it is or who is President and see if you really want someone that age representing you in Court.