Salka Settlement Services, Family Law and Mediation, LA California 1216 N. Norman Place
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 207-1049 |

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Fern Topas Salka's Experience

Ms. Salka was selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is a Certified Family Law Specialist. She is the former Chair of the Family Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar and has taught and written extensively about mediation and other consensual dispute processes (CDR). She has been named a SuperLawyer since 2004 by Los Angeles Magazine, an honor reflecting the respect of her peers, and is a founding member of Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association, an association formed to advance the practice of collaborative family law and serves on its Board of Trustees. In 2023, she was given the Eureka Award by Collaborative Practice California (CPCAL) for outstanding contributions to CDR.

Background

  • Bachelor of Arts Degree, Cum Laude - UCLA, 1970
  • Juris Doctor, Cum Laude - Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, 1975
  • Admitted to Practice - 1975
  • Certified as a Family Law Specialist - 1982
  • Recertified - 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2023

Boards and Chairs

  • Founding Officer and current Trustee, Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association
  • Co-Chair, State Bar of California, Family Law Section CDR Committee (South) (former)
  • Chair, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section (former)
  • Board Member, National Stepfamily Association of America (former)
  • Chair, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Couples Counseling Committee (former)
  • Co-Chair, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Family Law Section (former)
  • Co-Founder, Healthy Divorce, a pilot project in collaboration with the Los Angeles Superior Court

Honors

  • Collaborative Practice California (CPCAL) Eureka Award 2023.
  • Los Angeles Magazine 2004 to present Family Law SuperLawyer
  • California Supreme Court, Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas' Commission on the Future of the Courts
  • Senator Alan Robbins' California Child-Oriented Divorce Act Advisory Panel
  • State Bar of California Commission on the Future of the Bar
  • Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (inactive)
  • Liaison, State Bar Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession and the State Bar

Pro Bono

  • Mediator, Los Angeles Superior Court, Santa Monica, Family Law Division
  • Mediator, Los Angeles Superior Court, Central, Family Law Division
  • Arbitrator, Beverly Hills Bar Association Attorney/Client Fee Disputes

Selected Publications

  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law News and Review, Editor and Columnist, 1987 - 1995
    Sample articles:
    • "The Second Time Around: A Divorce Lawyer's Guide to Remarriage" Vol. VI, No. 3, Spring 1985
    • "New Roles for Lawyers in the New World of Stepfamilies" Vol. VII, No. 4, Fall 1986
    • "In Support of Parallel Parenting - A Policy of Privacy" Vol. XI, No. 1, Winter 1990
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Symposium, 1986 to 1990
    • "The Domestic Violence Prevention Act"
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Symposium, 1991 to date
    • "The Effect of New Mate Income in Setting Child and Spousal Support" (co-authored with Commissioner Robert Schnider)
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Child Custody Colloquium, 1994
    • "Visitation Rights of Non-Parents"
  • Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 1992
    • A Not So Modest Proposal to Humanize the Legal Profession" Vol. 30, No. 1, January 1992
  • California State Bar, Family Law News, 2008, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp 18-22, "ON THE BORDER: The Increasing Challenge to Attorneys in Dealing with Borderline Personalities in Faily Law Matters."

Professor

  • Adjunct Professor of Law, Southwestern College of Law, 2002, Community Property
  • Visiting Professor of Law, Loyola University School of Law, 2005, 2006, Family Law

Selected Lectures

  • Association of Conciliation Court Counselors, National Conferences, Zoom Instruction
  • Stepfamily Association of America, National Conferences
  • Los Angeles Commission of the Status of Women
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Child Custody Colloquiua
    • Topics: Language Matters, Values-Based Communicaton Skills, Adult Panel of Children of Divorce
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Annual Family Law Symposia
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Annual USC Ethics Symposia
  • Daily Journal "Bridging the Gap"
  • National Council of Jewish Women
  • California State Bar
    • Topics: Romance and Money, Remarriage, Support, Custody Rights for Mothers and Fathers, Hiring an Attorney, Privacy, Evidence, Litigation, Mediation, The Future of the Practice of Law, Ethics and Family Law, Sophisticated New Tools for Family Lawyers
  • California Collaborative Practice Association
    • Plenary Speaker: From Warrior to Problem-Solver to Healer/Peacemaker
  • Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
    • Topic: Executive Goodwill

Scope of Practice

  • Dissolution matters (mediated, negotiated, collaborative, coaching, case management)
  • Collaborative Pre-Nuptial and Cohabitation Agreements
  • Remarriage and Stepfamily Counseling

Personal Positions

  • President, University Synagogue, Los Angeles CA - 1998-2000
  • Co-President, University Synagogue, Los Angeles CA - 2019-2021
  • Trustee, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles CA - 2021-2024

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