| Jill
Hersh
One of my associates once said to me that if I were
suddenly awoken in the night and asked who I was, I'd say "I'm
a lawyer." Well, I don't know if I agree. I'm many things,
a wife, mother, pet-owner, but it's true that being a lawyer is
in my genes. My main mentor was my father, a fabulously hardworking,
witty, honest, and creative trial lawyer who made no distinctions
about my abilities based on gender. I started running for school
office in fourth grade so I could give speeches, and just as other
kids played ball with their father, my father and I wrote speeches
for me to give.
I married my childhood boyfriend in 1974, two days before starting
law school. For our honeymoon, we stood in line together at Hastings
College's book store to buy books. It was unfashionable to get married
in those days and many of my classmates contended we'd never make
it through law school married. Not only were they wrong, but my
many years married combined with my 28 years of practice in family
law have afforded me a rare opportunity to understand marriage and
what it must mean to my clients to finally "call it a day"
with theirs. My three children have enriched my ability to understand
the importance of stability and consideration of my clients' children.
When I got out of law school in 1977, I knew I did not want to
practice in a "big firm" and that I wanted to work in
the courtroom. Fortunately, in those days, my dad still had a general
practice so I got to try a wide range of practice areas. I tried
my first family law case as a "second chair" to my father
in 1979 and the rest is history. I found my niche with a natural
affinity for family law. Although I tried jury trials, arbitrations
before the SEC, and participated in many different types of civil
litigation from employment to toxic torts, my heart remained true
to family law and I worked many years to develop my practice in
that area until it became my exclusive area of practice.
Families have changed over the years and that has presented new
opportunities and challenges. Although most of my cases involve
traditional couples and complex questions of finance or custody,
we've found the chance to use our resources and expertise to advance
the interests of the increasing numbers of non-traditional families.
This is our civil rights work then, to create the law to protect
the interests of these children while we continue on with the interesting
and creative task of helping our divorcing families make the transition
to their new lives.
Family law is an unusual combination of business and psychology.
We realize it takes a sophisticated understanding of both to really
address the needs of each client. We also appreciate and recommend
alternative forums for resolving disputes, when appropriate. We
bring in the expertise of other professionals, such as psychologists
and accountants, to help us and our clients. Having said all that,
we are trial lawyers who do family law.
We represent our clients from inception of their cases through
appeal, if appropriate. As a result, we have made new law through
published opinions. We have had the pleasure and challenge of both
trying and appealing cases and prevailing.
Aside from the litigation, we do transactional work affecting clients
about to enter intimate relationships. These include prenuptial
agreements for people about to marry and intended parenting agreements
for gay couples about to have children. The range of services available
in this area is as broad as the needs of our clients and as creative
as reasonable and necessary to advance their interests.
My firm is an interesting combination of different personalities.
All of us are hardworking and dedicated to doing the best job possible
for our clients. Each of us is unique and brings a different set
of skills and perspectives to this task.
Contact Information
 Email
jhersh@hershfamlaw.com
Curriculum
Vitae view here
Martindale-Hubbel
Bio view
here
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