Eleanor Stegmeier and I founded the firm in 1995, after both of us had established our reputations in the Family Law community. Eleanor started practicing in 1978 and I started in 1981. As our firm grew, long-time associates Jason Schwartz and Robert Benavente became partners. Our name now fills a letterhead and we refer to ourselves as SGSB. In 2021, Douglas Hatherley was elevated to the partnership level. Today, we have 10 lawyers on our team as well as a Mediation Center.
Our Mediation Center is the highest quality service of its kind in Orange County and, perhaps, in all of Southern California. Eleanor Stegmeier and Michael Fisher are Fellows in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and both have completed the advanced Mediation courses offered by The Academy and Pepperdine University’s Strauss Institute.
A few years ago we expanded to San Diego with a satellite office. Our business in San Diego is steadily growing and we envision expanding that office in a few years.
