Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek: Insight and Experience
Since its founding in 1948, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek (SCMV) has become a recognized leader in Southern California for the full range of business and litigation services. The firm is both one of the largest and oldest legal practices in San Diego, and with its history of strong advocacy, it has earned its status as a fixture in the community.
“Our firm thrives on providing excellent client service to businesses, families, and individuals,” says Gerald McMahon, who chairs the firm and heads its family law practice. “With more than 40 attorneys, there’s hardly a field we don’t touch, and being able to provide that breadth of experience is an important part of our client commitment.”
Many of the firm’s lawyers are experienced in multiple areas of law, and together they can handle almost any legal issue or eventuality in a case. This is particularly true of SCMV’s family law department, where McMahon leads a team with more than 150 years of combined legal experience. “Family law matters involve pressing emotional and financial issues, and the lawyers and paralegals in our group are well-versed in all of them,” he notes.
SCMV’s family law services include prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, adoption, marriage dissolution, legal separation and annulment, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, and paternity matters, both in court and mediation proceedings. The department typically represents high-net-worth individuals, and the fact that its lawyers are experienced in other areas of law as well has proved invaluable, as family law encompasses a variety of estate, tax, and business issues.
McMahon and attorney Marianne Barth, for example, bring to the practice years of civil and business litigation experience—a vital resource for understanding and successfully resolving the complex financial issues that are often present in divorce cases. In addition, McMahon notes: “Sandra Morris recently joined our firm, and we couldn’t be prouder to have her on our team. Previously, she and I were usually on opposite sides of cases, and I can say from experience that she is very smart, aggressive, and able.”
Morris has acquired extensive training and experience in mediation, collaborative law, arbitration, and settlement negotiation during her 45-year career as a family law attorney. She has occupied almost every family law leadership position there is, including serving as the national president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and as chair of the Certified Family Law Specialists’ Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association.
Morris is a diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, which is limited to the top 100 family law trial lawyers in the nation, and a member of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. McMahon is also a member of the invitation-only American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, in addition to the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Trial Advocates, and Louis M. Welsh chapter of the American Inns of Court.
Beyond SCMV’s family law attorneys, clients benefit from the expertise of the firm’s tax, pension, corporate, and estate planning attorneys, who work closely with the family law group when such issues arise in a case. And, while the firm always strives to achieve amicable resolutions, its skilled team is prepared to attain swift and successful litigated outcomes when necessary. “We aim to provide clients with the most informed and insightful counsel possible,” McMahon notes. “That has been our goal for almost seven decades, and it remains the guiding philosophy of our firm.”
Gerald L. McMahon
mcmahon@scmv.com
ph: 619.685.3114
750 B Street, Suite 2100
San Diego, California 92101
ph: 619.685.3003
