Biography

Ms. Setzer practices exclusively in the area of family law, advising clients in complex custody, support and property matters related to dissolution, as well as post judgment proceedings, paternity actions and the drafting of premarital agreements. She served as Minor’s Counsel for seven years, appointed by the court to represent minor children within the family court system.

Besides having extensive practical experience as a family law attorney, Ms. Setzer is certified as a Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California, which means that she sat for a second bar exam solely on the subject of Family Law. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Mediation has been a part of her practice since 2012, when she completed her first 40 week training and she has been a Collaborative attorney since completing that training in 2013. Since then, she has attended numerous seminars to hone her skills in these Alternative Dispute Resolution processes has completed extensive training various complex child custody issues through her work as Minor’s Counsel.

Starting in mid-2023, Ms. Setzer’ no longer accepted litigation clients. Her practice focuses solely on settlement, whether it be through Mediation, using Collaborative techniques or Negotiation. After years of litigating and seeing the effect that litigation has had on families both emotionally and financially, Ms. Setzer has come to believe that it is a family law attorney’s obligation to try to preserve relationships and conserve the client’s assets. In her experience, Ms. Setzer finds that using mediation, negotiation and collaborative techniques often helps achieve settlement without the need to litigate.

Originally from New York City, Ms. Setzer graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton, received her MBA from New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business and graduated from California Western School of Law.