Ventura County Divorce Attorney, Mediator & Collaborative Divorce Lawyer
Over 20 years Family Law experience. Barton Pokras is a lawyer, mediator and a Professor of Law, teaching California Community Property Law at the Southern California Institute of Law.
Education
- 1969 B.A. English Literature, University of California at Santa Cruz
- 1972 J.D. University of California, Hastings College of Law (Honors)
- 1981 L.L.M. Taxation, Golden Gate University Law School
He has represented individuals, partnerships and corporations in the areas of taxation, business law, contracts and real property so that I am particularly able to assist divorcing families who own businesses, have sophisticated estate plans, real property holdings and retirement plans that need to be dealt with in the division of community assets and liabilities. Barton is licensed to practice in all the courts of the State of California and in the United States Tax Court. He is a member of the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce, the Collaborative Family Law Professionals (Ventura), and the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association, as well as the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Barton is on the Board of Directors of the Ventura Family Law Bar Association and current president (2010) of the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce. Barton Pokras has represented clients in the California Supreme Court, the California Court of Appeals, the Superior Courts in Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Solano Counties, as well as in the Federal District Court for Northern California. He has a long history of providing pro bono legal services to low income families. The State Bar of California, the Ventura County Bar Association, the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Ventura Superior Court have commended him for his pro bono family law work. He is a volunteer with the Ventura Superior Court Family Law Facilitator’s Office, the Ventura Superior Court Mediation panel, and the Ventura County Bar Association pro bono referral service.
Professional
- 1972 Admitted to California Bar
- 1972-1973 Staff Attorney, Community Legal Services, Philadelphia, PA
- 1973-1992 In private practice, San Francisco, CA. Emphasizing Family Law, Civil and Tax Litigation, Admitted to practice before The United States Federal District Court for Northern California, The United States Tax Court. Hearing Officer – San Francisco Rent Board
- 1992-2006 Studying and teaching Talmudic Law in Jerusalem, Israel and Mexico
- 2007-Present Private practice in Ventura County, CA, devoted almost exclusively to Family Law, (I also assist Families with Estate Planning matters.
Member
- State Bar of California, Family Law Section
- Ventura County Family Law Bar Association (Board of Directors)
- International Association of Collaborative Professionals
- Coalition for Collaborative Divorce (President, 2009)
- Collaborative Family Law Professionals (Ventura)
- Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association
- American Bar Association, Family Law Section
- American Bar Association, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
Volunteer
- Ventura Superior County Family Law Facilitator’s Office
- Pro Bono Family Law Attorney for Ventura County Bar Association
- Pro Bono Family Law Attorney for Bar Association of San Francisco, with commendation by State Bar of California for Outstanding Volunteer Legal Services
- Vista Pilot Project to Teach the Children of Migrant Farm Workers in the Central Valley of California
- San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation