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Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP

United States 2025
2
Metro Rankings
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General Information

2
Practice Areas
4
Individuals recognized in Best Lawyers
Year founded: 1995
This is the year the firm (or its earliest predecessor entity) was founded.
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Overview

Content is provided by the firm.

Eleanor Stegmeier and Saul Gelbart founded the firm in 1995, after they established their reputations in the Family Law community. Ms. Stegmeier started practicing in 1978 and Mr. Gelbart started in 1981. As our firm grew, long-time associates Jason Schwartz and Robert Benavente became partners, and they become known as SGSB. In 2021, Douglas Hatherley was elevated to the partnership level.

Our Orange County office is staffed with 10 lawyers and six Legal Assistants or Paralegals. We are prepared to handle all aspects of Family Law litigation, as we have for many years. We also offer “limited scope” representation, which allows a client to select the type of service that we provide and, if necessary, limit the retainer fees for that service.

Our firm is unique in Orange County as we have three lawyers who are Fellows in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Six lawyers are Board Certified by the State of California as Family Law Specialists. Please feel free to visit our website at www.sgsblaw.com to learn more.

A few years ago we expanded our practice to San Diego County. Our business in San Diego is steadily growing and we opened a location in Coronado in 2022.

Firm News

November 1, 2019
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Rankings

Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP is metro ranked in 2 practice areas. Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.

Read how Best Law Firms ranks firms

Metro Rankings

Orange County
Tier 1 for Family Law
Tier 1 for Family Law Mediation

About Our Clients

At Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz and Benavente, we routinely represent business owners, CEOs, entertainers, and other high-profile individuals or their spouses. Our lawyers are committed to complete discretion and professionalism with all of our clients.Our attorneys are always respectful of clients' sensitive family issues, and we work with the utmost discretion on all of our cases.

Rankings

Regional Rankings

Orange County
Tier 1 for Family Law
Tier 1 for Family Law Mediation

Practice Areas

The below are areas of legal specialty volunteered by the firm and do not designate a specialty in which a Best Law Firms ranking is held.
  • Family Law
  • Family Law Mediation

Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®

Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP has 4 lawyers recognized for individual performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. By receiving this Best Lawyers recognition from their peers for their professional excellence, these lawyers made Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP eligible for evaluation for Best Law Firms rankings. For almost two decades, Best Lawyers has awarded these singular accolades, making them the foundation of our Best Law Firms awards. Read more about our Best Lawyers process here.
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Awards

Awards are self-reported by firms and are not verified by the Best Law Firms rankings.
  • AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Orange County Family Law Trial Lawyer of the Year
  • Charles Garrity Award by the Family Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association
  • Southern California Rising Stars
  • Southern California Rising Stars
  • Southern California Rising Stars
  • Southern California Rising Stars
  • Southern California Rising Stars
  • U.S. News Best Law Firms
  • Southern California Super Lawyers, 7 consecutive years
  • U.S. News Best Lawyers in America, 5 consecutive years
  • Top Attorneys In Southern California, by Los Angeles Magazine.
  • U.S. News Best Law Firms in America
  • U.S. News Best Lawyers in America, 6 consecutive years

Main Location

Irvine, CA
19762 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92612
United States
949-337-4050 Get Directions

Contacts

Divorce, Alimony, Custody, Child Support, Spousal Support, Divison of Estate
SGSB Family Law 949-337-4050
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