Michael Joseph Monarch

Michael Monarch was admitted to the California State Bar in 1991. He joined the firm of Millard & Castle in 1991, where he became a partner in 1998. In 2003, he became the managing partner of Castle & Monarch when his former partner, Mark Millard, was appointed to the bench. 

Michael specializes in all aspects of family law including divorce, property division, business evaluation, paternity matters, child support, spousal support, contempts, domestic violence, child custody, visitation, and modification of support and custody/visitation orders. Clients range from common divorce with modest estates to many of the county's elite, including professional athletes, celebrities, and those with multimillion dollar estates. Michael is also an experienced mediator with great success in settling even the most complicated cases. Michael's skills as a trial lawyer have resulted in a nearly perfect success rate at trial, as well as providing the basis for settling cases when they should be settled.

Amongst his achievements, Michael has also created new law in the area of Family Law by affirmation of his trial results by the California Appellate Court, Fourth District. Michael is a member of the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists. Michael is also a member of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel, which recognizes "attorneys who elevate the standards of the Bar and provide a benchmark for other lawyers to emulate." It is important to note that "only the top one percent of attorneys in the United States are awarded membership to the NADC." 

Michael has received the highest rating, AV, by Martindale-Hubbell which is based upon an extensive survey of attorneys in the field, but more importantly a survey of the actual Judges who make the decisions and observe the trial skills of the attorneys first hand. Michael also has a Superb rating on AVVO. 

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