Lilah J Sutphen

I hired this attorney from a well-known law firm in San Francisco at the recommendation of a new friend. I was newly separated at a vulnerable time in my life. Lilah seemed confident and well spoken. However, she filed my case incorrectly with the court (which now has to be fixed), her firm over-bill...ed, she did not provide any strategy or direction for my case (I came up with most of the strategy from the advice of friends) and she raised her voice to me several times, and was kinder to opposing counsel than she was to me -- and now I see why. She was looking for another job while her own firm dissolved. Beware this attorney. At the very least, she lacks the experience to handle a complicated family law case. Hire a certified family law specialist instead.

We are a lesbian couple starting a family and Lilah was extremely helpful in drafting a known sperm donor contract for my partner and I. We were not certain that we even needed to have a contract written because we really love and trust our known donor, but we are so glad that we decided to do it! Li...lah gave us a questionnaire to help prompt any questions that we might have or concerns that had not occurred to us yet. It was an excellent opportunity to really discuss all of the complicated issues that may arise and determine in advance how we would want to handle them. Rather than being an uncomfortable process, it really put all of us at ease, especially due to Lilah's excellent facilitation. She had an amazing turn-around time with drafting the contract and accommodating all of our revisions until it was just right. We refer all of our friends who are starting this process to Lilah - she is great!

My partner and I made the decision to use our gay male friend as the sperm donor to conceive our first child. We were referred to Lilah’s firm for drafting of a sperm donor contract. At our initial consultation with her and a partner in the firm we were given a thorough explanation of the contractual... process and the opportunity to clearly and thoroughly explain what we wanted the relationship between ourselves, our child, and our donor-friend to be. The contract was drafted, negotiations were made so everyone was 100% happy with it, and it was all done efficiently and seamlessly. This could have been a very awkward, emotion-ridden process. Lilah’s thorough and quick responses to our incessant questions, as well as her suggested clauses for the contract were much-appreciated, invaluable, and with that, she comes highly recommended by me and my partner.

Lilah provided excellent legal and emotional support as my partner and I completed the legal process of forming our "alternative family" with the use of a surrogate and the completion of a pre-birth order. We were confident that our parenting rights were secure prior to the birth of our beloved child.... This made for a stress free environment as we prepared to be become new parents. I strongly recommend Lilah. She provided excellent legal representation and support.

My partner and I married in the short window of time it was legal in California in 2008. After we married we moved to a state where same-sex marriage was not recognized. Our relationship ended and we realized we couldn't get divorced in our state because the state didn't recognize the marriage. We di...dn't know what to do! Lilah and her firm were referred to me from an old California friend. After my first phone call with Lilah I felt much better. She methodically explained the same-sex marriage legal patchwork process to me in a way that made sense. She completed my divorce seamlessly, efficiently, and completely remotely from CA. I recommend Lilah. She made the emotional divorce process as "easy" as it can be. She gave me emotional sensitivity as well a truly professional representation.