Sarah Baxter Kaplan

Sarah Baxter Kaplan

also known as Baxter Law Offices, APC, Sarah Baxter Kaplan

5.0
Rating: 9.4

Licensed for 19 years

Family Lawyer at Santa Rosa, CA
Practice Areas: Family, Litigation, Appeals, Civil Rights

1275 4th Street #224, Santa Rosa, CA

About Sarah

Practice Areas

4

Practice Areas

Family 93%

Dissolution and post-dissolution matters. Child custody and visitation. Child and spousal support. Support Modification. Guardianships.

20 years

93%
Litigation 5%

Real estate, business, contracts, civil harassment, family law, guardianships.

20 years

5%
Appeals 1%

Private criminal appeals, private civil appeals, Supreme Court appointed criminal appeals.

20 years

1%
Civil Rights 1%

Civil Rights discrimination under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

20 years

1%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Hourly Rates

$ 450-450 per hour


Payment Methods

  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card

Looking for an attorney? Avvo can help.

search module image

Search our directory

Quickly connect with top attorneys through our legal directory to get help with your legal issue.

chat module image

Avvo's live chat agents can help coordinate a consultation with a local attorney.

Chat with a live agent who can match you with the right attorney for your legal needs.

Chat with

Licenses

Licensed in California for 19 years

State: California

Acquired: 2006

Active

No misconduct found

Location

Baxter Law Offices, APC

1275 4th Street #224, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404

Ad

Transform legal challenges into solutions.

Connect now to review your situation.

The Avvo Rating explained

display-bg

The Avvo Rating explained

Sarah Baxter Kaplan's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

5.0 /5.0

9 Client Reviews

5 star (9)
4 star (0)
3 star (0)
2 star (0)
1 star (0)

Posted by Gavin | August 25, 2025 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

I recommend Sarah if anyone is looking for a family attorney in Sonoma County

I highly recommend Sarah as a family lawyer. She combines professionalism and deep legal knowledge with genuine compassion and clear guidance. Throughout a very difficult time, she made the process less stressful ,consistently demonstrated integrity fairness and dedication

Posted by anonymous | July 8, 2020 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

The only attorney you should hire

Sara is an incredibly intelligent, talented woman with an amazing amount of experience and integrity. She is extremely well versed in law, focused, and strategic. She gracefully handled a VERY contentious divorce case, that most would not be willing to take on. She guided me through each step of th...e divorce, court proceedings, and also gave me wonderful resources to help me with my healing process. She was understanding and very clear about how she spent her time on my case and why. She was victorious in court every single time. She has an uncanny ability to foresee possible strategies from the opposition. This means that she is rarely blindsided and is prepared. Prior to meeting Sara, I had interviewed many attorneys as the intensity of my situation needed someone that would be able to withstand my opposition. While you will find many attorneys and some at lower rates that boast about their abilities, I would never hesitate to hire Sara again or recommend her. I was witness to what this woman is capable of accomplishing. She was an absolute blessing and champion.

Posted by Tim | July 5, 2020 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Sara has been a great attorney

Sara came highly recommend from a friend of mine. My friend got everything he wanted in his case. I’m very pleased in what Sara has done for me in my case so far. Sara is a great attorney!!!

Posted by Marty | January 23, 2020 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Excellent family law attorney

We hired Sara Baxter for a family law issue regarding child custody and support. She is very knowledgeable and explains each step to us. She encourages my son and I in doing some of the paperwork, thus reducing our expenses. She also has a very calming influence, which helps keep our stress lev...els low. We are very happy to have Sara as our attorney and would highly recommend her.

Sarah Kaplan

Replied last January 28, 2020

Hi Marty. Thanks for the glowing review. I'm happy to help your family. It is nice to hear that I have a calming influence. I do my best to take away/reduce client stress and I'm glad that my efforts are working. Thanks for being great clients.

Posted by Heather | January 22, 2020 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Most Excellent Family Law Lawyer

Sarah Baxter is hands down the best representation I have had in a long standing very contentious child custody (family law) matter. She is professional, works hard, and is very detail oriented. She knows every facet of her case before she enters the Courtroom and enters fully prepared. She also m...akes every effort to negotiate and settle matters out of court to try to avoid appearances in court. I have used her services for several years for a custody evaluation settlement conference, later a brief focused assessment, and most recently a request for order and not only did we prevail in court but she successfully recovered my attorneys fees so I wasn't hit in the pocketbook as hard as I'm hit emotionally with such a challenging and difficult legal matter. She is very supportive and knows her stuff, I highly recommend her and her legal services.

Sarah Kaplan

Replied last January 28, 2020

Heather. Thank you for the wonderful and extremely detailed review! Future clients will greatly benefit from all the details that you were willing to share. Thank you, thank you, thank you and I also appreciate having you as a client. You and your entire family are wonderful.

See All Client Reviews

Sarah Baxter Kaplan's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Sarah
Douglas MacMillan Borthwick headshot
Douglas Borthwick

Appeals lawyer | Feb 18

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Ramin Joseph Raiszadeh headshot
Ramin Raiszadeh

Appeals lawyer | May 26

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Hans Albert Gillinger headshot
Hans Gillinger

Appeals lawyer | Aug 13

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Ms. Baxter's knowledge and expertise in the area of appeals is clear from the quality of her postings on Avvo."

Malosack Berjis headshot
Malosack Berjis

Appeals lawyer | Jun 25

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

David Vincent Hiden headshot
David Hiden

Litigation lawyer | Jun 25

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Sara's responses on AVVO are articulate, well reasoned and she is an excellent attorney of which to solicit help from. I highly endorse her."

Karen Nicole Gullotta headshot
Karen Gullotta

Appeals lawyer | Jun 10

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Mahsa Gholami headshot
Mahsa Gholami

Appeals lawyer | May 30

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Pezhman Pakneshan headshot
Pezhman Pakneshan

Litigation lawyer | May 23

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

View All Endorsements
Charles Douglas Stark headshot
Charles Stark

Family lawyer

Joseph Garrett Baxter headshot
Joseph Baxter

Appeals lawyer

Ramin Joseph Raiszadeh headshot
Ramin Raiszadeh

Personal injury lawyer

David Vincent Hiden headshot
David Hiden

Unknown lawyer

Karen Nicole Gullotta headshot
Karen Gullotta

Unknown lawyer

Mahsa Gholami headshot
Mahsa Gholami

Litigation lawyer

Pezhman Pakneshan headshot
Pezhman Pakneshan

Criminal defense lawyer

Experience

Rating:  9.4 (Superb)

Honors

2006

Negotiating Maven, USD Legal Clinic, Civil Division

2006

Quarter Finalist at McClennan Annual Moot Court Competition, University of San Diego School of Law

2005

Negotiating Maven, USD Legal Clinic, Civil Division

2005

Semi-Finalist at McClennan Annual Moot Court Competition, University of San Diego School of Law

Work Experience

2007 - Present

Attorney & Owner, Baxter Law Offices

2012 - 2017

Attorney, Law Offices of Joseph Baxter

2001 - 2002

Paralegal Clerk, Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire

1993 - 2001

Law Clerk, Law Offices of Joseph Baxter

Associations

2017 - Present

Sonoma County Superior Court

Judge Pro Tem

2017 - Present

Empire Law School

Attorney Volunteer

2017 - Present

California Women Lawyers

Member

2016 - Present

Richard M. Sangster American Inn of Court

Barrister

2016 - Present

Discovery Facilitator for Sonoma County Superior Court

Discovery Facilitator

2016 - Present

Sonoma County Women in Law

Member

2013 - Present

Divas di Santa Rosa

Member

2012 - Present

Sonoma County Bar Association, Family Law Section

Member

2007 - Present

American Bar Association

Member

2006 - Present

State Bar of California

Member

2016 - 2018

Sonoma County Women in Law

Vice President

Sample of Legal Cases

People v. H.

Our client is a free man.

See More Legal Cases

Education

2006

Univ of San Diego SOL

JD - Juris Doctor

2001

Univ of California San Diego

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2017

Sangster Inn of Court MCLE Presentation

Understanding Immigration Law from Past to Present

2017

MCLE

Appellate Standards of Review

2006

McClennan Annual Moot Court Competition

Moot Court

2005

USD Mock Trial Competition

Mock Trial

2005

McClennan Annual Moot Court Competition

Moot Court

2004

USD Mock Trial Competition

Mock Trial

Publications

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution