Sherine M Pahlavan

I am grateful for the support I received from Sherine. After four years of trying to resolve my case, working with another lawyer, and attempting to deal with child support services on my own, I reached a point where I felt stuck and hopeless. Sherine was straightforward, explained each step, and sta...yed in contact throughout the process, which helped me feel prepared every time something came up. Her work with Empower Yolo reflects a deep commitment to helping mothers in vulnerable situations. In the courtroom she stood firm, spoke with confidence, and made sure my voice was heard. She did not tolerate excuses or disrespectful behavior from my ex, and she addressed every attempt to sidestep responsibility. She is small in size, but her focus and presence in front of the judge made a strong impact. I now have results I spent years trying to reach on my own. I am thankful for her guidance, her support through each stage, and her willingness to help when others did not. I recommend Sherine to anyone who needs an advocate who follows through and stands up for what is right.

I couldn't have made it through this tough time without Sherine. I hired her as soon as I met her. I am a father of two who had joint custody of my children. At the end of 2017 some issues arose that led me to believe there was extreme physical abuse going on at the other household. In going through ...the proper channels, CPS etc nothing was done. I was scared for my children and I felt like the system was letting me down. During the beginning of 2018 the children expressed that the abuse had escalated after making contact with CPS. I felt that I had to do something to protect my children from this horrible environment. I had expressed concerns in the past about the living conditions, treatment of the children and neglect that was taking place at the other parents house, only to be told that it wasn't enough to remove the children from the other parents home. Initially, I hired another attorney, the first one I met with, because I was filing an Ex-Parte and needed to be seen in court before the children left my care. This was a mistake. My lawyer was awful, did not represent me, I did not feel like they took the case seriously and most importantly I had to do all the speaking in court. My lawyer was late, they did not remember anything we discussed, tried to blame something on me in open court, plain and simple they did not fight for me. I was a wreck, knowing that if we didn't win that case and the children had to go back to the other parent's house after coming forward with all this information, the repercussions were unthinkable, and more importantly they would lose all trust in me and the system that is supposed to protect them. I ended up winning sole custody by the skin of my teeth and no thanks to my original attorney. We were scheduled for another court appearance after the children could be seen by a court mediator. I immediately started doing research about other Yolo County based lawyers, because my current attorney was incompetent. I stumbled across this website and started reading the reviews about Sherine and some of them resonated with me. In reading these reviews I felt like Sherine would understand my situation, get to know me and my family and truly fight for us. I immediately called to make an appointment and she squeezed us in for the end of the day. Half way through the initial meeting I was already feeling more at ease and hired Sherine immediately. Sherine asked the right questions, took time to understand the situation, was empathetic about the issue and understood how important it was to me, my wife (not the children's' mother) and the kids. I wasn't just a dollar sign, or another job, but she saw us as actual people who needed help in a time of chaos with no idea how to protect the children. Prior to the next court appearance I was in constant contact with Sherine's office. Everyone in her office is friendly, and familiar with the case, they don't make me feel like I'm bugging them when I call or email with questions. Sherine always makes a point to get back to me even if it's at the end of her day, and having that contact helped me be less stressed through the whole situation. Sherine relieved a lot of my worry about the upcoming court appearance because she is so knowledgeable and patient. She explained everything to me, along with the reasoning behind each decision, and I felt like there was full transparency between us. At our next court appearance, I was granted full custody. Sherine was on time, prepared and did a great job advocating for me and my children. Although I was still nervous about the court appearance, Sherine being with me definitely put me more at ease. Most importantly, she knew what I wanted and fought for it. I couldn't have done it without Sherine, she has done an outstanding job thus far.

I was in a very messy divorce that included child custody of a little one less than a year old and my ex resided out of the area. The divorce included domestic violence, accusations of mental wellness, and money issues. I hired another attorney at first under the recommendation of a family friend and... in the urgency, I hired him. That was a huge mistake in terms of professionalism, cost and knowledge of the law. I trusted that attorney to protect me from my abusive ex and his accusations - while this helped for the initial court hearing, you could tell the judge brushed it off as "he said, she said" since I never called the cops on any of the abuse. Also, I was never able to reach that attorney and was even told he was working on a more important case. In desperation to securing my child in the Sacramento area and knowing I needed to not work with that other attorney, I reached out to Empower Yolo that helps DV victims and they recommend me to Sherine. This by far was the best decision I could have ever made. For the first time in this whole messy process, I felt heard, believed, supported and protected by Sherine and her staff. We had to go back to mediation and court to establish final custody and my ex was still pushing for my little one to fly between homes. Sherine was there for me EVERY step of the way. She called me prior to meetings and met with me prior to going in to the court. She worked with my ex and the judge to agree on difficult matters which causes us to not have to go back to court in the near future and the best part..... my kid is with me and we are safe. I would and will recommend Sherine to anyone. She is simply the best.

Sherine is the most dedicated and caring attorney I've ever encountered. She has a natural ability to calm me down and has lead me in the direction that is best at all times. Sometimes she is a sounding board and sometimes she has to be the realist and give you the best advice even when you do not wa...nt to hear it. She will never leave you feeling alone or neglected throughout the divorce or custody issues. I've cried, laughed, screamed and had every emotion possible throughout this ordeal. I value her as my attorney, and I value what having her in my life has done for all aspects of daily living and sanity. She has made recommendations outside of the law that have helped our family in more ways than I can count. She will never let you down and knows family law well. She will always give you every option. I am proud to highly recommended her. Sherine will be the one to get you through this time in your life when things are scary and challenging. Sherine will be the one that helps you to close a chapter and open your next one and you will be happier because of how strong she will advocate and stand up for you. Her caring personality, professionalism and knowledge will give you confidence throughout the family court process each step of the way. She will guide you and answer as many questions as you have.

Through out the process of a toxic and stressful divorce and custody battle my lawyer Sherine had proven herself to be not only an experienced advocate on my behalf, but empathetic to my situation. She treated me like a human being and not just a another client, helping me navigate the legal process.... She answered my questions and constantly reassured me when I was I was lost in the complexities of the court system, and stood up for my rights when my ex-husband and his attorney tried to take advantage of me. If it was not for her guidance I do not think I would have made it through and accomplished coming out of this horrific disillusion of marriage in the positive way we were able to settle. There is nothing worse than feeling alone and grieving and trying to comprehend the legal system and stipulations forced upon you when going through a divorce in general, but it was made bearable by having someone represent you and build up your confidence and show you how to stand up for yourself and educate you while having to deal with such a harsh experience. I highly recommend Sherine for anyone going through a similar situation. I don't know what I would have done without her advising me.