STEGMEIER & GELBART - Key Persons
Eric J. Sather joined Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP in November 2014. Mr. Sather received his Juris Doctor degree from San Francisco Law School in San Francisco, California and Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
While attending law school, Mr. Sather worked remotely as a law clerk and certified paralegal at SGSB. He also participated in Moot Court and Appellate Advocacy at San Francisco Law School under Deputy Attorney General David F. Glassman.
Prior to attending law school, Mr. Sather earned a Paralegal Certificate from University of California, San Diego and worked for the San Diego Public Defender Office and San Diego Superior Court.
In 2018, Mr. Sather attended Family Law Boot Camp™, an intensive two-day family law seminar with one of the nation's top family law attorneys, Garrett C. Dailey, Esq., CFLS, AAML.
In June 2022, Mr. Sather attended the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers ("AAML") Institute for Family Law Associates in Chicago, Illinois, attending programs taught by AAML President Cary Mogerman, and Institute Co-Chairs, AAML Immediate Past President Elizabeth Green Lindsey, and Maureen Glackin.
Mr. Sather has been married since 2015 and has three daughters. He enjoys woodworking and attending live sporting events.
In 2022, Mr. Sather commenced his second term as Board Member of the Orange County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division. Mr. Sather serves as Business Development co-chair, initiating commercial and professional seminars for young lawyers in Orange County. In 2021, he served as Affiliates and Sections Liaison, coordinating events and collaborating with other sections and affiliate bar associations of the Orange County Bar Association. Mr. Sather will succeed to OCBA Young Lawyers Division Chair-Elect in January 2023.
• Super Lawyers Southern California Rising Stars Honoree
• Selected to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
• Practice focused on family law litigation
• Member of the Family Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Attorney
- Associate Attorney With Stegmeier Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP
George H. Peniche, III is an Associate Attorney with Stegmeier Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP. Mr. Peniche's practice is focused on all aspects of family law litigation, including child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, domestic violence, paternity, and division of assets.
Mr. Peniche was born and raised in Orange County, California, and graduated from the University of San Diego with Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. During college, Mr. Peniche was a Division I Football Athlete. Additionally, Mr. Peniche was a member of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity and founding member of the Alpha Phi Omega community service fraternity.
Mr. Peniche earned his Juris Doctor from Chapman University, Fowler School of Law. During law school, Mr. Peniche knew he wanted to focus his practice exclusively to family law. As such, he externed for multiple well-known family law firms in Orange County.
Mr. Peniche has practiced family law exclusively since being admitted to the bar. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Peniche was a Senior Associate Attorney at one of the largest and prominent family law firms in Orange County, where he handled high-net-worth and complex cases.
Mr. Peniche recently passed the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization for Family Law and is in the process of completing his certification to become a Certified Family Law Specialist.
Mr. Peniche has been selected and recognized to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. This award is given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice.
Additionally, Mr. Peniche is a graduate from the National Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute in Houston, Texas. At the Institute, Mr. Peniche trained with some of the foremost experts in Family Law and refined his litigation skills and techniques.
Mr. Peniche believes in keeping his clients involved and informed during each step of their case from inception through settlement or trial. Playing sports his entire life and being a Division I athlete, Mr. Peniche is very competitive. Mr. Peniche uses his competitive edge to aggressively fight for his client's interests, while also ensuring that the client understands both the strengths and weaknesses of their cases to allow them to make the best and most informed decisions.
In his spare time, Mr. Peniche enjoys spending time with his family, attending his children's sporting events, playing basketball, and staying active.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP
Jason M. Schwartz is a Partner at Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP, and exclusively practices family law. Mr. Schwartz has been with the firm since he was admitted to the State Bar of California in the summer of 2001. He is known as one of Orange County family law's most sought after lecturers, and for being one of the most active members of the Association of Certified Law Specialists.
Mr. Schwartz earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Western State University College of Law in December 2000, and his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of North Texas, where he majored in political science with a double minor in criminal justice and journalism.
Michael A. Fisher is recognized by both his colleagues and judges as one of the top matrimonial attorneys in Orange County. He has been an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of California since 1988. Since Mr. Fisher began practicing law, he has dedicated 100 percent of his career to Family Law. He was certified as a specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization in 1994.
Mr. Fisher has been named regularly in Super Lawyers Magazine as among the top attorneys in Orange County area since 2004.
Mr. Fisher completed one of the top rated mediation training programs in the United States-a six day training program offered by the Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, "Mediating the Litigated Case."
Since 2015 Mr. Fisher has dedicated his practice to working as a Family Law Mediator.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
- Partner at Stegmeier, Gelbart
• Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
• Certified Family Law Specialist since 2007
• Named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine, Los Angeles magazine, and Orange Coast magazine since 2014
Robert A. Benavente is a Partner at Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz, & Benavente, LLP. Mr. Benavente has successfully litigated hundreds of cases involving some of the most complex and contested family law issues, such as custody, business valuations, breach of fiduciary duty, and cash flow of self-employed individuals. His exemplary trial skills and his dignified and confident demeanor have earned him a reputation as one of the most respected family law attorneys in Orange County.
In 2014, Mr. Benavente served as the President of the Orange County Bar Association, Family Law Section. In 2016, he was admitted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers - which is often considered the preeminent organization of family law attorneys in the nation.
Mr. Benavente is a member of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists. From 2008 through 2015, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Family Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Attorney
- Associate Attorney With Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP
- Member of the Orange County Bar Association
Samantha L. Weissman is an associate attorney with Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP. Ms. Weissman's practice is devoted exclusively to Family Law.
Originally from Los Angeles, Ms. Weissman completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Irvine where she graduated cum laude with a degree in English. Thereafter she attended law school at the University of San Diego, School of Law.
While In law school Ms. Weissman focused her studies on International Law, receiving high marks in every international law class. In the summer of 2013, she studied abroad in both Barcelona, Spain, and London, England. Thereafter, in 2014, she was selected for a pupillage at 11 Stone Buildings Barristers' Chambers at Lincoln's Inn in London.
During law school, Ms. Weissman was an active member of the school's community. She reinstated the McCormick Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta and served its Justice. She served as a Senior Associate on the Journal of Climate and Energy Law and as an Article Contributor to the Law School's newspaper, Motions. Ms. Weissman served as a 1L section & class representative, as a member of the Student Bar Association - Executive Budget Committee, and, as a mentor in the first-year mentorship program. She continues to volunteer as a guest judge for first-year oral arguments.
After graduating and passing the California Bar Exam in 2016, Ms. Weissman turned her focus to family law. From 2016 to 2021, Ms. Weissman served as the sole family law associate for a boutique law firm in Orange County. While there, she assisted in a wide variety of family law matters and was lauded by clients for her compassion, diligence, and thoroughness.
In her free time, Ms. Weissman enjoys reading, high intensity interval training, cooking, the symphony & opera, volunteering, and above all, spending time with her fiancé, Scott.
Ms. Weissman is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, Family Law section.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Partner
- Certified Family Law Specialist
- Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers
- Founding Partner of Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP
One of our partners, Saul Gelbart, is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
One of our partners, Saul Gelbart, is a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers
Saul Gelbart was named "Orange County Family Law Attorney of the Year" for 2017 by Best Lawyers.
Eleanor Stegmeier, Saul Gelbart, Jason Schwartz, and Robert Benavente have been selected for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America", published by U.S. News & World Report.
Saul Gelbart is a Founding Partner of Stegmeier, Gelbart, Schwartz & Benavente, LLP. He has successfully litigated hundreds of cases, and is known in Orange County for being one of Family Law's most respected and sought after attorneys. He specializes in litigating family law's most difficult and complex issues, such as business valuations, cash flow, and custody.
Mr. Gelbart is a Certified Family Law Specialist, and has served as a Judge Pro Tem, a Special Master, and a lecturer for continuing legal education. Most of Mr. Gelbart's lectures relate to trial tactics, trial presentation, evidence, and the use of math at trial. The audiences for his presentations have included the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, the Orange County Bar Association, the San Diego County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and the Judicial Continuing Education Program.
Mr. Gelbart is a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and served as the President of the Southern California Chapter in 2008-2009. He is presently the Southern California representative on the National Board of Governors for the AAML. Mr. Gelbart has served the AAML in a variety of other positions, most notably as a Dean of the 2007 Advanced Trial Advocacy Institute, as a Dean of the 2019 Advanced Trial Advocacy Institute, as Vice-President of Membership from 2005-2007, and as legal counsel from 2009-2011. He has served on the AAML Board of Directors for over seven years.
Mr. Gelbart is a Fellow in the International Academy of Family Lawyers, a worldwide association of practicing lawyers who are recognized by their peers as the most experienced and skilled family law specialists in their respective countries.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Member of the Orange County Bar Association
Shelley Rich Manning has dedicated 100 percent of her career to practicing Family Law since 2005, when she obtained her license in the State of California. Ms. Manning graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Women's Studies. She received a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from California Western School of Law in 2005.
Ms. Manning also studied abroad in London, England at The College of Law of England and Wales. Ms. Manning served as a Judicial Extern to Justice Alex McDonald, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One.
Throughout her career, she has done extensive volunteer work. She served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for several years for Voices for Children, an organization that increases awareness about the foster care system and advocates enhancing the quality of life for foster children. Ms. Manning has been licensed as a foster parent and has also volunteered for Make-A-Wish Foundation. She has served on the Harbor Day School Alumni Advisory Council.
Ms. Manning is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, Family Law Section. She enjoys traveling with her husband Patrick, who is a police officer, and their two children.