First Admitted: 1973, California

Professional Webpage: https://www.rombrolaw.com/attorney/s-r-rombro/

Bar/Professional Activity:

Member, State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 1984
Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 1980
Member, Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California,(“FLEXCOM”); Membership Chair, October, 2013, to 2016; Chair, Los Angeles Regional Legislative Liaison, California Lawyers Association Family Law Section Executive Committee, 2018 to the present.
California, 1973
U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1984
Vice-Chair. Member, Board of Directors, South Bay Bar Association, 2002 to 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1984
Vice-Chair, State Bar of California, Family Law Section, Children's Issues Committee, 1984
Member, Board of Directors, South Bay Bar Association, 2002 - 2008
He was Co-Chair of the Children’s Issue Sub-Committee of the State Bar of California, Los Angeles Regional Standing Committee. He was appointed by the Board of Trustees to a three year term of office to the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California, otherwise known as “FLEXCOM,” effective October, 2013. His duties with FLEXCOM included those as Membership Chair and Co-Chair of Public Relations., 2012
Member, State Bar Family Law Section Children's Issues Committee (South), 1984 - present
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1974

Videos:

There are currently no precise restrictions as to the subject matter or conduct of experts who are called upon to testify pursuant to California Evidence Code section 733, regarding the evidence that is provided by an expert who has been appointed by a court pursuant to Evidence Code section 730. Although both section 730 and section 733 experts are forensics, and therefore presumably focused upon forming conclusions which are based upon objective facts drawn from clear data for the purpose of informing the court, the sources of their data are substantially different, as are their respective objectives. Moreover, while the 730 expert functions pursuant to court order, and performs an independent investigation pursuant to that order, the 733 expert should not perform their own investigations to be presented to the court., Appropriate and Ethical Use of Evidence Code Section 733 Consultants, Family Law, 2019
The romantic notion that California has always been a community property state with a concomitant equality between spouses is false. It is true that the delegates to California’s 1849 constitutional convention did focus upon married women’s property rights. Their focus, however, was limited to separate property. Moreover, although the delegates did not mention either “community property” or “common property” during the debates, they did vote to retain the existing Spanish Mexican marital property laws., The Burden of Tracing Separate Property: California’s Departure from the Community Property System, Part Two, California Family Law Attorneys, 2022
This program addresses the matters to be addressed, and the procedures to be followed, in complying with mandatory disclosure in the dissolution of marriages under California law. , Preliminary Declarations of Disclosure: What Is It and How to Prepare One, California Family Law, 2019

Special Licenses/Certifications:

Certified Specialist in Family Law, California Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California

Pro bono/Community Service:

Scoutmaster, Troop 860, 2000 to 2009
Manager and Coach, Little League, 1982 to 1984; 1996 to 1998
Judge Pro Tempore, Los Angeles Superior Court; Arbitrator and mediator, LACBA Attorney-Client Mediation and Arbitration Services program (“ACMAS”), 2014 to the present; Member, Board of Directors, South Bay Bar Association, 2002 to 2008: Administrator for Family Law Mediation and Pro Bono Attorney Panels for matters in the Southwest District; Lecturer and materials author for family law, ethics and trial advocacy, National Business Institutes, 2003 to present.
Mediator, LACBA Dispute Resolution Services, 1991 - 1996
Scoutmaster, Troop 851, 1987 to 1992
Coach and Referee, AYSO 1985 to 1998
Mediator, Los Angeles Superior Court, ADR for family law matters, 1992 - Present
Member, Rotary Club of Manhattan Beach, 1996 - Present
Cubmaster, Cub Scout Pack 860, 1996 to 2004
Mediator, Los Angeles Superior Court, ADR, now “DSO,” for family law matters, 1992 to present. Co-Chair and member of the Children’s Issue Sub-Committee of the State Bar of California, Los Angeles Regional Standing Committee, 1984 to 2013; Arbitrator and mediator, LACBA Attorney-Client Mediation and Arbitration Services program (“ACMAS”), 2014 to the present., 1984
Judge Pro Tempore, Los Angeles Municipal Court, 1980 - 1988
Arbitrator, Los Angeles Superior Court, 1992 - 1996

Honors/Awards:

S. Roger Rombro is, and has been for over twenty-five years, a Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Tulane University School of Law. Mr. Rombro clerked for the Honorable Stanley N. Barnes, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit immediately following law school. Before entering private practice, he was a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles. He has been lead counsel in nearly 4,000 trials in the state and federal courts, nearly 300 of which were before juries. He has received an AV Peer Review rating from Martindale-Hubbell each year for the last eighteen years, and he has been selected annually as a Southern California Super Lawyer. Mr. Rombro is also a lecturer and materials author for family law, domestic relations, ethics and trial advocacy with the National Business Institute. He was Co-Chair of the Children’s Issue Sub-Committee of the State Bar of California, Los Angeles Regional Standing Committee. He was appointed by the Board of Trustees to a three year term of office to the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California, otherwise known as “FLEXCOM,” effective October, 2013. His duties with FLEXCOM included those as Membership Chair and Co-Chair of Public Relations. He is a member of various bar associations, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association, to which he serves by appointment as both an arbitrator and as a mediator for the Attorney-Client Mediation and Arbitration Services program (“ACMAS”)., 2010
Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated
Appointed to the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California; Membership Chair, October, 2013, to October, 2016; Co-Chair, Public Relations, October, 2014, to October, 2015. Published "Contempt Demystified," Issue 1, 2016, Volume 38, Number 1; "In re Marriage of Olson Presents a Conundrum That Should Be Addressed by the Legislature, 2017," Issue 1, Volume 39, Member, Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California, 2013

Educational Background:

University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1966

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Lecturer and Materials Author for Family Law, Ethics and Trial Advocacy, National Business Institutes, 2003 - Present
On the rainy evening of September 27, 1849, the delegates of California's first constitutional convention voted to give married women rights to their property. With the exception of Louisiana and Texas, this was a major departure from the then-prevailing law in the United States. What resulted from the decisions made in the first constitutional convention was not full, equal property rights. It was, though, a beginning toward equality. Actually, it was not until the legislative enactments, which became effective in 1975, that women acquired equal property management rights., Author, It Was a Dark and Rainy Night: California's Decision to Protect Women's Property Rights, Associatation of Certified Family Law Attorneys, California Family Law Attorneys, 2023
The community property laws under the Spanish Mexican system directed that all income acquired during a marriage was deemed to belong to the marital community irrespective of its source. No distinction was made as to the source of the income. The earnings of a spouse during marriage, the earnings from an asset which had been acquired during marriage, and the earnings derived from a separate property asset, were all credited as belonging to the marital community., Author, The Burden of Tracing Separate Property: California’s Departure from the Community Property System, Part One, Association of Certified Family Law Attorneys, California Family Law Attorneys, 2023
The Court of Appeal in Marriage of Olson affirmed a trial court's authorization to a defaulted party to seek an affirmative modification to child support and child custody provisions contained in a final judgment. The defaulted party had not made any effort to seek relief from default or to address standing. The ruling in Olson, then, is a non-legislative exception to the long-standing rule in California which prohibits collateral attacks upon final judgments. The ruling in Olson is sound. It simply holds that a court's continuing jurisdiction over child support and over child custody trumps the final judgment rule. The ruling, however, is contrary to other California appellate decisions, including Supreme Court opinions. Consequently, it is suggested that the conflict should be resolved by the Legislature. , Author, In re Marriage of Olson Presents a Conundrum That Should Be Addressed by the Legislature, The State Bar of California Family Law News, Issue 1, Volume 39, Family Law, 2017
Contempt Demystified, Issue 1, 2016, Volume 38, Number 1; In re Marriage of Olson Presents a Conundrum That Should Be Addressed by the Legislature, 2017, Issue 1, Volume 39., Author, 2016
The State Bar of California Family Law News, Contempt Demystified, Issue 1, 2016, Volume 38, Number 1; In re Marriage of Olson Presents a Conundrum That Should Be Addressed by the Legislature, 2017, Issue 1, Volume 39, 2016

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Transportation Officer Candidate School - Commissioned Second Lieutenant, United States Army, 1967, 1967

Industry Groups:

California Family Law

S. Roger Rombro