Peter M. Walzer Named Best Family Lawyer in America 2025

Peter M. Walzer is Named Best Family Lawyer by Best Lawyers 2025 and is a partner of one of the most respected family law firms in California.

Best lawyers is the oldest peer-review publication company, which lists outstanding lawyers by conducting peer review surveys, where thousands of lawyers evaluate their peers.

Peter M. Walzer is the founding partner of the Southern California law firm Walzer Melcher & Yoda LLP focused exclusively on family law. He was the president of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He also was a past president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is a former chair of the executive committee of the State Bar Family Law Section. Mr. Walzer has been a Certified Family Law Specialist for 23 years and is a former president of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists. He co-chair of Legal Education Committee of the American Bar Association Family Law Section. He is vice-chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Section. He is a former member of the Elkins Family Law Task Force, a statewide panel whose charge is to propose measures to improve efficiency and fairness in family law proceedings and ensure access to justice for family law litigants. Peter was named person of the year in 2009 by the Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Peter was named Fellow of the Year by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2010. Peter is on the American Bar Association Family Law section council. Peter is a vice-president of the US Chapter of the International Academy of matrimonial Lawyers and a vice-president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Peter is a frequent lecturer on family law issues. He has written many articles for family law publications.

Celebrity lawyers and partners of the firm, Peter M. Walzer and Christopher C. Melcher have each served as Chair of The State Bar of California Family Law Section (FlexCom), which currently has over 3,800 members, making it the largest family law organization in California. Mr. Walzer and Mr. Melcher are also Fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), an organization of the top family law attorneys in the country. Mr. Walzer and Mr. Melcher have published over 100 articles and books, and have presented over 200 seminars to other family lawyers across the country, on California divorce law and premarital agreement practice.

Walzer Melcher & Yoda LLP has handled some of the largest divorce cases and premarital agreements (aka prenups) in California. They have represented extremely wealthy individuals, such as business owners, celebrities, and executives. Through years of experience handling these types of cases, they understand how to protect businesses and other property holdings in a divorce. Walzer Melcher Yoda LLP also has in depth knowledge of tax laws relating to divorce. They are committed to resolving divorce cases by settlement. When that cannot be achieved, they provide strong and effective representation at trial. The firm is a nine lawyer team, all of whom are dedicated to the practice of California family law. 

Walzer Melcher Yoda LLP is a Los Angeles based law firm located in Woodland Hills, California. They appear in Los Angeles Superior Court and Ventura Superior Court for litigated divorce cases at the trial court level. If your matter is pending in another California trial court, they are happy to give you a referral to a local attorney. They handle family law appeals and writs in all of the Courts of Appeal in California. They prepare premarital agreements under California law for clients all over the world. For instance, they assist non-California residents prepare a premarital agreement if the parties plan to live in California during marriage.