Mello & Pickering, LLP

Focus and practice areas

Based in San Jose, California, the firm works within a single field of law, and it does not branch into unrelated practice areas. That field is family law. In my opinion, that kind of focus matters for anyone choosing a lawyer for a divorce or a custody case.

The services the firm lists cover divorce and legal separation, which set the legal end of a marriage or a formal split without ending it. Child custody and visitation, child support, and spousal support address the arrangements that follow. The firm also handles paternity cases and the valuation and division of marital property. Domestic violence and restraining order matters sit on the same list.

Not every family law issue ends in a courtroom. For clients who prefer to settle, the firm offers mediation. It also offers private judging, which lets parties resolve a dispute outside the public court calendar.

A single field of law

Family law covers a wide set of problems, including the end of a marriage and the care of children. The firm groups all of these under one roof. A client with more than one issue, say a divorce that also involves custody and support, can keep the work with one team. That can save the back-and-forth of hiring separate lawyers for connected problems, and it keeps a single office familiar with the full picture of a case.

Options for resolving a case

The firm gives clients more than one path. Litigation is available when a matter has to go before a judge. Mediation gives couples a way to reach terms with a neutral third party guiding the talks.

Private judging is the third option the firm lists. In this route, the parties agree to have a private decision-maker hear the matter, which can move a case forward without waiting on the public court schedule. For separating couples who want privacy or speed, that choice can carry real weight.

How the team is built

Mello & Pickering names four attorneys on its site. Jennifer A. Mello and Traci J. Pickering are the founding partners. Jessica A. Pellerin is a partner, and Valerie G. Juntunen is an associate attorney.

Jennifer Mello and Traci Pickering each bring more than 25 years of family law experience. Jessica Pellerin has over a decade in the field and represents clients in divorce, custody, support, and financial matters. Valerie Juntunen supports clients across a range of family law issues and has worked on the preparation of and response to restraining orders.

The firm puts its combined family law experience at more than 50 years. That total matches the individual records the site sets out for its partners.

Roles within the firm

The structure is straightforward. Two partners founded the firm and still run it. A third partner and an associate round out the group named on the site. The presence of two long-serving founders also gives the firm continuity. Both have run the practice for years, and both remain hands-on in family law work. For a client, that means senior lawyers sit at the top of the practice, not only on the letterhead.

Credentials worth checking

Both founding partners hold family law certification issued by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. This is a state certification rather than a title a firm gives itself. Earning it calls for an exam, references, and proof of experience.

For a client, the certification narrows the search.An attorney certified by the State Bar in family law has shown the State Bar a record of family law work and has passed a written test in the subject. Two of the firm's partners carry that mark.

Traci Pickering has held that certification for 11 years, by the firm's account. As a reviewer, I place weight on a bar-issued certification, because it comes from the state and not from the firm's own advertising.

Where the firm works

The office sits in San Jose and takes family law cases across Santa Clara County. The firm lists Campbell, Saratoga, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy among the places it covers.

That range keeps the practice tied to the South Bay and the mid-Peninsula. A client in one of those communities falls inside the area the firm says it works. A regional practice like this one usually means the lawyers know the local family courts and the judges who sit in them, and that footing can shorten the learning curve on how a case is likely to run.

What a prospective client can weigh

The account the website gives holds together. Two founding partners with matching state certifications, a partner with ten years behind her, and an associate who handles restraining order work and general family law support.

In my opinion, the clearest facts a reader can check here are the two Family Law certifications and the length of experience the partners carry. Both are verifiable through the State Bar, and both sit at the front of what the firm presents.

For a family facing a divorce or a custody dispute in the San Jose area, this is a practice with long tenure in one field and two bar-certified partners running it. Those are the points worth weighing first.