Practice Areas

Ms. Amado practices exclusively appellate law, representing clients in the state and federal courts of appeal and supreme courts. Her practice concentrates on family law - addressing jurisdiction, status, fiduciary duties, characterization of property, child custody, and support â?? but her work is not exclusively family law-related.

Within the area of family law, several areas reflect her distinctive work:

• Property Division: Ms. Amado has written extensively against recognizing personal or celebrity goodwill as a quantifiable, community asset. She was an early voice on this issue in California and was gratified to see the majority opinion reflect her reasoning in In re Marriage of McTiernan and Dubrow, 133 Cal.App.4th 1090, 35 Cal.Rptr.3d 287 (Cal. App. 2d 2005). Citation to her articles on the topic can be found at the Articles page of this website; they include “Celebrity Goodwill: Characterization and Value,” chapter 43, §§43.01 and 43.02, Valuing Professional Practices and Licenses (3d ed.), edited by Ron Brown), 2010-2 Supplement (Aspen Publishers, Wolters Kluwer); “Fiction and Imagination: Celebrity and Personal Goodwill,” American Journal of Family Law, Vol. 19, No. 3, Fall 2005 (re celebrity and personal goodwill), “To Have and Have Not,” Los Angeles Lawyer, April 1995.
• Marital Fiduciary Duty: Ms. Amado has been appellate counsel of record in several of the leading cases defining fiduciary duties between spouses, including In re Marriage of Feldman, 153 Cal.App.4th 1470, 64 Cal.Rptr.3d 29 (Cal.App. 4th 2007); In re Marriage of Brewer and Federici, 93 Cal.App.4th 1334, 113 Cal.Rptr.2d 849 (Cal.App. 2d 2001); and In re Marriage of Duffy, 91 Cal.App.4th 923, 111 Cal.Rptr.2d 160 (Cal.App. 2d 2001). She was also pleased to be a consultant on the excellent article on fiduciary duties between spouses written by Marshall S. Zolla and Deborah E. Zolla, “Marital Duty,” Los Angeles Lawyer, Vol. 26, No. 11, February 2004).
• Move-Aways and the Hague Convention: As an appellate attorney, Ms. Amado has represented clients in custody disputes involving relocations to or from sister states or foreign countries. In one case of especial note, the California Court of Appeal ruled that Israel was not a war zone (during the Second Intifada) and that Israel could be trusted to enforce a California order, allowing a mother to return to Israel with her child. (In re Marriage of Abargil 106 Cal.App.4th 1294, 131 Cal.Rptr.2d 429 (Cal.App. 2d 2003).)

Within the area of general civil appeals, a critical concern is the timely filing of the notice of appeal, especially after the filing of a post-judgment motion. On this topic, Ms. Amado has written an article discussing the rules for timely filing and has created a number of charts to assist counsel in determining the accurate deadline for filing the notice of appeal. The article and charts can be found on the Articles page of this website; it is “Beat the Clock,” Los Angeles Lawyer, Vol. 33, No. 1, March 2010.

In addition to her work in appellate representation, Ms. Amado also works with trial counsel during the trial stages of the case when an appeal seems likely. She helps identify the factual issues which must be fully developed in the trial court to ensure a complete record for appellate review. In addition, she helps with conceptualizing the legal issues and assists in writing memoranda on evolving or complex legal issues.

Representative articles written by Ms. Amado can be found on the Articles page of this website. Cutting-Edge Issues contains a brief comment about growing issues of concern in family law and appellate law.

To speak with Ms. Amado or to make an appointment to see her regarding your or your client's matter and possible appellate representation or assistance, please contact her at (310) 550-8214./p>