We are a diverse group of legal professionals who have spent the better part of 50 years helping people through tough times. None of us started out as family lawyers, and that’s a good thing. We’ve been business litigators, insurance lawyers, real estate and land use lawyers and trust and estate lawyers. You want that in your family lawyers…and here’s why.
Family law is not really one area of law, it is a set of interconnected areas of law – a little bit of real estate, a little bit of self-employment business, a little bit of custody and visitation, a little bit of estate planning, inheritance issues and gift tax issues, even insurance law plays a role. Family law is incredibly complex – do not any lawyer tell you differently. It is trial work, legal drafting and strategy work all rolled into one.
You need a team of people with the knowledge and the guts to ask hard questions and sort out complex problems. We are agile so that we can modify our course to suit your needs. We are strategists, building traps and angles to out you at an advantage. We are hard-nosed litigators who are not afraid to stand up to opposing counsel, opposing parties and even judges if called upon. We are also ace negotiators, who work using our intellectual strengths and personal charm to get the right deal done for you.
This is your divorce; it is your story. It is your life, your children, you assets, your legacy. You should have the team in place to give you the very best chance at success.
We are your family’s legal team. We are here for you.
Meet The Team
M. Jude Egan, Esq.
Attorney
M. Jude Egan, J.D., Ph.D, Certified Family Law Specialist, graduated law school at the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law in 2004. While working at a major international law firm in San Francisco doing civil litigation and land use work, he wrote his doctoral dissertation in Jurisprudence and Social Policy. Dr. Egan has litigated numerous cases in civil litigation and family law and enjoys a growing reputation drafting legal documents for estate planning. His practice serves English and Spanish speaking clients in Santa Maria, the Five Cities and Santa Barbara.
Helen C. Zajic, Esq.
Partner
Helen C. Zajic was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Michigan. As a high school student, she was a nationally ranked extemporaneous speaker and debater. She attended James Madison College at Michigan State University and graduated in 1983 with a BA in International Relations.
Edwin Weaver
Mediator
We have joined forces with Edwin Weaver, who is a tremendously talented mediator with an ability to see through the surface level issues and cut to the core issues that drive most, particularly, family-oriented conflicts. If you have a very thorny legal issue with a family member, you owe it to yourself and your family to try mediation before resorting to litigation.
Edwin Weaver understands that conflict is part of the human condition. He has assisted people in conflict, managing the situation to mutually satisfactory end. He has mediated for families, businesses, and government organizations. He believes that in most conflicts the relationships are key. He also believes that most relationships can be repaired, they may be different but that there is room for restoration. Edwin has a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from UCLA and has finished his coursework for his Masters in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, ranked #1 in Dispute Resolution in the US. Edwin also manages staff who mediate in local high schools as Executive Director of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley.
Kristin Black
Senior Paralegal
Kristin has been a Certified Paralegal since 2015 and joined Egan Law shortly after beginning her career. In addition to her paralegal certification, Kristin holds a bachelors degree in legal studies with a concentration in American jurisprudence and legal philosophy from Chapman University, where she graduated with honors in 2013.
She has also earned several associates degrees and certificates from Allan Hancock College in business management, business marketing, executive leadership and business law. Kristin enjoys the complex and strategic nature of family law and prides herself in assisting the best attorneys on the Central Coast. When not briefing cases or drafting discovery, Kristin enjoys reading, crafting, and spending time with her husband and daughter.
Ariana Mariscal
Office Administrator/Paralegal
