Clifton J. Lurkis
Clifton Lurkis has devoted his entire career to family law and is a Certified Family Law Specialist, having been certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization in 2009.
He handles all areas of family law including child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, complex property disputes, domestic violence restraining orders, and prenuptial & postnuptial agreements.
Mr. Lurkis has had dozens of trials in both public court and before private judges involving a wide array of family law issues. Below are just a few examples of some of his trial experience:
Successfully defended against breach of fiduciary duty claim.
Prevailed at trial against claim regarding allocation of significant debts in case involving community business.
Successfully litigated request to impute income to opposing party, resulting in a significant reduction to client’s ongoing spousal support obligation.
Obtained permanent domestic violence restraining orders after trial.
Successfully defended against requests for domestic violence restraining orders.
Prevailed at trial in obtaining increased visitation for father and additional overnight visits.
Co-counsel in case on behalf of client, successfully defeating mother’s request to move the parties’ minor child and change custody.
Although Mr. Lurkis has a strong litigation background, his initial approach to a case is one of collaboration. Having gone through a divorce himself, Mr. Lurkis recognizes that the best outcomes are usually reached through shrewd negotiation as opposed to contentious litigation. This perspective has enabled Mr. Lurkis to successfully negotiate settlements in the vast majority of his cases.
In addition to litigation, Mr. Lurkis also serves as a mediator for divorcing parties. He has volunteered as a mediator for the Santa Clara Superior Court and will be joining the San Mateo Superior Court panel of volunteer settlement judges as of 2023.
Mr. Lurkis has been recognized as a Top Attorney of Northern California by San Francisco Magazine in 2012 and 2013. In addition, he’s been listed as one of Northern California Rising Stars by Super Lawyers Magazine in 2011, 2012, 2013. Mr. Lurkis has also been listed as a “Super Lawyer” every year since 2019.
At the outset of his legal career, Mr. Lurkis spent several years as an associate attorney for Viola Law Firm, a well-respected family law and civil litigation firm in San Mateo, California.
In 2010, Mr. Lurkis started his own practice before forming the partnership with Sean Joyce and Brian Del Bove.
