Attorney Profile Sarah T. Schaffer
Sarah T. Schaffer - Curriculum Vitae

Sarah T. Schaffer: Family Law & Tax Attorney – Mediator

Attorney Bio

The San Diego Schaffer Family Law Group, APC is a full service Family Law and Mediation practice dedicated to delivering practical & effective results to our local San Diego area clients.

Ms. Schaffer opened the Schaffer Family Law Group, APC in Del Mar, California, after spending four years practicing law at Higgs, Fletcher & Mack LLP in San Diego.

Ms. Schaffer builds her practice on a thorough knowledge of the law, excellent research skills, superior presentation to the court, and most of all calm, compassionate relations with her clients in times of trouble or crisis.

She possesses a wealth of experience in family law including representing clients with challenging child custody issues as well as high asset clients in complex division of community property matters.

With a well-earned reputation in the legal community for her meticulous, thoughtful and effective representation, Ms. Schaffer has served a Judge Pro Tem for the San Diego Superior Court (Superior Courts of California).

Certified Family Law Specialist

Sarah T. Schaffer, Esq., CFLS

California attorneys who are certified as Certified Family Law Specialists have taken and passed a written examination in their specialty field, demonstrated a high level of experience in the specialty field, fulfilled ongoing education requirements and been favorably evaluated by other attorneys and judges familiar with their work.

Sarah T. Schaffer, CFLS is one of a select handful of Certified Specialists. Only these attorneys can identify themselves as “certified” specialists in California because they are the only attorneys who are certified either by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization or an organization whose certification program has been accredited by the State Bar.

Attorney Schaffer’s decades of practicing family law in San Diego have demonstrated that all parties involved in a divorce have a few things in common – typically, they want the process to move as quickly as possible and to make sure the outcome is in the best interest of their children. Through alternative dispute resolution methods – collaborative divorce and divorce mediation – Attorney Schaffer and her team are able to ensure a more private, less time consuming, more collegial and lower cost road to resolution. More about Mediation & Collaborative Divorce

Post Graduate Education – University of San Diego School of Law

In 2001, Ms. Schaffer received her law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. After passing the California Bar Exam, Ms. Schaffer joined Ernst & Young in San Francisco where she worked as a tax consultant.

In 2011, Ms. Schaffer received her LL.M. in taxation at the University of San Diego School of Law.

Early Life – Dual Undergraduate University Degrees – Fluent in English & Spanish

Raised in the Boston area, Ms. Schaffer graduated from Stanford University with Departmental honors and a dual major in Spanish and International Relations. During this time, she spent a year studying at the University of Salamanca in Spain.

Sarah is fluent in Spanish – helpful for first-generation Spanish-speaking clients.

Military Career

Upon graduation, Sarah was commissioned in as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and spent five years on active duty serving as a logistics officer in Okinawa, Japan, and Quantico, Virginia.

USMC JAG officer – In addition to her San Diego divorce and family law practice, Ms. Schaffer currently serves as a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserves acting as a Staff Judge Advocate for the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

 Charity & Philanthropy

Sarah is very active with Kid’s Turn of San Diego and Casa Cornelia Law Center

Kids’ Turn San Diego is a caring non-profit organization for children and parents experiencing family separations or military transitions. They help children discover their voice to communicate their thoughts and feelings about their family situation and give parents the daily tools they need to be able to communicate and understand HOW to put their child first in their relationship, without conflict.

Casa Cornelia Law Center is a public interest law firm providing quality pro bono legal services to victims of human and civil rights violations. The Center has a primary commitment to the indigent within the immigrant community in southern California.

Experienced, Personalized Representation and Quality Legal Advice

Schaffer Family Law Group, APC provides experienced, personalized representation and quality legal advice.  We have expertise in a number of legal areas but focus much of our energies in Family Law including: