Freddie Fender Verified Attorney
Emily E. Rubenstein
Family Law · Divorce
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Hidden Assets. Custody Battles. High Stakes. Emily E. Rubenstein Is Ready.
In Los Angeles, divorce can become far more than the end of a marriage. It can become a contest over businesses, real estate, investment accounts, creative rights, future income, and the one thing that cannot be reduced to a balance sheet: time with one’s children. When the stakes rise and the noise becomes overwhelming, Emily E. Rubenstein has built her practice around bringing clarity to the conflict.
Rubenstein is the founder of Emily Rubenstein Law PC, a Beverly Hills firm devoted exclusively to divorce and family law. Her approach combines two qualities that rarely arrive in equal measure: the composure to keep a crisis from escalating and the resolve to litigate when restraint stops producing results. She treats every divorce as a consequential turning point requiring preparation, sound judgment, and a strategy shaped around the client’s future.
Her legal foundation is formidable. Rubenstein earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, formerly UC Hastings, after graduating magna cum laude from The Ohio State University. She developed an early understanding of family-court decision-making as a judicial extern to the Honorable Monica F. Wiley in the Unified Family Court of the San Francisco Superior Court. Admitted to the California Bar in 2014, she has also successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal.
The matters reaching her office frequently extend beyond conventional property division. Rubenstein represents professionals, executives, business owners, creatives, public figures, parents facing difficult custody disputes, and survivors of domestic violence. In financially complex cases, she works with forensic accountants, appraisers, and other specialists to identify, characterize, value, and protect assets and income. That experience is particularly valuable when business and personal finances overlap or when intellectual property, royalties, creative works, and personal brands form part of a marital estate.
Rubenstein also understands that success in family court depends on more than knowing the law. An impulsive text, inflammatory social-media post, or poorly prepared declaration can surrender valuable leverage before a hearing begins. Her firm uses communications, financial records, expert analysis, and carefully developed court submissions to present a disciplined account of the facts. It reports achieving outcomes that have included sole legal and physical custody, monitored visitation, and court-ordered sobriety and drug testing.
Her clients’ accounts give that work a human dimension. One reported receiving a divorce settlement substantially better than expected. Another reached mutually acceptable terms after two years of unsuccessful efforts with prior counsel. Other clients credit Rubenstein with helping them obtain financial support for their children, preserve important parental decision-making rights, and complete carefully tailored premarital agreements under demanding deadlines. These are not interchangeable legal problems, and she does not approach them with interchangeable solutions.
Her reputation extends well beyond the courtroom. Rubenstein has emerged as a nationally recognized family law commentator, appearing across A&E, NPR’s AirTalk on LAist 89.3, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, and MEL Magazine. She has addressed financial abuse, concealed and undervalued assets, premarital agreements, spousal support, and high-stakes Los Angeles divorce. She has also written about coercive control under California’s Domestic Violence Prevention Act for the California Lawyers Association’s Family Law News.
The legal industry has responded with consistent recognition. Rubenstein was selected to the Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list every year from 2020 through 2026. She has received additional family law honors and has served as Co-President of the LGBTQ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. She has also participated in the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Judicial Appointments and Access to Justice committees.
What distinguishes Rubenstein is not aggression for its own sake. It is control of the facts, the financial picture, the strategy, and—whenever possible—the temperature of the conflict. She prepares to win in court without assuming every dispute belongs there. For clients confronting a high-stakes divorce, that means having an advocate who sees the entire board and knows when to negotiate, when to hold the line, and when to make the decisive move.
That combination of strategic judgment, courtroom experience, professional recognition, and composed advocacy is why Emily E. Rubenstein was selected for inclusion on FreddieFender.com.
Credentials
- Juris Doctor, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) (2013)
- Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, magna cum laude, The Ohio State University (2009)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association Judicial Appointments Committee (2020)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association Access to Justice Committee (2020)
- LGBTQ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; Co-President (2016)
Career Highlights / Proven Experience
Career Highlights
- Founder and Firm Leader: Founded Emily Rubenstein Law PC and leads a Beverly Hills family law practice representing clients in divorce, child custody, child support, premarital agreements, and other complex family matters.
- Exclusive Family Law Practice: Leads a firm devoted exclusively to family law, representing professionals, executives, business owners, creatives, public figures, domestic-violence survivors, and other clients facing significant financial or parenting concerns.
- Super Lawyers Recognition: Selected to the Southern California Rising Stars list in Family Law for seven consecutive years from 2020 through 2026.
- Industry Recognition: Named among the 10 Best Family Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
- Additional Legal Honors: Received Recognition of Legal Excellence in Family Law from the American Institute of Legal Advocates in 2017 and was named a Top 10 Family Law Attorney by Attorney and Practice Magazine in 2021.
- Professional Leadership: Served as Co-President of the LGBTQ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles in 2016.
- Judicial Appointments Committee: Served on the Los Angeles County Bar Association Judicial Appointments Committee, which evaluates candidates under consideration for appointment to the California Superior Court bench.
- Access to Justice Service: Served on the Los Angeles County Bar Association Access to Justice Committee, supporting efforts to expand legal services for people of limited means, including survivors seeking domestic-violence assistance.
- Judicial Experience: Served as a family law judicial extern to the Honorable Monica F. Wiley in the Unified Family Court of the San Francisco Superior Court in 2012.
- Appellate Advocacy: Has successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal and regularly appears before the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
- Family Law Publication: Contributed published legal analysis addressing coercive control under California’s Domestic Violence Prevention Act to the California Lawyers Association’s Family Law News.
- National Media Authority: Featured as a family law authority by A&E, NPR’s AirTalk, U.S. News & World Report, and MEL Magazine, providing insight on complex financial issues in relationships, premarital agreements, marital business interests, spousal support, and high-asset divorce.
Proven Experience
- California Appellate Advocacy: Successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal, demonstrating experience handling family law issues beyond the trial-court level.
- Complex Divorce Litigation: Negotiates and litigates amicable and contentious divorces involving substantial assets, business ownership, real property, high incomes, and complex financial arrangements.
- Financial Investigation and Asset Protection: Works with appraisers, forensic accountants, and other financial professionals to identify, characterize, value, and protect assets and income in financially complex divorce proceedings.
- Favorable Divorce Settlement: A published client account credits Ms. Rubenstein with obtaining a divorce settlement worth substantially more than the client initially expected while helping the client complete the process with dignity and confidence.
- Resolution of Prolonged Divorce Litigation: A client reported that, after two years of unsuccessful efforts with prior counsel, retaining Ms. Rubenstein helped the former spouses reach mutually acceptable terms and complete their divorce.
- Child Custody and Visitation: Has extensive experience negotiating and litigating contested custody and visitation matters involving private custody evaluations, co-parenting counselors, parenting-plan assessments, and professionally supervised visitation.
- Child and Family Support: A published client account credits Ms. Rubenstein’s representation with enabling the client to make important legal decisions for the client’s children and obtain financial support for them.
- Premarital Agreements: Drafts, negotiates, and reviews customized premarital agreements addressing financial disclosure, separate property, business interests, income, and other significant assets.
- Time-Sensitive Agreement Drafting: Public client accounts specifically credit Ms. Rubenstein with preparing careful, customized premarital agreements under demanding deadlines while clearly explaining their legal and financial provisions.
- Strategic Settlements: Has resolved highly contentious divorce matters through focused preparation and negotiation while remaining prepared to litigate when a fair settlement cannot be achieved.
A Note About Family-Law Case Privacy
Divorce, custody, support, parentage, and domestic-violence proceedings frequently involve children, financial records, medical information, and other sensitive personal matters. Depending on the court and jurisdiction, records may be confidential, sealed, redacted, or unavailable for remote public review. Consequently, an attorney’s publicly documented results may represent only a portion of their family-law experience.
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