Legal Services & Lawyers

MR. MERTSOC obtained his Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law in 1992 and his Bachelor of Arts from Humboldt State University in 1987. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, he had been practicing family law since 1996. Mr. Mertsoc is a member of the State Bar of California, San Diego County Bar Association, Family Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association and is admitted to the United States District Court, Southern District. Mr. Mertsoc has been a seminar presenter on issues related to discovery in family law actions. He is also a member of the BBB National Panel of Consumer Arbitrators and has served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Superior Court.

I strive to provide my client with the very best representation, aggressively fighting for all they are entitled to under the law.

NO ATTORNEY FEE UNLESS YOU WIN! - applicable to accident and injury cases, as well as discrimination and sexual harassment cases.

I am bilingual Spanish/English - and unlike other attorneys who say "se habla espanol" and it is the secretary who speaks spanish, I SPEAK SPANISH ONE ON ONE WITH MY CLIENTS. Soy yo quien habla espanol - un traductor no es necesario conmigo, y hablo personalmente con mis clientes en espanol.

Kandy received a BA in Sociology and and California Teaching Credential from San Diego State University. She received a Masters degree in Counseling from Chapman College. Prior to becoming an attorney she worked as a Probation Officer and Social Worker with children involved in the Juvenile Court related to child abuse and neglect.

Kandy's primary area of practice is Juvenile Dependency, representing all parties including parents, relatives and foster parents. Additonally she works in the areas of Family Law, Guardianships, Adoptions, Restraining Orders and Paternity Actions.

Attorney Christopher C. Happ is licensed to practice in both California and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Mr. Happ focuses his efforts on the family law and estate planning portions of the law practice.

Prior to founding Happ Law Group P.C., Mr. Happ honed his legal skills while working as a law clerk for Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In addition to this rewarding and enlightening experience, Mr. Happ spent time as a clerk with the Pennsylvania Securities Commission and Dugan & Associates, a Pittsburgh-based firm representing individuals with Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability claims. Moreover, Mr. Happ spent significant time representing low- to moderate-income individuals before the Internal Revenue Service through the University of Pittsburgh School of Law's Low-Income Tax Clinic.

Before entering the legal world, Mr. Happ worked as a Budget Specialist for the New York State Division of the Budget. While there, he was responsible for analyzing legislative bills for their budgetary impact on the State and recommending a course of action to the Governor. Furthermore, Mr. Happ acted as the state budget liaison to the cities of Rochester and Syracuse and was heavily involved in drafting legislation intended to create Fiscal Stability Bonds for New York State's financially distressed cities.

Michele B. Brown is an attorney licensed in the State of California and the United States District Court for the Southern District. She is a Certified Specialist in Family Law and handles complex dissolution of marriage actions, nullity, pre-marital and post-marital agreements, high conflict custody cases, income analysis and business valuations. Ms. Brown cares deeply about the law and her clients. It is for this reason Ms. Brown is actively involved in family law legislation and politics.


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Selected as one of San Diego County's Top Attorneys for 2007, Michele B. Brown is a Supervising and Trial Attorney with the Law Offices of Beatrice L. Snider, APC. The practice is limited exclusively to family law matters. Ms. Brown specializes in complex family law matters, including dissolution of marriage actions with business valuations, income analysis and financial litigation, custody, move-away and psychological evaluations, as well as pre-marital agreements, post-marital agreements, post judgment matters and enforcement actions.




Ms. Brown obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1994, where she received the 1994 Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a Minor in Spanish, from the University of California, Riverside in 1989, and as a Rotary International Scholar, she studied Politics and French at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia



Ms. Brown was admitted to the State Bar of California and the Federal District Court for the Southern District in 1994 and she became a Certified Specialist in Family Law in 2002. She is the Affirmative Legislation Chair of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, Family Law Section; she is an elected member of Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State; she is the Family Law Legislation Chair for the San Diego County Certified Family Law Specialists; and an elected member of the Executive Committee of the San Diego County Certified Family Law Specialists.




Ms. Brown is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the Family Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association, and the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California. She co-chaired the Spring 2007 Family Law Seminar on Psychological Issues and has spoken at several seminars on family law matters, including jurisdictional issues and case and statutory updates in the law. Ms. Brown has written articles for the Certified Family Law Specialists Newsletter, acted as the Family Law Floor leader for the San Diego County Bar Association Conference of Delegates, where she authored several proposed Family Law bills. She has volunteered as an attorney for the Family Law Facilitator's Office, is a volunteer family law attorney for the annual KNSD Ask-A-Lawyer program and serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the San Diego Superior Court Family Law Division. Ms. Brown is fluent in Spanish and conversant in French.





Personal Data:


I live in the North Park area of San Diego. Traveling, politics and spending time with my family and friends are my passions outside the practice of law, whether it’s spelunking in Iceland, bungee jumping in New Zealand, scuba diving in Australia or hiking through the John Muir wilderness. My passion for politics has had me working on Capital Hill in D.C., serving on numerous committees and working on campaigns.

MS. SICKLER joined the firm in 1985 and is a supervising attorney with the firm. Ms. Sickler obtained her Juris Doctorate from Hastings College of the Law in 1976 and her Bachelor of Science from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1973. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Sickler was engaged in the general practice of law, including obtaining substantial civil and criminal trial experience. Ms. Sickler was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1976 and became a Certified Specialist in Family Law in 1991. She is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the Family Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association and the San Diego Certified Family Law Specialists. Ms. Sickler also serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the San Diego Superior Court Family Law Division.

MS. BASHAR obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in Management Information Systems in 1987 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona College of Law in May 1990. She joined the firm after 7 years as a sole practitioner focusing on civil litigation, business and family law. Prior to opening her own office, Ms. Bashar was an associate attorney in a civil litigation firm where she represented financial institutions as well as individuals with personal injury, fraud and contract matters. She has also worked as a Volunteer Attorney with the Family Law Access Project. Ms. Bashar was admitted to the State Bar of California and the Federal District Court for the Southern District in 1992 and is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association and the Family Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association. Ms. Bashar is fluent in Farsi, conversant in Spanish and maintains good comprehension of French. Published Case: Doe v. United States (1997) 946 F.Supp.1429. Ms. Bashar was successful in this matter against the U.S. Attorney which resulted in two new laws being established.

Lance Claery has been successfully practicing family law for more than seven years. He has worked with a diverse client base ranging from multi-millionaires to low income, modest means clients. He started his career as an attorney working with one of Southern California's most experienced family law attorneys. Thereafter, Mr. Claery began working for one of Southern California's busiest and most prestigious law firms. He was made a partner of that firm very quickly and has since worked on hundreds of divorces and other family law matters. Mr. Claery has handled trials, depositions, arbitrations, mediations, hearings and emergency hearings with success. During law school, he worked with a bright, fair and aggressive family law attorney; this is when he discovered that family law was his calling. Helping individuals and families has always been a passion for Mr. Claery. He participated in the University of Maryland's internship program with the well known Hope Housing project. Here, he was able to help families in the poorest sections of Washington, D.C. work together to develop enrichment programs for children in a cooperative setting.

Mr. Claery's commitment to an open line of communication with his firm's clients sets him apart from other attorneys. He is adamant that his clients are able to reach him and members of his firm when they are needed. Mr. Claery truly cares for each and every one of his firm's clients. Family law issues are oftentimes very stressful. He ensures that his firm's clients know they have a team at Claery and Green advocating for them and only them. At Claery and Green their clients come first.

In addition to family law, Mr. Claery has notable federal and administrative law experience. He is admitted to the United States District Court and has zealously handled and worked on security clearance matters across the country. Mr. Claery's other accomplishments include making the Dean's List at the University of Maryland, and acquiring both series seven and series sixty six licenses; this experience has helped him understand all types of assets and investments. He is a member of the California BAR Association and the Washington, D.C. BAR Association as well as the Los Angeles County and San Diego County BAR Associations.

MS. RAMOS is a 1993 graduate of California Western School of Law in San Diego and a graduate of Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York. A former Deputy District Attorney for San Diego County, Ms. Ramos became a Certified Specialist in Family Law in 2005 and is a member of the State Bar of California, the San Diego County Bar Association and the Family Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association. She has spoken on paternity issues for the Western State Alumni MCLE program. Ms. Ramos is fluent in Spanish.