Robert Burch

As the founding partner at Burch Shepard Family Law Group, Robert Burch is committed to serving clients in Newport Beach and Orange County and throughout the state of California. He focuses his practice on family law, generally handling cases that involve the following matters: divorce, community property division, child and spousal support, domestic violence and protection orders, child custody, complex marital estates and international custody.

Before attending the University of San Diego School of Law, Mr. Burch graduated with honors from Washington University in St. Louis. He received a Juris Doctor in 1996.  He has been certified  by the Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in family law since 2007.  Attorney Burch has practiced exclusively in family law for his entire career and has handled all types of family law matters. Attorney Burch’s passion and career focus has been on the financial issues in divorce with a particular emphasis on representing business owners or their spouses and handling complex marital estates. He has worked on marital estates involving as much as $500 million dollars and his clients have received child support and spousal support awards as high as $125,000 per month.

Attorney Burch also focuses on child custody matters and has litigated several international custody cases. He was one of the primary attorneys in the well-publicized international custody case described by the media as the "Baby Santina” case. In the "Baby Santina" case, Burch and his co-counsel defeated a team of four attorneys led by Gloria Allred.

Attorney Burch presently serves as the President of the Family Law Section for the Orange County Bar Association and has been elected by his family law colleagues to several positions on the Executive Committee for the Family Law Section.   Attorney Burch has written numerous articles or essays for legal publications throughout the State of California.  He also teaches Continuing Legal Education courses in family law, including courses to provide education credits to family law specialists.  Attorney Burch works closely with family law bench officers as a member of the Executive Committee of the family law section for the pat seven years. 

Attorney Burch has received recognition from several independent rating services for his work in family law, including being selected by Super Lawyer magazine as a Super Lawyer in family law for Southern California every year since 2015; earning the highest rating (10.0) from the lawyer rating agency AVVO since 2010; and being recognized by OC Metro Magazine as one of the top family law attorneys in Orange County.  

Mr. Burch understands the complexities and challenges that family law cases can carry and he works to achieve amicable resolutions for clients and their families. While it is generally his goal to reach settlements whenever possible, Mr. Burch aggressively fights for his clients when the other side refuses to budge. 

Certified Legal Specialties

• Board Certified Family Law Specialist, State Bar of California, 2007

Specialized training:

• Graduate- Advanced College of Trial Advocacy – Business Valuation, American Bar Association Family Law Section, 2007
• Graduate- College of Trial Advocacy, American Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2006
• Advisory Board- Divorce Magazine, Divorce Magazine, 2012
• Volunteer Arbitrator, Orange County Bar Association Committee For Mandatory Fee Arbitration, 2005 to present
• Judge Pro Tem – Orange County Superior Court
• Course in Art Of Negotiation– Georgetown School Of Law

Speaking Engagements

• • Moderator, Meet the Judges: A Discussion of Policies and Preferences and Standing Orders with the Honorable Eric Wersching, the Honorable Sherri Honer and the Honorable Mary Kreber, August 2022
  • Moderator for seminar:,  Mediation & Family Court Services from A-Z, June 29, 2022.
  • Speaker, How to Navigate The Nuances of Business Valuation, with Judge Julie Palafox and Drew Hunt, November 2021
  • Speaker, Marital Standard of Living: What to know, with Judge Julie Palafox and Drew Hunt, February 2021
  • Chair of OCBA family law section evening seminar (October 2019): Down the Rabbit Hole: Presenting and Defending Attorney Fee Claims
  • Chair of the OCBA family law section evening seminar (October 2018); The Fiduciary Duty Minefield
  • Speaker, July 2018, Closing Arguments in Family Law; Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, with Judge Lon Hurwitz, Commissioner Barry Michaelson, and Lisa Hughes
  • Speaker, December 2017, Let’s Talk About….Contempt Of Court with Commissioner Richard Vogl and Robert Burch, CFLS, Carlotta Serna, Supervising Deputy DCSS, and Sandi Riddle, Deputy Department Counsel
  • Speaker, January 2017, Tax Crimes and Divorce, with Robert Burch and David Klasing
  • Speaker, November 20, 2014, Successful Enforcement:
    Strategies, Tools & Pitfalls with Commissioner Barry Michaelson, Joan Loos, Robert Burch
  • Speaker, Professionalism In Law, Western State College Of Law, 2014
  • Speaker, Domestic Violence: how domestic violence affects custody orders, 2008
  • Speaker, Basics of Property Division in Divorce: the basic principles for dividing property in divorce, 2008
  • Speaker, Divorce Preparation: What steps you can take to protect your assets prior to filing for divorce, 2007
  • Speaker, Child Custody Move Aways: How the courts decide whether one parent can move out of state with the minor child, 2006
  • Speaker, Business Valuation in Divorce: what every small businessperson going through a divorce should know, 2006

Articles

• Lavish Lifestyle Allows Deviation from Child Support Guideline, Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 11, 2002;
• Courts Must Examine Statutory Factors Before Altering Support, Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 8, 2002;
• In Re Marriage of Abrams – The Effect of Custody Stipulations on Move-Away Applications, Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 8, 2003;
• Parents Can’t Submit Issue of Child Support to Binding Arbitration, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Fall 2003;
• Purpose of Worker’s Compensation Award Is Crucial In Divorce, Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 13, 2004;
• Jurisdiction Does Not Follow When Custodial Parent Moves, Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 1, 2005;
• Valuation of Business Goodwill, Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 20, 2007; and
• Spousal Support: Blazing New Trails, Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 1, 2009.
• September 2021: The California Supreme Court Opens A Door And The Court Of Appeals Opens A Window, OCBA Family Law Section Newsletter
• AUTHOR, The Impact Of Supreme Court Decisions On Public Opinion, Washington University, 1992

Pro Bono Activities

• Arbitrator, Orange County Bar Association Committee for Mandatory Fee Arbitration
• Temporary Judge, Orange County Superior Court

Fraternities/Sororities

• Pi Sigma Alpha