COVID, Custody and Civil Unrest: The 2020 Holiday Season

Robin began her career as a prosecutor for both the Riverside and Los  Angeles County District Attorney’s Offices, where she specialized in dealing with child sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and abuse. While working with law enforcement, victim advocates, social workers, and members of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, she investigated and prosecuted hundreds of child sexual assault cases. 

Shani is a Certified Family Law Specialist and highly accomplished family law advocate. With the utmost discretion and attention to detail, she represents sophisticated clients in all types of cases, including dissolution of marriage, parentage, custody, post-judgment modifications, prenuptial agreements, and domestic violence restraining orders. She has extensive experience litigating difficult custody issues and high asset dissolution cases, among other family law matters. Though she thrives in a courtroom setting, Shani is equally skilled at negotiating settlements for her clients, helping them achieve their short-term and long-term goals without litigation.

Honorable Laura Cohen was elected in January 2019 as a Commissioner for Los Angeles Superior Court. Prior she was a Clinical Professor at Southwestern Law School where she was locally and nationally recognized for her work including implementing and directing both the Street Law Clinic and Public Service Program. Commissioner Cohen continues to teach attorneys and judges on a range of issues including self-represented litigants and domestic violence. While at Southwestern she worked closely with many court-related community programs. She began her career as a dependency attorney in Children’s Court, has mediated permanency planning cases, and later initiated the Children’s Law Center Year-Long Program which she continues her involvement working with students and graduates interested in a career advocating for children and families. Her 30-plus years of experience working with youth and families, law students and graduates, collaborating with legal services organizations, and helping the community on a range of pro bono matters serves her well with her current assignment handling restraining orders. Commissioner Cohen has a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara.