CONNOLLY OYLER
A recognized expert in Family Law, Mr. Oyler has practiced law for 46 years, having been a sole practitioner since 1959. He specializes in all areas of Family Law, including dissolutions, paternity, prenuptial agreements, marital torts and child custody arrangements.
Mr. Oyler graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1955. In 1958, he received his LL.B from the University of Southern California where he was a member of the Law Review and Phi Alpha Delta, a legal fraternity.
A member of the American Bar Association, Mr. Oyler served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the California State Bar Association, Family Law Section. He has served as a trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and is active in its Family Law Section, and is also a past Vice Chair of its Arbitration Committee as well as a former member of its Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Oyler has been a member of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association since 1963 and has served as its President and Family Law Section Chairman since 1984. He has been active in the Santa Monica Bar Association, and is former Co-Chairman of its Family Law Section and its president elect. Mr. Oyler currently serves as a Superior Court Mediator, Arbitrator and Judge Pro Tem.
Mr. Oyler is in frequent demand as a lecturer and seminar leader on a diverse number of Family Law topics and has addressed the California Trial Lawyers Association, American Bar Association and California State Bar Association.
Mr. Oyler is married and living in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Michelle, and his two children. He is a member of the Santa Monica Rotary Club, the Jonathan Club and serves on the Board of Directors of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.
EDMUND KNERR
Edmund L Knerr is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He has been practicing law for 23 years and has been with the firm of Oyler & Woldman (formerly Knerr & Oyler) for 22 of them. Mr. Knerr specializes in the art of Post-Nuptial Agreements, which are not common within the practice of Family Law.
He attended UCLA and has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, a Masters Degree, a General Secondary Teaching Credential and a Life Counseling Credential. He Southwest University of Law and graduated with honors.
Mr. Knerr has been married to his wife Colleen for 34 years and has two sons, David, 23 and Michael, 20.
RUTH LYNN ESTEP
Ruth Lynn Estep has been practicing law since 1979 after receiving her law degree from Whittier College. After gaining years of experience, Ruth was referred to Connolly by an attorney who thought she would be just what the firm needed to round out the staff. She and her husband (also an attorney) practiced civil litigation and raised three children until the couple divorced. Managing this life transition with three teenage children taught Ruth exactly how emotionally wrenching divorce can be. Ruth joined a firm specializing in family law and discovered how much she enjoyed the field.
"Fueled by my own experience, I found it invigorating and motivating to work with people to find creative alternatives for dividing property without destroying what had been worked for, and to problem-solve with regard to child custody and visitation issues."
Now that she's joined Oyler & Woldman, Ruth considers her empathy for her divorce clients as one of her greatest assets. "Until it's happened to you, you don't know what its like on the other side of the attorney's desk," she said.
Ruth specializes in child rights within the family law realm, which is a lifetime, court-appointed position. California Family Code Section 3150 authorizes the court to appoint private counsel to represent a child in a custody proceeding if the court determines that it is in the best interests of the child to do so. This is a "life-time" appointment, and it continues until the court affirmatively issues an order relieving private counsel from the appointment either on its own motion or on motion of the appointed counsel.
SOHEILA OMRANI
Attorney Soheila Omrani has been practicing law since 1998 after graduating from the Southern California Institute of law. She has been with the firm for four years, specializing in support issues, most specifically in support modification.
MELISSA MAYER
Melissa Mayer joined the firm in September of 2002. Melissa is a native of Los Angeles. She attended U.C. Santa Barbara as undergraduates and received her law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans. Melissa's experiential background includes consumer bankruptcy and general litigation as well as her current specialty of family law in all matters. Melissa has varied interests which she pursues in her free time. She enjoys playing tennis and kickboxing (watch out).