Kelly Pope, C.F.L.S.* is a State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization Certified Family Law Specialist and an experienced litigator whose practice focuses on representing clients in family law matters.
Kelly has a depth of experience representing clients in complex family law disputes involving property and business valuation, support, custody, domestic violence, and premarital and post-marital agreements. She represents clients who own technical, professional, industrial, and agricultural businesses. Her clients include business owners, professionals, ranchers, farmers, developers, professional athletes, investors, and homemakers.
Kelly has more than 20 years’ experience in civil litigation, including extensive experience in business litigation, litigation regarding real property valuation, and bankruptcy. Informed by this experience, Kelly brings a levelheaded, sophisticated, and business-like approach to her family law cases. Kelly also has a passion for helping families and children, and has a depth of experience representing clients in contentious custody disputes and domestic violence cases.
Kelly routinely works with highly skilled professionals including appraisers, forensic accountants, and mental health professionals, enabling her to thoroughly, efficiently, and effectively resolve challenging property valuation, business valuation, support, and child custody issues for clients.
Although Kelly has had great success in reaching negotiated resolutions of her cases, she is experienced in all aspects of California and federal civil procedure, as well as bankruptcy procedure. Her experience includes evidentiary hearings, trial, private arbitration, mediation, drafting and opposing motions, arguing motions in state and federal court, propounding and responding to discovery, taking and defending depositions, retaining and working with expert witnesses, and securing provisional remedies, including requests for temporary domestic violence restraining orders.
Kelly earned her J.D. from University of California Los Angeles School of Law and received her B.A. from University of Nebraska Lincoln.
*Certified Family Law Specialist, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
Education
- J.D., University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, 2004
UCLA Women’s Law Journal, Co-Editor in Chief - B.A., Economics and History, University of Nebraska Lincoln, 2001
Admissions
- State Bar of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Leadership
- Sacramento Metro Chamber, Leadership Sacramento, Class of 2013
- Women Lawyers of Sacramento, Member (2010-2019); President (2018)
- Sacramento Theatre Company, Board Member (2017-2023)
Memberships
- Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
- Sacramento County Bar Association, Family Law Section
- California Lawyers Association, Family Law Section
Representative Matters
- Dissolution of Marriage
- Legal Separation
- Complex Custody Disputes
- Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
- Premarital Agreements
- Post-Marital Agreement
- Marvin/Cohabitation Claims
- Complex Spousal and Child Support Disputes
- Business Valuation and Division
- Complex Transmutation Issues
- Real Property Valuation
- Super Lawyers of Northern California Rising Star (2011-2014)
- Sacramento Business Journal, Best of the Bar (2015-2016, 2019)
- Phi Beta Kappa
- National Merit Scholar
