Event Details

The Honorable Paul Lozada is a Court Commissioner appointed to the Sonoma County Superior Court in January of 2020. As a commissioner, he has presided over a misdemeanor trial court, the traffic division and has also handled hundreds of Civil Harassment and Elder Abuse. In January of 2022, he was reassigned to the Family Law Division where he has presided in Department 20 handling Title IV-D Child Support and Domestic matters. Prior to his appointment, Commissioner Lozada was in private practice handling criminal defense and family law matters in Sonoma County and other counties. He presents MCLE classes on Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession and has substantial international and cross-cultural experience due to his mission experience working for the United Nations at the policy level in Kosovo, Serbia in the years 2000-2001. In this capacity, Commissioner Lozada, amongst many other duties, was involved in the drafting of the Domestic Violence Protection laws implemented throughout the province while the U.N. Temporary Government was working to stabilize the province after the war. Commissioner Lozada also supervised and led an international staff representing fifty-two different countries involved in the U.N. Mission. 

Shawn is a Sonoma County family law attorney, mediator, and parenting coordinator with extensive experience resolving complex family law issues. A creative problem solver who thinks outside the box in order to provide his clients the best possible options for solutions. He has a keen awareness of the need in family law for compassion and understanding while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism. 

In addition to his mediation and litigation experience, Shawn has completed advanced training in trial advocacy, mediation, conflict resolution, and collaborative law. He has been appointed as a Parenting Coordinator in Sonoma County and currently sits on the Mental Health Liaison subcommittee of the Sonoma County Bar Association.  Shawn previously sat on the Family Law Steering Committee, Family Law Rules and Best Practices Committee, and the Family Law Education Committee.

Kirk Gorman is a Child Support Attorney IV for the Sonoma County Department of Child Support Services. Kirk received his JD in 2009 from Empire College School of Law and his undergraduate degree in 2001 from California State University Chico. He has been working almost exclusively in the child support program since 2007 when he joined Sonoma County as a law clerk. Kirk worked in the private legal sector for two years starting a solo family law practice before returning to child support in 2012.

Tricia is a California State Bar Certified Family Law Specialist who has practiced family law exclusively since becoming a member of the State Bar. In her over 20 years of practice she has handled every type of family law matter from simple dissolutions to complex/high asset cases. Tricia began her legal career in San Diego, California where she had a prospering solo practice for three years. She then worked as an associate attorney for several prominent family law firms before becoming a partner of the law firm Baldwin, Baldwin, Da Silva and Seifert, LLP (now Baldwin & Da Silva, LLP). While practicing in San Diego, Tricia volunteered her time in the legal community, including as an elected board member of the San Diego Family Law Bar Association. Upon moving her practice to Sonoma County in 2017, Tricia joined the law firm of Blevans & Blevans, LLP as an associate attorney. After five years there, in March 2022, Tricia transitioned to the law firm of Redwood Empire Law & Mediation, becoming the lead attorney for the firm’s litigated family law matters. After a few years of practicing in Sonoma County, Tricia joined the Sonoma County Bar Association (“SCBA”), Family Law Education Committee, first as a member and then as the Chairperson. In 2023, Tricia became a member of the SCBA Family Law Steering Committee and, as of 2024, is the Vice Chairperson. As Vice Chairperson, Tricia is also a board member of the SCBA. Tricia earned her B.A. in French from Pacific Union College and her law degree from California Western School of Law. During law school, Tricia was a research assistant to Laurence A. Benner, Professor of Law Emeritus and a Judicial Extern to the Hon. Anthony J. Battaglia, (former Magistrate) Federal District Court Judge, Southern District of California. Tricia is a member of the California Lawyers Association, Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and the Sonoma County Bar
Association.