Attorney Samera I. Habib

High-Conflict & Complex Divorce Litigation

Ms. Habib has extensive experience litigating high-conflict and complex divorce cases, particularly those involving power imbalances, safety concerns, emergency relief, and aggressive motion practice. Her divorce practice is risk-managed, evidence-driven, and court-focused, not transactional.

She regularly handles divorces involving:

• Domestic violence and coercive control
• Ex parte applications and emergency orders
• Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs) and civil protection orders
• Emergency custody restrictions and supervised parenting
• UCAPA-based travel restrictions, passport controls, and flight-prevention orders
• Move-out, stay-away, and firearms surrender orders
• Contested credibility determinations and evidentiary hearings
• High-asset estates, trusts, and closely held businesses
• Financial abuse and litigation-driven coercive control

Ms. Habib is particularly sought out in cases where early emergency orders shape the entire trajectory of custody, support, and jurisdiction, especially where international travel, dual citizenship, or cross-border family ties are present.

Interjurisdictional, Hague & Child-Abduction Litigation

A significant portion of Ms. Habib’s practice involves multi-forum and cross-border family law litigation, including matters governed by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and state-based abduction-prevention frameworks such as UCAPA.

Her experience includes:

• Prosecuting and defending Hague Convention petitions, including cases involving grave-risk and abuse-based defenses
• Litigating UCAPA petitions to prevent domestic or international child abduction before removal occurs
• Coordinating Hague return litigation with UCAPA preventive relief
• Litigating jurisdictional disputes between U.S. states and between U.S. and foreign courts
• Managing parallel proceedings in state, federal, and foreign tribunals
• Handling international service of process, including Hague Service Convention compliance and alternative service
• Advising on forum selection, procedural sequencing, and jurisdictional risk assessment
• Addressing cross-border enforcement, travel restrictions, and child-safety safeguards

Ms. Habib approaches these matters with the understanding that procedural posture, jurisdictional stability, and timing often determine substantive outcome, particularly in cases involving domestic violence, coercive control, or credible flight risk.

Domestic Violence, Coercive Control & Child-Safety Litigation

Ms. Habib has a substantial litigation background in cases involving domestic violence, sexual abuse, financial abuse, religious abuse, gender-based violence, emotional and psychological abuse, and coercive control. She is particularly experienced in matters where non-physical abuse and power-and-control dynamics drive risk analysis, credibility determinations, and custody outcomes.

Her work reflects a clear understanding that inter-partner abuse frequently escalates into child abuse or child endangerment following separation, and that courts must evaluate these cases with careful attention to evidence, credibility, and long-term safety planning, including the use of emergency relief, DVROs, and UCAPA remedies where appropriate.

Complex Asset Division & Support Litigation

Ms. Habib litigates financially complex divorce and support matters where asset characterization, income analysis, and credibility determinations are central to outcome. She is routinely retained in cases involving high-asset estates, closely held businesses, professional practices, trusts, deferred compensation, and multi-jurisdictional property interests, particularly where financial issues intersect with power imbalance, coercive control, or strategic nondisclosure.

• Her practice includes contested litigation over:
• Characterization and division of complex assets, including separate vs. community property disputes
• Closely held businesses, professional practices, and valuation disputes
• Trust interests, inherited assets, and intergenerational wealth structures
• Executive compensation, deferred income, equity awards, and bonus structures
• Hidden assets, income manipulation, and forensic accounting disputes
• Spousal and child support in high-income and self-employed cases
• Support modification and enforcement where financial opacity or control is alleged

Ms. Habib approaches financial litigation with the understanding that money is often the primary instrument of control in high-conflict cases, and that effective advocacy requires disciplined evidentiary strategy and coordination with forensic accountants and valuation professionals. Her focus is on court-legible financial narratives that withstand judicial scrutiny.

Litigation Profile

Ms. Habib has served as first chair in hundreds of contested matters and is widely regarded as a strong, disciplined courtroom advocate. She is known for:

• Command of rules of evidence and procedure
• Precise witness examination and cross-examination
• Mastery of complex factual and procedural records
• Clear, structured, and persuasive oral advocacy

While she is strategic and resolution-oriented, she does not accept settlements that merely replicate a client’s worst-case outcome at trial. When litigation is required, she proceeds decisively and without hesitation.

Judicial officers have commended her for thorough preparation, credibility, and courtroom command.

Prior Court-Appointed Roles Involving Children

Earlier in her career, Ms. Habib served in court-appointed and neutral roles involving children, such as Minor’s Counsel, Child Legal Representative (CLR), and Child and Family Investigator (CFI). These roles required sustained neutrality, detailed investigation, and close collaboration with courts and child-welfare professionals.

She now practices exclusively as litigation counsel. Her prior experience informs her current work in child-safety, credibility, and abuse-related litigation.

Cultural & Institutional Competence

Ms. Habib brings particular competence to cases involving Middle Eastern, Muslim, and first- and second-generation immigrant families, where cultural misunderstanding can materially distort legal analysis. Fluent in Arabic, she assists courts and counsel in accurately evaluating family dynamics without reliance on stereotypes or identity-based advocacy.

Her role in such matters is best understood as institutional translation — ensuring legally relevant context is presented clearly, neutrally, and in compliance with governing law.

Professional Philosophy

Ms. Habib is known for providing direct, realistic assessments at the outset of representation. She believes effective advocacy requires truthful risk evaluation, disciplined preparation, and strategic timing, rather than reassurance untethered from legal reality.

Her litigation strategy is designed to reduce judicial risk, preserve credibility, and maximize leverage at every stage of a case.

Licenses

• California State Bar License #349132
• Colorado Supreme Court License # 43118
• United States Federal District Courts of Southern California
• United States Federal District Courts of Colorado

Services/Roles

• Trial Attorney, family law and criminal defense
• Appeals, Family law and criminal law
• Cross-over legal issues, family law and immigration law, criminal law, international law, bankruptcy

Certifications and Training

• Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Training
• Effect of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence on Individual, Child, and Family
• Minor’s Counsel Training
• Dependency and Neglect Training

Education

Cleveland State University School. Of Law

     - Juris Doctor, July 2010

California State University, Los Angeles

     - Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, 2004

Awards

• Super Lawyers
• Avvo “Superb” rating                                                                
• Avvo Client’s Choice Award                                                     
• Lead Counsel Rated in Family Law  
• American Family Institute of Family Law Attorneys

Memberships

• Colorado Bar Association
• Colorado Women’s Bar Association
• Denver Bar Association
• Los Angeles Bar Association
• Beverly Hills Bar Association

Other Languages:

• Arabic