We are thrilled to share Vanity Fair’s feature on our firm’s founder, Darshann M. Wienick. The article is reproduced below, you can read it on Vanity Fair’s digital platform here.
Darshann Marie Wienick, Esq., Celebrated for Child Custody Litigation Services
Building on nearly 25 years as an attorney, Darshann Marie Wienick, Esq., specializes in high-conflict family law scenarios.
In 2016, following more than 15 years of work in the legal field, Darshann Marie Wienick, Esq., launched her own practice, the Law Office of Darshann M. Wienick, where she has served as an attorney since. That year marked a significant turning point in her professional life in other ways as well, as she also embraced social work.
As part of her transition from commercial litigation to family law, Ms. Wienick attended the High Conflict Institute, where she received extensive training from that organization’s co-founder, Bill Eddy, Esq., LCSW. Under his guidance, she learned how to handle high-conflict legal situations, especially those involving co-parenting and family law. Empowered by her time at the High Conflict Institute, Ms. Wienick opened Coaching with Darshann LLC in 2023. Through this organization, she offers co-parenting coaching to parents engaged in high-conflict child custody disputes, with the ultimate goal of helping parents learn to manage emotions and ensure that they are always acting in the best interest of the children.
Ms. Wienick’s unique career trajectory stems in part from her own difficult childhood and also from witnessing a loved one endure an extremely high-conflict custody battle. These experiences made her passionate about seeking justice in such cases, especially for the children involved. Driven by that passion, Ms. Wienick completed her first solo trial in July 2024, a significant career milestone. In that case, she represented the mother of a 6-year-old boy whose father was seeking to move the child to another county. Ms. Wienick worked tirelessly on this move-away case, collaborating with an expert witness to successfully advocate for a positive outcome for her client — one that she firmly believes will ensure stability in the young boy’s life.
Beyond her career, Ms. Wienick is a devoted wife and mother to three children. When not working, she enjoys traveling, studying French and taking part in lure coursing events with her Salukis. Looking to the future, Ms. Wienick plans to sit for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker exam in California within the next 12 months. She also intends to use her social work training and expertise to become a guardian ad litem. Her long-term goal is to establish a diversion court in California that focuses on high-conflict child custody cases. Ms. Wienick remains steadfast in her dedication to helping families achieve the best possible outcome for children in complicated legal proceedings.
Military History
In 1989, Ms. Wienick joined the United States Army after graduating from Sturgis Brown High School in Sturgis, South Dakota. While in the Army, she was a linguist and held a top-secret security clearance. She was placed in an intensive one-year program at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, after which time she was stationed at the National Security Agency. Ms. Wienick was honorably discharged from the Army at the rank of sergeant in 1993.
Academic History
In 1997, Ms. Wienick graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with two Bachelor of Arts degrees, magna cum laude — one in political science and the other in international studies with a focus on Korea. In 2000, she obtained a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of California College of the Law at San Francisco. Ms. Wienick returned to the academic world part-time in 2016 and graduated with a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California in 2022.
Career Journey
Ms. Wienick’s professional life began in 2000 when she joined Bingham McCutchen as a litigation attorney. She held the same role at Alston & Bird LLP and worked on cases for such high-profile clients as DirecTV, Westfield and ExxonMobil. While transitioning to broader social work, Ms. Wienick completed an internship at College Hospital Costa Mesa and USC Telehealth. Subsequently, she accepted therapist positions at Aliso Ridge Behavioral Health, Ilana Bar-Din Giannini LCSW, Orange County Therapy and, as of April 2024, Fiamengo & Associates, where she continues practicing as a therapist. Ms. Wienick is currently registered with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as an Associated Clinical Social Worker, and she expects to complete the requirements to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker by the end of 2025.
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