Brandon Rose

Brandon C. Rose, who began his legal career focusing on business litigation, said the transition to family law has provided a unique variety.

"Family provides the opportunity to specialize in an area of law, but it is diverse enough, touching on family, employment, accounting, business, and even criminal issues, that I never felt like my focus was too narrow," he said. "... There is no better feeling than getting a client through a difficult divorce and seeing how much happier they are having made it through their ordeal."

Since making the transition to a new legal field, Rose has also become a Certified Family Law Specialist.

One of his significant recent victories involved representing the former wife of a successful financial analyst who, in 2011, was convicted of insider trading and served a prison sentence.

One of the main issues in the divorce of Quin and Doug Whitman was that the husband claimed that his ex-spouse shouldn't have access to $18 million he made from a pre-marital investment in the 1990s.

"Quin challenged Doug's claim that the initial $900,000 actually came from his premarital earnings and that, even if it did, he was unable to prove that the deposit remained in the fund and grew to the alleged $18 million," Rose said. "The trial court sided with Quin and characterized the Whitman's entire position in the fund ($30+ million total) as community property, entitling Quin to half."

Rose later acted as Quin's lead appellate counsel for In re Marriage of Whitman (2023) 98 Cal.App.5th 456.

The trial was held over three months.

Rose said there are always challenges when representing the "out spouse" in divorces involving a community property business or accounts under one party's name or control. The "in spouse" has an inherent advantage due to having firsthand knowledge of the business, investment, or account at issue.

In the Whitman case, the accounting issues related primarily to accounts that were under Doug's name, Rose said.

"On cross examination, Doug's forensic accountant admitted that his elaborate report attempting to trace Doug's initial investment in the hedge fund to premarital earnings had 'traced' it to the wrong account," he said.

Rose continued: "The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's decision on all of the issues that Doug was challenging, a victory worth around $15 million for Quin. The Court of Appeal agreed with Quin and ruled that Doug should bear the $935,000 penalty solely as his separate obligation."

He referred to the case as meaningful.

"While settlement, so long as it is fair, is always the preferred outcome, the opportunity to go to trial is precious," Rose said. "Spending several months in trial on a single case with an exceptional trial team was an experience I will always cherish."