Attorneys
Deborah S. Bull
Ms. Bull's area of practice includes appellate law and family law. The State Bar of California has certified Ms. Bull as a legal specialist in both appellate law and family law. She is an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated attorney with over 15 years' experience.
Areas of Practice
Family Law Experience
The State Bar of California has certified Ms. Bull as a legal specialist in family law. Ms. Bull has handled family law matters for over 15 years, including custody, support, complex financial issues, business valuation and property division, as well as premarital agreements, jurisdictional issues, guardianships, adoptions, and parentage terminations. She encourages mediation and finding a successful and cost-efficient resolution outside of the courtroom but also vigorously defends matters that must go to a contested hearing or trial. Her appellate expertise provides her clients with a deeper perspective on the law underlying their matters and how a matter would be viewed on appeal.
Appellate Experience
The State Bar of California has certified Ms. Bull as a legal specialist in appellate law. Ms. Bull has handled over fifty appellate matters to decision. Her appeals have covered a wide range of issues, including family law matters, probate, foreclosures, contracts, injunctions, personal injury, restraining orders, attorney's fees, statutory interpretation, and administrative review. Below is a partial list of reported decisions handled by Ms. Bull.
Reported Decisions
- Martindale v. Ochoa (2018) 30 Cal.App.5th 54
- Sonoma Apartment Associates v. The United States (2017) 134 Fed.Cl. 90
- In re Marriage of Honer (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 687
- In re Francis (9th Cir. BAP 2014) 505 B.R. 914
- Piccinini v. California Emergency Management Agency (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 685
- In re Marriage of Davenport (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 1507
- Morrison v. Vineyard Creek (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 125
Seminars
- December 2015 Staying Judgments on Appeal
- August 2016 Preserving the Record for Appeal in Civil Cases
- July 2017 An Appellate View of Postjudgment Motions
- May 2018 Writs, Briefs and Oral Arguments in the Appellate Court (w. Justice Dennis A. Cornell, Ret.)
- November 2022 Family Law Trial Skills Workshop: Preparing for the Possibility of an Appeal
- November 2022 Family Law Trial Skills Workshop: Post Trial Process and Motions (with Marshall Bluestone, Esq.)
Experience
Ms. Bull first joined Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz as a law clerk in October 2001, and then continued as an associate until leaving in February, 2003, to take a clerkship with Justice Charles "Chip" Erdmann at the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. She rejoined Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz in August, 2007. Ms. Bull also teaches evidence at the Empire College School of Law.
Education and Memberships
Ms. Bull received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in linguistics from Stanford University in 1991, and Juris Doctorate magna cum laude from the Empire College School of Law in 2002, from which she graduated as Valedictorian.
Ms. Bull is admitted to practice in California, the Federal District Court, Northern District, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Ms. Bull is a member of the California and Sonoma County Bar Associations and serves on the board of the Richard Sangster chapter of the American Inns of Court. Ms. Bull serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bennett Valley Unified School District and as president of the Board of Directors of Kid Street Charter School.
*AV®, BV®, AV Preeminent® and BV Distinguished® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.
