Michael H. Gazin was born in Los Angeles, California in 1949, and has been a resident of Orange County since 1974. He and his wife, Fran, have lived in Irvine since 1976 where they raised their two daughters, Annie and Molly, both of whom are graduates of the University of Colorado.
Mr. Gazin graduated from San Jose State University with honors in 1971, earning a BA degree in Political Science. He attended the University Of Santa Clara School Of Law where he earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1974. Mr. Gazin was admitted to the California State Bar in 1974, when he commenced his practice in Orange County. In Mr. Gazin’s early years of practice, he handled a broad spectrum of cases ranging from criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, and family law. Commencing in the mid 1980s, Mr. Gazin began focusing his practice primarily in the area of family law, and now limits his practice to family law.
Mr. Gazin’s approach to the practice of family law comes from his perspective that, to the extent possible, an amicable, equitable, and expeditious resolution of the issues best serves the parties’ interest in their time of personal and inter-family crisis. To achieve that goal, Mr. Gazin’s first focus is to evaluate the case to determine if such a method is both an appropriate and viable option.
Mr. Gazin has been an active member of the Orange County Bar Association since 1976, serving as a member on its Board of Directors from 1980 through 1985. Mr. Gazin was elected President of the Orange County Bar Association in 1989 after first being elected Secretary in 1986, Treasurer in 1987, and President-Elect in 1988. Mr. Gazin also served a three-year term as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Orange County Bar Foundation. He is a former Treasurer of the Orange County Bar Family Law Section.
Mr. Gazin chaired the Client Relations Committee of the Orange County Bar Association from 1983 to 1985 after serving as a Committee member from 1977 to 1983; he has served as a delegate to the State Bar Conference of Delegates every year from 1980 through 2003. Mr. Gazin served as a member of the Orange County Bar Association Judiciary Committee in 2003, and he has served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Orange County Superior Court.
Mr. Gazin has an AV Rating with Martindale Hubbell. Since 2010, Mr. Gazin has been named every year and is currently recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as one of Orange County’s Super Lawyers; every year since 2006, he has been and is currently listed in the U.S. News and World Report Best Lawyers guide.
