The Law Offices of Jane Migachyov
Formerly known as The Law Offices of Jane Aceituno
The firm was founded in 2012 by Jane Migachyov (formerly Jane Aceituno) with the goal of providing superior family law services to the Northern California community. Starting in San Francisco, the firm has since added an office in Sacramento as well as several attorneys. The firm serves clients throughout 17 counties in Northern California. We provide our legal services in English, Spanish and Russian.
The Law Offices of Jane Migachyov
Our Vision
The mission of the firm is to preserve human dignity and protect the things that matter most to us - our children, our safety, our property and our future. Family law cases can be incredibly hard to navigate, both legally and emotionally. It can be wrenching to deal with a divorce or dissolution of a domestic partnership. Who gets the house? Will I have to pay support to my spouse forever? There is probably nothing more painful than arguing over who should have custody of a child. There is nothing more frightening than leaving an abusive spouse and seeking a domestic violence restraining order. Family law matters can change every aspect of your life – your finances, your children, your assets, your retirement. Our vision is to help clients traverse the complexity of the courts and the law.
Our Attorneys
Jane Migachyov
Founding Attorney
Jane Migachyov (formerly Jane Aceituno) was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Central Valley.
She went to the East Coast for her education, graduating cum laude from Harvard College. Her undergraduate thesis was nominated for the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize for outstanding scholarly work.
Pursuing a desire to do public interest work, Jane attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, receiving a Masters in Public Policy. Her Master’s thesis received the Manny C. Carballo Memorial Prize for best thesis dealing with social policy issues.
Jane completed her education on the East Coast at Boston University, where she received a Juris Doctor degree.
After graduating from law school, Jane was admitted to the state bar in 2005 and practiced in general civil litigation for five years in the Bay Area before starting her career in family law.
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She values helping families traverse the difficult waters of family law litigation. She is a vigorous advocate for her clients and fights for the things that most in her client’s lives, like their children. Jane has experience with every stage of a case from the initial intake to trial. She works in every aspect of family law except for adoptions. She is one of the few attorneys in the area who litigates Marvin actions.
Jane is passionate about advocacy in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, serving four years as a committee member of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Committee, San Francisco Human Rights Commission, serving on the Board of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and Freedom from Tobacco, an LGBT anti-smoking group. She is a member of the LGBTQI Chamber of Commerce – the Golden Gate Business Association. She serves on the Board of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF), the nation’s oldest and largest association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQI) persons in the field of law. She also served on the Board of the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus, Harvard’s LGBTQI alumni organization from 2018-2020.
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Additionally, Jane values helping people have access to the legal system. She worked as a mentor at the Bayview/Hunters Point Community Legal Clinic, providing guidance in family law cases. She has done pro bono family law work through the Justice & Diversity Center of The Bar Association of San Francisco. Finally, she has volunteered for Legal Aid at Work.
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Professional Associations
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The State Bar of California
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Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, Board Member 2018-2022, 2023+
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Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus, Board Member 2018-2020
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Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco, Board Member 2018-
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La Raza Lawyer’s Association
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Golden Gate Business Association
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Cruz Reynoso Bar Association
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SacLEGAL
Jane counsels clients in all types of family law matters.
Larisa Migachyov
Senior Attorney
Larisa Migachyov has a Master's Degree from Stanford and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett in their litigation department before starting a private practice, which she ran for 6 years. She joined the firm in 2018.
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Prior to working in family law, Larisa worked in patent litigation and patent prosecution.
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While in law school, Larisa was on the Journal of Constitutional Law and spent a semester working in the law school’s Child Advocacy Clinic.
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Professional Associations
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The State Bar of California
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The Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco
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Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
Larisa counsels clients in all types of family law matters. She is fluent in Russian and is happy to work with Russian-speaking clients.
James C. Ward
Of Counsel
James C. Ward is of counsel to the firm and prized by clients for his experience in family law. In the past decade he has handled a wide variety of divorces, including: cases dealing with high conflict custody disputes, property division, spousal and child support, and a number of other matters related to family law disputes. James is a staunch advocate for his clients.
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Prior to focusing on family law James worked in a variety of legal fields, including: large scale consumer class actions, land management, and property law. In his independent practice he also works in Probate law.
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James graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies. He attended University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. While a law student James earned a number of academic awards including the Witkin Award for Contract Law and was named a member of the Traynor’s Honor Society. He worked as a research assistant to internationally renowned contracts scholar Claude D. Rohwer and assisted in updating the 6th edition of his book Contracts in a Nutshell. James wrote for the California Initiative Review Law Journal, before becoming one of its editors in 2006. James graduated from McGeorge with distinction in 2006.
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Professional Associations
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The State Bar of California
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The Bar Association of San Francisco
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LRIS Family Law Referral Panel
James counsels clients in all types of family law matters.
Support Staff
Margaret Ervin
Legal Assistant
Margaret Ervin holds a Bachelor’s in History from UC Santa Cruz and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Cal State East Bay. Much of her work has been in the human rights field, including in Colombia and Mexico, where she directed International Programs with the aim of changing U.S. foreign policies in the region. Through leading large delegations - which involved scheduling, logistics, interpretation, and facilitation- she discovered the satisfaction that comes from making things run smoothly.
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In the legal realm, Margaret has worked for three years as assistant to Larisa Migachyov in her private practice of patent litigation and prosecution. From 2001 to 2005, she was at the Family Violence Law Center in Oakland in the positions of Medical Sites Coordinator and Bilingual Legal Assistant, which included assisting in restraining orders, divorces, and child custody cases.
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I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights.
(United States Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor)
