The Nixon Law Firm is focused exclusively on the division of retirement benefits in divorce. Since 1994, the firm’s principal attorney, Louise Nixon has specialized in determining the community or marital interest in pension benefits earned through employment and in consulting and/or drafting appropriate orders for the division and disposition of those interests.

The Nixon Law Firm handles all types of division orders (collectively referred to as “QDROs”), from qualified domestic relations orders for private plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), domestic relations orders for public or governmental plans, to IRC §408 Orders to divide Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”). The Nixon Law Firm may be retained to represent one party or as a joint and neutral expert for both parties.

Ms. Nixon spent many years practicing with Laquer, Urban, Clifford & Hodge LLP, a firm known for representing several union multi-employer trust funds, such as the Operating Engineers Pension Trust. While at the firm, Ms. Nixon managed all aspects of the review and approval process of QDROs, handled federal court litigation and negotiated cases in the employee benefits field involving complex pension issues. As a plan attorney, she drafted plan "form orders" and "procedures," and mediated between parties to resolve pension disputes.

Ms. Nixon keeps abreast of changes to ERISA, case law, other governmental codes or regulations affecting retirement plans. Her years of experience as an ERISA attorney enables her to prepare QDROs for all types of plans for parties in a divorce, to comprehensively review QDROs already prepared for compliance and fairness, and to reach solutions to complex pension issues. When retained by one or both parties in a divorce, Ms. Nixon incorporates her skills and experiences as a plan attorney in drafting the QDROs and maneuvering through the plan approval process.

Ms. Nixon received her BA from the University of California, Davis in 1984 and her JD from Whittier Law School in 1993. Before she began her legal career, Ms. Nixon worked as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C. and as public relations director for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

Ms. Nixon frequently speaks on pension related issues to family law attorneys, including seminars sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce, the Pasadena Bar Association, the Santa Barbara Bar Association, and Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law.

• Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law, Board Member
• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Pasadena Bar Association
• Coalition for Collaborative Divorce
• Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association
• International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
• QDRONES, a national study group

• “Hot Topic Retirement Benefit Issues for the Family Law Attorney,” sponsored by Los Angeles County Bar Association
• “Avoiding Disaster and Dealing with ERISA,” sponsored by the American Bar Association
• “Top Ten Things to Know about QDROs,” sponsored by Coalition for Collaborative Divorce
• “What Every Family Law Attorney Should Know When Dividing Retirement Benefits In Divorce,” sponsored by Pasadena Bar Association
• “Retirement Benefits in Family Law Cases:  Practice Tips on How to Protect Your Client’s Rights and Avoid Pitfall,” sponsored by Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law

• State Bar of California
• State Bar of Texas

• Multiple Recipient of California’s Top Attorneys for Pension Benefits (as published in Pasadena Magazine)