Derek P. Riley

Senior Trial Attorney
Derek P. Riley is a Senior Trial Attorney based in the Irvine Office. He was raised in Anaheim, taking opportunities in his life to live in different cities and states until returning to Orange County. He is a graduate of Chapman University where he earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration in a dual-degree program. He is a military veteran and dedicated single father of two.

Mr. Riley has been an attorney for 20 years, spending the last 11 years focused exclusively on family law matters. He has vast experience with high conflict cases, especially in child custody where communication between parents breaks down. He is highly experienced navigating complex custody cases involving Move-Aways; various phycologists and/or and minor counsel; children with learning disabilities or medical issues; allegations of physical or sexual abuse; reunification; and [the dreaded narcissist OR other unique situations].

Mr. Riley takes a very practical and economic approach to money matters like support and division of assets and debts. He is experienced litigating these issues when necessary, though, more often finding practical solutions for settlement. Sometimes, the situation calls for investigative discovery; analysis into the classification of specific assets or debts disputed as separate or community; the valuation of a business asset or investigation of its true income for support; and a closer look into other issues that cloud the financial picture. Usually, though, it’s a pretty straight forward accounting. Unlike happiness and peace of mind, money is measurable. So, let’s measure it and move on.

Mr. Riley is also well experienced conducting Domestic Violence trials. Often these cases are motivated by custody or other misplaced purposes, but each time must be taken very seriously. The consequences of a Domestic Violence finding can have drastic impacts on custody, support, your job, and even your freedom. Also, such a proceeding may simply be necessary to protect you.

Prior to joining Reel Fathers Rights, Mr. Riley ran his own Orange County based law firm. It’s taken a tremendously impressive firm like Reel Fathers Rights to convince him to leave the confines of his cozy home office and become part of a larger team that shares his passion and dedication to the practice of family law, guiding unique individuals through one of the more challenging times in life.

Bar Admissions

• California State Bar

Education

• San Diego State University-California State University, BA Economics
• Chapman University, The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, MBA
• Chapman University, School of Law, JD