About Robert M.
Robert M. Garland is an attorney practicing in California who has built a career around family law and dispute resolution. He earned his J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1992 and has combined courtroom work with roles meant to encourage negotiated outcomes.
Early in his career Garland moved into matters that required both legal analysis and practical dispute-settlement skills. Over time he took on roles that expanded his work beyond litigation. He has served as a Settlement Judge Pro Tem, handling settlement conferences and helping parties find common ground before trial.
Garland holds a Legal Specialist designation in Family Law from the State Bar of California. That certification signals a concentrated practice and additional training in divorce, child custody, support matters, and the range of family law proceedings common to California courts. He brings that background into both contested cases and settlement processes.
Since 2015 he has been active in the San Diego County Bar Association, where he serves as Vice Chair of the Arbitration Panel. That position involves overseeing arbitration panels, managing case assignments for arbitration, and contributing to the procedures that keep alternative dispute resolution moving. His work on the panel ties directly to his courtroom and settlement-judge experience, and to the steady use of arbitration in family and civil matters across the county.
Garland practices with Holstrom, Block & Parke APLC. At the firm he handles a mixture of family law cases and matters that benefit from private dispute-resolution tools. Colleagues and opposing counsel see him as someone comfortable in a courtroom and an arbitration hearing, and as an attorney who works toward resolution through negotiated terms when appropriate.
He has balanced traditional trial work with roles designed to ease pressure on courts. As a Settlement Judge Pro Tem he has chaired settlement conferences, encouraged realistic assessment of risk, and worked to produce settlements that reduce the need for lengthy trials. His career shows an emphasis on practical results anchored in family law expertise.
Garland continues to accept cases in California and remains engaged in local bar activities connected to arbitration and settlement. He currently focuses his practice on family law matters and related dispute-resolution services.
