Nicole Whyte
Nicole Whyte has been identified by the well-recognized Daily Journal as one of California’s top 100 women attorneys. She has also been selected as one of America’s Top 100 attorneys (a lifetime achievement).
Ms. Whyte is a Founding Principal and CEO of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP, a 210 attorney full service law firm in the Western US. Admitted to the South African Supreme Court in 1990, the California State Bar in 1991, the Nevada State Bar in 2000, the Washington D.C. State Bar in 2011, and the Washington State Bar in 2012, Ms. Whyte has extensive experience in all aspects of litigation and trial. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist and focuses her practice in the areas of family law and complex civil litigation. Ms. Whyte has successfully litigated and/or tried hundreds of complex, multi-million dollar lawsuits. She has been awarded the highest accolade in Martindale-Hubbell: an AV rating. This was a result of an extensive, confidential review conducted among the legal profession in her community. The AV rating signifies Ms. Whyte’s legal abilities are of the very highest standard and her professional ethics are unquestioned. Ms. Whyte has been consistently named in the lists of Best Lawyer, and California “Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles Magazine, and she has been consistently ranked in Super Lawyer’s lists of top attorneys in Southern California and Orange County.
Even more pertinent than her awards and ratings, Ms. Whyte strives to keep her clients’ interests at heart, and reach timely resolutions of challenging situations. Within the family law field, she handles a multitude of issues such as divorce, custody and visitation, modifications, child support, parentage/paternity, property division, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and spousal support. Ms. Whyte provides individualized counseling and representation in all areas of family law and listens carefully to her client’s problems to provide representation that is strategic and effective.
Ms. Whyte has written extensively in her fields of expertise. She is also a regular speaker at legal conferences across the United States. Ms. Whyte has authored chapters in two published Family Law books, “Strategies for Family Law in California” 2010 edition published by Aspatore, “Streamlining Strategies and Costs in today’s Family Law Cases”, and “Strategies for Family Law in California” 2012 edition published by Aspatore, “Staying up to date with New Developments and Strategies in California Family Law Litigation”.
Ms. Whyte is a member of the Family, Construction and Insurance sections of the Orange County Bar Association, the Clark County Bar Association (Nevada) and the American Bar Association. She is a member of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists. She is a past member of the Civil Procedure and Evidence panels of the Orange County Bar Association’s Resolutions Committee. She has graduated twice from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) program in trial advocacy and is a Master Bencher and past officer of the Robert A. Banyard Inn of Court. Ms. Whyte also serves as a mediator, and serves as settlement officer for the Orange County Superior Court.
Ms. Whyte is a member of the Sonenshine Pro Bono Opportunities Committee, an Orange County organization comprised of attorneys and Judges that provides Pro Bono legal opportunities to newer members of the Orange County bar, by matching attorneys with potential Pro Bono clients. She is also Past President of the Public Law Center (PLC), one of the biggest non-profit law firms in Orange County.
A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Ms. Whyte received her Bachelor of Arts and her LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. After graduating from law school, she served as state prosecutor at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court in the criminal division. During this time Ms. Whyte had the opportunity to try a variety of criminal cases. Following her tenure as state prosecutor, she gained general civil and commercial litigation experience at Brian Kahn Inc. Attorneys, a boutique litigation law firm in Johannesburg. Ms. Whyte immigrated to the United States in 1991.
Ms. Whyte and her husband, Steven Nataupsky, managing partner of the Intellectual Property law firm Knobbe Martens, have 4 adult children and live in Newport Beach, California. When not practicing law, Ms. Whyte enjoys spending time with her family, exercise, piano, travel, and reading. She is also an avid student of the martial arts. She has her black belt in Kenpo Karate and has earned awards in kata and sparring.
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B.A.
University of the Witwatersrand -
LLB
University of the Witwatersrand
Education
Awards & Accolades
Best Lawyers 2021-Present
100 Top Southern California Super Lawyers
100 Top Women Attorneys in California in 2015 – Selected by the Daily Journal
50 Top Orange County Lawyers
50 Top Southern California Women Super Lawyers
ALM selected as Women Leaders in Law
American Institute of Family Law selected as a top 10 attorney for client satisfaction
Angelo Palmieri Award for Excellence in Professionalism and Civility 2011-2012 (Robert Banyard Inn of Court)
Member of The National Association of Distinguished Counsel 2015
Top Lawyer 2017 – Global Directory of Who’s Who
ADL, Marcus M. Kaufman Jurisprudence Award (2024) for contributions to the legal profession.
Professional Memberships & Associations
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fellow
American Bar Association
Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
Clark County Bar Association
Founding Fellow of Orange County Bar Foundation
Master Bencher, Robert Banyard Inn of Court
Orange County Bar Association – Board of Directors
University of California, Irvine’s Chief Executive Roundtable
Public Law Center – Past President and current board member
Contact Information
Phone:
949-221-1002
Email Address:
nwhyte@bremerwhyte.com
Website:
https://www.bremerwhytefamily.com
Firm
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Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara, LLP
Newport Beach, CA