Diane Wasznicky
Ms. Wasznicky received her undergraduate degree in psychology, sociology and law from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1977. A native of Massachusetts, she moved to California in 1977 to attend law school at the University of California, Davis, receiving her Juris Doctor in 1980. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1981 and since has practiced in Sacramento.
Certified by the State Bar of California as a Family Law Specialist, Ms. Wasznicky, in 1989, co-founded the firm of Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP which specializes in Family Law, including dissolution, support and custody/visitation. Ms. Wasznicky is active in a number of community and professional organizations, including service on the Board of the Sacramento Women’s Network and Women Lawyers of Sacramento, (having held the offices of President, Vice President, and Treasurer) and served on the California Women Lawyers Board of Directors for three years. She is a co-founder and former President of Sacramento Area Feminist Legal Services.
Ms. Wasznicky served as a chairperson on the Voluntary Legal Services Program of the Sacramento County Bar Association from 1985-1989, and as chairperson of its Family Law Section in 1989. She served as President of the County Bar Association in 1992 and served as Chair of the Judiciary Committee of the County Bar Association from 1993 to 2015. She has also served on the Family Law Section’s Custody Subcommittee since its inception in 1994 and until it’s end in 2019.
Ms. Wasznicky was appointed to the State Bar of California’s Family Law Section Executive Committee for a three-year term in September of 2000 and has served as an Advisor since September 2004. She was appointed to the California Judicial Council’s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee for a three-year term commencing September 2001 and served as a liaison to this Advisory Committee, for FlexCom, from 2004 to 2008.
From 1982 to 2019, Ms. Wasznicky participated in the State Bar of California’s Conference of Delegates, serving as a delegate from both Women Lawyers of Sacramento and the Sacramento County Bar Association; serving as chair of the Delegation to the Conference from 1994-1997. Ms. Wasznicky was elected to the Executive Committee of the Conference of Delegates in 1996 for a three-year term. She was elected Chairperson of the 1999-2000 Conference of Delegates Executive Committee in July of 1999.
Ms. Wasznicky has served on the Board of the California Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) since 2006. She has chaired/co-chaired the annual Northern California conference four times, most recently in 2016. She was President from 2010-2012 and currently serves as Treasurer and Legislative Committee Chair. She served as a Board member of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS), from 2008, and served as President from 2010-2012. She served on the ACFLS Board as a coordinating director from 2013 through 2022. She has served as Chair/Co-chair of the ACFLS Annual Spring Seminar approximately 6 times, the most recent being 2016. She was named to Super Lawyers of Northern California 2004-2023.
Ms. Wasznicky has organized and participated in a number of community-oriented Family Law panels sponsored by Feminist Legal Services, Women Lawyers of Sacramento, and the Sacramento County Bar Association. She taught courses on child support and custody problems, and has lectured on Family Law in California Continuing Education of the Bar programs. She is currently Chair of the Custody Planning Committee that plans the Annual Sacramento Custody Seminar (now in it’s 10th year). She also Chairs the Mediator’s Outreach Group in Sacramento to recruit and train mental health professionals for Family Law Court work.
Ms. Wasznicky has been a member of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 1987 and co-founder and facilitator of the Sacramento Custody Discussion Group for 25 years.