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A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Sternberg & Singer, Ltd. did not pay for, request, or review this article prior to publication, and placement on Awesome Attorneys’ editorial pages cannot be purchased. Nothing in this article is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case.
At a Glance
| Firm | Sternberg & Singer, Ltd. |
| Attorney | Melvin Sternberg |
| Office | 80 E. Columbus Ave., Phoenix, AZ |
| Focus | Complex family law matters — child custody and access, relocation, child support, spousal maintenance, and division of community assets |
| Education | LL.B., University of Arizona (1961); B.S., Arizona State University (1958) |
| Admitted | Arizona (1961) — among the youngest lawyers admitted to the Arizona bar at the time |
Sources: Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, Avvo, Lawyer Legion, Prabook biographical record, firm website. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
Sixty-Five Years at the Same Practice
Melvin Sternberg has practiced family law in Arizona since 1961, when he was admitted to the bar as one of the youngest lawyers in the state at the time. He holds a B.S. from Arizona State University and an LL.B. from the University of Arizona. He has served as a judge pro tempore in Maricopa County Superior Court since 1981 and has chaired continuing legal education committees for both the Maricopa County Bar Association and the State Bar of Arizona’s family law division.
Practice
A General Family Law Docket With Six Decades of Depth
Sternberg’s practice centers on complex family law matters — child custody and access, relocation cases, child support, spousal maintenance, and the division of community assets and liabilities. Martindale-Hubbell and other directories also list personal injury, workers’ compensation, and administrative law among his broader practice history; this profile focuses on his family law work, which multiple sources describe as his primary and longest-running focus.
Track Record
No itemized, independently verifiable case-result compilation was located in the sources reviewed for this profile.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
Reviews on Avvo are mixed. One client wrote that Sternberg and his staff “worked diligently to protect me and my children in a very difficult court battle” and were “very knowledgable about family law.” A separate peer review on Martindale, however, raised a concern about memory lapses during a matter, noting the client “had to repeatedly give him the same documents.” This profile discloses both because an honest record matters more than a flattering one — particularly for an attorney whose active practice now spans 65 years.
Community
Sternberg has served on the board of directors of the Phoenix Jewish Community Center and has been a director of the American Association for Justice since 1979.
Recognition
Sternberg has been named to Super Lawyers’ Phoenix family law list and holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent® peer-review rating as of 2026. No Arizona Board of Legal Specialization certification in family law was located for Sternberg in the sources reviewed, so this profile does not use the word “specialist” to describe him.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona is a community property state, and divorce, custody, and support matters proceed under the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure. Child custody — legal decision-making and parenting time under current Arizona statute — is decided according to the best-interests-of-the-child standard in A.R.S. § 25-403.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Melvin Sternberg’s differentiator is tenure few Arizona attorneys can match: 65 years of continuous family law practice in the same market, including decades as a Maricopa County judge pro tempore. The honest caveat, disclosed directly by a peer reviewer rather than manufactured by this publication: at least one review raises a concern about attentiveness to documentation during a matter, which a prospective client at this stage of any attorney’s career should weigh alongside the decades of experience on the other side of the ledger.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, Avvo, Lawyer Legion, a Prabook biographical record, and the firm’s own website. Sternberg & Singer, Ltd. did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.