Alexander Chau Payne

Born and raised as the only Chinese-American on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin where his family still calls home, Alex had brief stints throughout the Caribbean and South America where he attended schools taught only in French, Spanish, and Papiamento. Alex eventually migrated to the United States and earned his undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and his Juris Doctorate in Virginia from George Mason University School of Law, a Tier I law school, which he attended because of its focus on economics in law and libertarian philosophy.

Following law school, Alex practiced criminal law in Virginia, which included criminal appellate matters. (See Little v. Commonwealth (2012) 777 S.E.2d 317 (Va. Ct. App. 2012).) Alex ultimately moved back to California and spent five years practicing business litigation, primarily focusing on employment, construction defect, and contract. Alex’s diverse caseload ran the gamut from simple actions involving a single agreement or unrepresented opposing party to major actions involving publicly traded companies, international disputes from Mexico to China, and matters deemed “complex.” (See e.g., Ping Pan v. Skyline Technology HK Co., Ltd., CIVRS1201048, 2018 WL 4275239 (Fourth Dist. Ct. September 6, 2018) (involving Chinese international shipping dispute); Marriage of Hsu, G053490, 2017 WL 2334020 (Fourth Dist. Ct. May 30, 2017) (involving transmutation)). Alex litigated these actions in federal and state courts, before administrators and commissions, and through alternative dispute resolution services.

Alex transitioned from general civil litigation to focus exclusively on family law at Minyard Morris to assist real people get through one of the most trying times of their lives - divorce. Alex has since graduated from the Family Law Trial Advocacy Program in Houston, Texas. Alex has extensively litigated complex attorneys’ fees and cost matters in Orange County divorce courts, and argued before the California Court of Appeal in family law matters.

Outside of the office, Alex is a passionate, but perpetually disappointed, Minnesota sports fan and stays physically active with local basketball and beach football leagues. Alex extensively travels internationally and has a personal quest to dine at as many Michelin 3-starred establishments as possible. Alex is also an active member in the local community.