Attorney Overview Information
• Estate planning since 1993
• Probate administration since 1995
• Arbitrator and mediator
• Settlement attorney
• Judge pro-tem
• Private practice since 1986
• Juris Doctorate degree cum laude from SF Golden Gate University School of Law
• Undergraduate degree in History from University of Maine
• Externed for Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas of the California Supreme Court
• Research attorney for the Santa Clara County Superior Court
• Attorney for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLC
• Provides ex parte review of probate pleadings for Santa Clara County Superior Courts; independently reviews documents in probate cases and makes recommendations for the judges
Areas Of Practice
- Probate Administration
- Will Contests and Probate Litigation
- Certificates of Independent Review and Related Litigation
- Removal Litigation for Executors and Trustees
- Trust Administration
- Trust Litigation
- Estate Planning
- International Estate Matters
- Financial Elder Abuse Claims
- Real Estate Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
Bar Admissions
- California, 1985
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1985
Education
- Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California
- Juris Doctorate - 1985
- Honors: cum laude
- University of Maine, Orono, Maine
- B.A. - 1979
- Major: History
Representative Cases
- Conservatorship of McDowell, 125 Cal.App.4th 659, 2004
- Conservatorship of McDowell, 23 Cal.Rptr.3rd 10, 2004
- Estate of Williams, 66 Cal.Rptr.3d 34, 2007
- Estate of Williams, 155 Cal.App.4th 197, 2007
Classes / Seminars
- Santa Clara Extension, University of California at Santa Cruz
- Seminar for Estate Planning Attorneys, University of Phoenix
- Seminar in Fundamentals of Estate Planning, University of Phoenix
- Seminars for Business and Financial Associations, Morgan Stanley
Professional Associations And Memberships
- Silicon Valley Bar Association, Exec. Committee of Estate Planning & Probate
- Santa Clara County, Estate Planning Council
- Santa Clara County Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Division
- Santa Clara County Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Referral Panel
- Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Pro-Tern
- Santa Clara County Bar Association, Fee Disputes Arbitrator
- Santa Clara County Bar Association, General Arbitrator
- Santa Clara County Bar Association, Civil Practice & Fee Arbitration Committees
Past Employment Positions
- Chief Justice Malcom Lucas of the California Supreme Court, Externed
- Santa Clara County Superior Court, Research Attorney
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLC, Attorney
Pro Bono Activities
- Appealed Freedom of Association Issue to the United States Supreme Court
- Special Olympics
Languages
- English
- German