Sound Advice in Probate and Estate Litigation in the Bay Area and Contra Costa County
Credentials
Professional Experience
1996 – Present
Sole practitioner, Walnut Creek, California; mediation; real property, business litigation, estate and trust litigation; and general civil practice including forming and dissolving partnerships; elder law and conservatorship issues
2000 – 2017
Mediator and Program Director, The Congress of Neutrals a California non-profit; providing mediation services and training in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Congress is a contract provider for the Contra Costa County Superior Court, emphasizing ADR and community outreach services for unrepresented litigants
1991-1995
Partner, Owens & Cain. Primary responsibility for all phases of civil litigation including personal injury, probate and trusts, business, real property
1980 – 1991
Sole practitioner, San Francisco, California
Bar Admissions and Teaching Positions
1979
State Bar of California, License number 085443
1981
United States District Court, California
1991- present
Adjunct Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Law, mediation skills training clinic, civil procedure, comparative law, legal writing and research, security interests in land, others subjects
1989 – 2001
Adjunct Professor, Golden Gate University School of Law, Private International Law, legal writing and research
2000 – present
Mediation skills trainer, contract provider for Contra Costa County Superior Court under the Dispute Resolution Practices Act of 1987
1999 – 2005
Visiting Scholar, Okayama University School of Law, Okayama, Japan, Researching comparative issues in mediation and conflict resolution
2005 – 2006
Mediation trainer, Kaiser Permanente, “Conflict Management: Effective Use of Communication & Mediation Skills,” Oakland, California