Representative Experience

• Argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Sears Roebuck & Co. against the California Franchise Tax Board in a case involving the constitutionality under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution of a personal property tax exemption created by the state of California to attract business to this state. The case ended in a four-four deadlocked vote.
  
• As lead counsel, successfully represented the Conrad Hilton Foundation in a lengthy trial involving a dispute over the interpretation of crucial language in the will of Mr. Hilton. The trial court award was for more than $160 million.  Following appeal, the case was ultimately settled favorably to the foundation.
  
• Argued and won two companion cases in the Nevada Supreme Court enforcing the rights of a California client against a Nevada corporation.
  
• Successfully argued a California Supreme Court case for Leonard Jacoby and Stephen Meyers, the founders of the Legal Clinic of Jacoby & Meyers, resulting in a 7–0 victory that established the First Amendment right of attorneys to discuss with the media the details of their law practice.
  
• Represented J. Paul Getty, Jr. in trust litigation involving the trust that held the controlling interest in Getty Oil Co. (ultimately sold to Texaco). Following settlement of the case and creation of new trusts, represented the trustees of two of the newly created Getty Trusts for many years. Subsequently named as a director of Getty Images, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange company founded by J. Paul Getty's son Mark Getty.
  
• Argued in the California Supreme Court on behalf of the California Trust Officers’ Association as a friend of the court in Moeller v. Superior Court, a case in which important principles governing the attorney-client privilege between an attorney and a fiduciary client were established.
  
• Successfully defended the will of Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, against a contest brought by one of his daughters. Following the defense, succeeded in enforcing the no-contest clause of Mr. Roddenberry’s will to disinherit the contestant in an amount that represents the largest known disinheritance in the history of the state of California.
  
• Litigated a number of matters in the Estate of James Ferber, including the most significant California appellate court statement of when a no-contest clause will be denied enforceability because of public policy considerations (successfully reversing an adverse trial court ruling and leading to significant legislative changes in the California Probate Code).
  

Publications/Speeches

• Author, Ethics and Litigation ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, National Academy of Elderlaw Attorneys (May 1999)
• Author, Preparation, Argument, and Defense of Summary Judgment Motions, Twenty-Fourth Annual USC Probate and Trust Conference (1998)
• Author, Evidentiary Issues that Frequently Recur in Trust and Estate Litigation, Twenty-Fourth Annual USC Probate and Trust Conference (1998)
• Author, Selected Aspects of Trust Litigation, Probate and Mental Health Institute, California Center for Judicial Education and Research (1995)
• Co-author, Assessing Competency to Make a Will, American Journal of Psychiatry (February 1992) [(Reprinted in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate News, Vol. 13 (Fall 1993) (Official Publication of the State Bar of California Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Section))] (Fall 1993)
• Author, Avoiding, Settling, and Litigating Probate and Trust Disputes, Eighteenth USC Probate and Trust Conference (1992)
• Author, Avoiding Trust and Estate Litigation, Thirteenth Annual UCLA-CEB Estate Planning Institute (May 1991)
• Author, Rules of Evidence, Privileges, Discovery Issues, and Trial Procedure in Estate and Trust Litigation, Fourteenth Annual Program, State Bar Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law Section (1990)

Media Mentions

• Century City Bar Association Names Top Five Lawyers of the Year for 2009 The Century City Lawyer

Affiliations

• Fellow, American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel
• Former Member, Executive Committee, Probate and Trust Law Section, California State Bar Association
• Former Member, Executive Committee, Probate and Trust Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Former Chair, Los Angeles County Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Board of Directors, Getty Images, Inc.
• Board of Directors, Kane Educational and Research Foundation
• Trustee, J. David Gladstone Institutes (medical research organization)
• Member, Fulfillment Fund
• Founder, Treasurer and Board Member, Friends of Washington Prep Foundation
• Board Member, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America
• Former Board Member, Constitutional Rights Foundation
• Former Board Member and Former President, Kehillat Israel Synagogue
• Former Board Member, Westmark School

Distinctions

• Named "Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year" by the Century City Bar Association (2009)
• Instructor, Land Finance Law and the Advanced Professional Program of California Probate Procedure, University of Southern California Law Center
• Named "Best Lawyer" in Trusts and Estates Law, The Best Lawyers in America, published by Woodward White, Inc. (1989-2009)
• Named "Southern California Super Lawyer" in Trust & Estate Litigation and Estate Planning & Probate by Law & Politics in Los Angeles magazine (2004-2008)
• “Who’s Who in American Law”