A Tradition of Legal Solutions for Over 90 Years
Founded in 1914 here in Palo Alto, LAKIN SPEARS, LLP is a law firm built on a long tradition of prompt, efficient and value-added legal service to our clients. We provide a wide range of transactional, mediation and litigation legal services throughout the state of California. Our talented and dedicated team of attorneys has the experience and the expertise to handle complex legal matters in Business & Real Estate, Family Law, Trusts & Estates, and Taxation. We appreciate your visit to LakinSpears.com, and invite you to explore and learn how we may best serve you.
Business & Real Estate Group
From the formation of a new business to each step of the way thereafter, the members of our Business & Real Estate Group bring their experience and expertise to counsel our clients’ business law needs. Our attorneys can negotiate and prepare a variety of agreements documenting business transactions in our offering of business legal services, including:
* Business Formation & Conversion (corporations, general partnerships, limited partnerships, LLPs, LLCs, and non-profit organizations)
* Joint Ventures
* Private Offerings
* Business Combinations, Acquisitions & Sales
* General Corporate & Business Counseling
The Business & Real Estate Group represents our clients throughout California on all aspects of modern real estate transactions involving residential, retail, commercial, R&D, and industrial properties. Members of the group have extensive experience working with developers, planners, contractors, lenders, brokers, investors, landlords and tenants on complex real estate transactional matters, and have appeared before government agencies in order to obtain approval of development projects and the issuance of necessary permits. The areas of particular real estate expertise of the Business & Real Estate Group include:
* Real Estate Development
* Real Estate Financing
* Land Use & Permitting
* Purchase & Sales Transactions
* Construction, Contractor & Architectural Agreements
* Commercial & Residential Leasing
The Business & Real Estate Group frequently collaborates with our Tax, Family Law and Trusts & Estates Groups to add value and create solutions for our clients. The members of the Business & Real Estate Group include partner J. Anthony Villanueva, associate Michael MacDonald, tax counsel Donald H. Read* and Frank A. Small who are Of Counsel to the firm.
Family Law Group
The Family Law Group at LAKIN•SPEARS is one of the largest family law practices in the Bay Area and has handled many complex marital dissolutions. Areas of legal expertise include advice regarding the treatment of real estate development, stock options and executive compensation, venture capital funds, and other business interests in divorce.
The Family Law Group also has extensive expertise in child custody matters, and works closely with mental health professionals. Our attorneys are experienced in mediating as well as litigating such complex legal issues.
The Family Law Group works as a team and consults with experienced attorneys in the Tax, Business & Real Estate, Trusts & Estates Groups of the firm to resolve issues for family law clients that involve business, real estate, tax, and trust and estate matters.
The members of the Family Law Group include partners Jessica F. Arner*, Jennifer F. Wald*, Geniveve J. Ruskus*, Tanya E. Prioste*, Rita A. Patterson*, and associate Lydia E. Crandall and tax counsel Donald H. Read*, who is Of Counsel to the firm.
Partner Geniveve J. Ruskus* offers several alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, such as mediation, arbitration, and “neutral evaluation” of disputes for other litigants and attorneys. She has extensive experience in this emerging area of the law.
*Certified Specialist, Family Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
The Trusts & Estates Group provides the full range of legal services in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, incapacity planning, guardianships, and conservatorships, estate, trust and conservatorship litigation and estate and gift taxes.
The Trusts & Estates Group has significant expertise in the preparation of estate planning documents, such as wills and revocable, living trusts, and all of the various types of trusts used for wealth transfer and charitable giving. In addition, our attorneys have particular knowledge and expertise in the area of "special needs" trusts for developmentally and mentally disabled persons.
The Trusts & Estates Group also provides advice in all areas of the administration of estates, trusts, guardianships and conservatorships and the preparation of estate and gift tax returns.
Finally, the Trusts & Estates Group represents our clients in litigating probate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship matters. Our trusts and estates litigation practice focuses on the representation of fiduciaries and beneficiaries in following areas:
- Will and Trust Contests
- Interpretation of Estate Planning Documents
- Determinations of Heirship and Asset Ownership Disputes
- Accounting Controversies
- Fiduciary Appointment and Removal
- Creditor’s Claims
- Constructive Trusts
- Disputes concerning the Characterization of Property
- Elder Abuse
The members of the Trusts & Estates Group include partners Ronald A. VandenBerg*, Joan A. LeBlanc*, Rebeccah B. Miller*, David W. Hettig, Jean M. Kohler*, Victoria Kaempf, and associate Ella J. Duncanson.*
*Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
LAKIN•SPEARS provides tax advice regarding federal and state income tax planning for individuals, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, trusts and estates, including both domestic and foreign source income. We have developed particular expertise in specific sub-specialties of tax law because of our firm’s focus on family law, estate planning, estate and trust administration, business and real estate matters. We handle California sales and use tax, property tax, transfer tax and employment tax matters. We represent clients before the I.R.S., the U.S. Tax Court, the California Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board and other state and local tax agencies.
Donald H. Read*, who is tax counsel to the firm, is primarily responsible for providing services in this area, along with other members of the firm.
*Certified Specialist, Tax Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
