18 Lagerlof, LLP Attorneys Recognized As "Top Attorneys" By Pasadena Magazine

18 Lagerlof, LLP lawyers were named “Top Attorneys” by Pasadena Magazine in their 2021 Lawyers issue.

Attorneys recognized were Joshua Driskell, Thomas Bunn III, James Ciampa, William Kruse, Edward Phelps, Ruth Phelps, Jonathan Primuth, Vanessa Terzian, Rebecca Thyne, Andrew Turner, Nicholas Everett,  Brian Friedman, Erika Scheideman, David Yoshida, Lindsay Francis, Sue Hong, Brian Phelps, and Elsa Sham.

Joshua Driskell is Lagerlof’s Managing Partner and was voted as a Top Attorney in business litigation, tax law, and trust and estates. He focuses his practice on business, tax, estate, fiduciary, and related matters. As Managing Partner of the firm, he brings a background representing businesses and individuals and a keen attention to detail to leading the firm.

Thomas Bunn III is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in municipal law. He focuses his practice on business law and business litigation with an emphasis on water and water rights, public agencies, real estate, commercial transactions and bankruptcy. Tom has substantial experience in complex negotiations with multiple issues or multiple parties.

James Ciampa is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted as a Top Attorney in corporate law and municipal law. He has formed numerous corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships, and currently represents many of those business entities. He also represents wholesale and retail water purveyors and various public agencies throughout Southern California.

William Kruse is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP. He was voted as a Top Attorney in real estate law, tax law, and trust and estates. His practice is focused on business organization, taxation, real estate, municipal and water law, estate planning, planned charitable giving, and both commercial and probate litigation. He assist businesses and individuals in implementing long-range planning, as well as with business and real estate acquisitions, financing, risk management, business formation and structuring.

Edward Phelps is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in trust and estates. He serves as a private professional fiduciary for a number of trusts and has been appointed conservator of the person and estate by the Los Angeles Superior Court on several occasions. He also serves as a private and court appointed mediator for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Ruth Phelps is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in elder law. She is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a Certified Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Specialist. Ruth is a past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a national organization.

Jonathan Primuth is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in trust and estates. His estate planning experience includes multinational families and business succession planning. He speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese with high proficiency. He handles complex trust and probate administrations involving estate and gift tax, asset allocation, accounting, creditor, property tax, income tax, and appraisal issues.

Vanessa Terzian is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in trust and estates. In addition to being a Partner, she is an adjunct professor of Wills and Trusts at Southwestern Law School. What sets Vanessa apart is her understanding of the needs of growing families, her ability to relate to working parents who desire a better life for themselves and their families, and her know-how in implementing strategic estate-planning tools in the most cost-efficient and seamless manner.

Rebecca Thyne is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted as a Top Attorney in family law and trust and estates. Her practice focuses on probate, conservatorships, guardianships, and estate planning. This includes drafting trusts, wills, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, deeds and other estate planning documents, as well as advising clients of their duties and fiduciary responsibilities.

Andrew Turner is a Partner at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted as a Top Attorney in municipal law. He focuses his practice on municipal, real estate, water, employment and business law. Andrew has extensive experience representing retail urban water purveyors of all types in Southern California, ranging from providing immediate response to the many issues they encounter daily, to handling public works construction matters.

Nicholas Everett is Senior Counsel at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in trust and estates. He focuses his practice exclusively on trust and estate litigation, contests conservatorships, and estate planning. 

Brian Friedman is Senior Counsel at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in family law. He is a Certified Family Law Specialist and focuses his practice exclusively on family law. He practices a wide array of family law litigation and mediation matters, with an impressive success rate in settlement.

Erika Scheideman is Senior Counsel at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in family law. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist and focuses her practice exclusively on family matters. This has included asset and debt division incident to dissolution or legal separation, child and spousal support, complex custody litigation, including negotiation of three-parent custody arrangements and international move-away litigation, domestic violence proceedings, pre-marital and post-marital agreement, post-judgment modification proceedings and step-parent adoption.

David Yoshida is Senior Counsel at Lagerlof, LLP was voted a Top Attorney in business litigation. David has over a decade of experience in business, trust and estates, real estate, and equine litigation. He has litigated a wide range of regional and national disputes.

Lindsay Francis is an Associate Attorney at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in trust and estates. She focuses her practice on probate administration, estate planning and estate-related litigation. 

Sue Hong is an Associate Attorney at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in trust and estates. She focuses her practice on estate planning, trust administration and probate matters for families and business owners. She handles complex trust and probate administration involving estate and gift tax, asset allocation. accounting. creditor. Property tax, income tax, and appraisal issues.

Brian Phelps is an Associate Attorney at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in elder law. He focuses his practice solely on elder law including conservatorships, medical planning, estate planning, and special needs trust drafting.

Elsa Sham is an Associate Attorney at Lagerlof, LLP and was voted a Top Attorney in business litigation and corporate law. She specializes in representing individuals, businesses, and municipalities on diverse issues including contracts, employment and labor, business litigation, public agency, estate planning, and water rights.

About Pasadena Magazine’s Top Attorney’s List

Pasadena Magazine’s Top Attorney list is an annual guide that is conducted by Professional Research Services based on peer nominations. Votes are cast to honor attorney expertise in a variety of specialized areas of law. Listings on Top Attorney can not be bought, inclusion on the list is based on peer nominations and assuring they are in good standing with the State Bar of California.

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