Lauriann Wright

Partner

Lauriann Wright is an experienced probate litigator and estate planner located in Glendale California. For over 20 years, she has been practicing all phases of probate law and litigation, including conservatorships, guardianships, trusts, and probate estates, throughout Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties. She has been named as a Southern California Super Lawyer in Trust and Estate Litigation for eight consecutive years, from 2012 through 2019. In fact, for 2019, she has been named one of the Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Southern California. For 2016 through 2019, she is also listed as one of "The Best Lawyers in America" in Litigation / Probate by Best Lawyers and her law firm has been named a Best Law Firm by U.S. News & World Report as well.  And she was been named as a member of the National Advocates: Top 100 of Wills, Trust, and Estates Lawyers. 

Ms. Wright has conducted numerous contested probate bench trials, dozens of depositions, and written and argued several probate appeals. She has successfully represented professional fiduciaries in contested and protracted probate litigation proceedings in numerous multi-million dollar trusts and estates. She has also served as a fiduciary herself through court appointments as a receiver for real property, guardian ad litem, and trustee. Ms. Wright has worked with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office on numerous financial elder abuse cases and has been able to successfully recover substantial assets for the elderly victims. She is also a member of the Los Angeles County Probate Volunteer Panel as well as the Trusts and Estates Sections of the State Bar and the Los Angeles County Bar. Ms. Wright has completed and continues to participate in substantial continuing legal education course work in specialized probate law topics.

Four key qualities make Ms. Wright an effective advocate for her clients: (1) a keen understanding of probate law and procedure, garnering the respect of her fellow attorneys and bench officers; (2) thoroughness and attention to detail; (3) expansive litigation experience from a concurrent business litigation practice; and (4) social intelligence and understanding of the emotionally charged nature of probate disputes.
 

In addition to her probate experience, Ms. Wright is also an experienced business litigator, knowledgeable in all phases of civil litigation, including jury and bench trials in both state and federal courts. Her practice focuses on business and probate litigation. She has briefed and argued cases in appellate matters, including the successful, published opinion in Soderberg v. McKinney, 44 Cal. App. 4th 1760, 52 Cal. Rptr. 2d 635 (1996) which reversed the law on real estate appraiser liability in California. Ms. Wright also consults and advises corporate clients on litigation, real estate, and business matters and drafts agreements. Through her business litigation experience, she has substantial knowledge in the areas of commercial finance, factoring, real estate, construction defect, intellectual property, and complex litigation.
 

Ms. Wright graduated from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1994 with her Juris Doctorate, including a semester of specialized coursework in international law completed at University of Leiden Law School, Leiden, the Netherlands. Ms. Wright was admitted to the California Bar in December 1994 and is admitted to practice in all the California state and federal trial and appellate courts. 
 

Classes & Seminars Taught

Mrs. Wright is also a regular speaker on probate topics. Some of her recent and upcoming speeches are:

• Probate Litigation: How to Build and Present Your Case, Orange County Bar Assocation, Trust & Estates Section; Co-Speakers Hon. Kim R. Hubbard, Hon. Gerald G. Johnston, Alice A. Salvo;  October 15, 2014.

• Capturing the Queen: Pre-Trust Contest Litigation Strategies, Orange County Bar Association, Trust & Estates Section, April 8, 2015; and Estate Planning Council of San Fernando Valley, April 30, 2015.

• Savage Sunset: How 21380 Has Sharpened the Teeth of the Former 21350, San Fernando Bar Association, Trust & Estates Section; June 9, 2015.

• Probate Litigation: How to Build and Present Your Case, Los Angeles County Bar, Trust & Estates Section; September 25, 2015.

• Legislative Brunch, Woman's Forum, Push the Limits, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Greater Foothills, Executive Panelist, Arcadia, CA; March 19, 2016.

• Justice Delayed: Conservatorships for Criminal Defendants and a Case Study on One that Went Awry, Professional Fiduciary Association of California, 21st Annual Educational Conference, Night Owl General Session, Indian Wells, CA; June 2, 2016.

• Capturing the Queen: Pre-Trust Contest Litigation Strategies, Professional Fiduciary Association of California, 21st Annual Educational Conference, Breakout Session, and Lunchtime Lecture, Indian Wells, CA; June 2 and 3, 2016.

• Outer Boundaries: The Perplexing Tale of Standing in Probate Court, Orange County Bar Association, Trust & Estates Section; March 8, 2017

• Fiduciary Neutrality: When to Join the Fight? The Ethics, Law, and Practice of Neutrality, Professional Fiduciary Association of California, 22nd Annual Educational Conference, General Session, with Co-Speakers Hon. David J. Cowan of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Yevgeny Belous, and Norine Boehmer; Burlingame, CA, June 3, 2017

• Hoops and Hurdles in Fiduciary Accountings, Wells Fargo Private Bank: Fiduciary Accountings, Panel Discussion, 
  Co- Speakers with Stacy A. Kinsel, Wells Fargo Private Bank, Pasadena, CA,  on October 17, 2017

• Probate Litigation, Pincus Professional Education, DoubleTree by Hilton, Los Angeles Downtown, on November 10, 2017

• Fiduciary Boot Camp, Pincus Professional Education with Co-Speakers Hon. Maria E. Strattion and Norine Boehmer, DoubleTree by Hilton, Los Angeles Downtown, March 9, 2018

• Hoops and Hurdles in Fiduciary Accountings, 23rd Annual PFAC Educational Conference with Co-Speaker Stacy Kinsel; RIverside Convention Center, Riverside, CA, May 31. 2018

• Fiduciary Neutrality: When to Join the Fight. The Ethics, Law and Practice of Neutrality Part 2, 23rd Annual PFAC Educational Conference with Co-Speakers Hon. David J. Cown, Yevgeny Belous, and Norine Boehmer; Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, CA, June 2, 2018

• When to Join the Fight: Fiduciary Neutrality and Rules of Ethics, Glendale Estate Planning Council, with Co-Speaker David Kim; Tam O'Shanter, Los Angeles, CA, July 17, 2018

• Is the Backdoor Closed? Sanchez, Hearsay & Expert Witness Testimony in Will & Trust Contests, Los Angeles Bar Association, Trust and Estates Section, September Symposium, with Co-Speaker Hon. Maria E. Stratton of the Los Angeles Superior Court; Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, September 21, 2018

• 2018 Aviva K. Bobb Advanced Probate Volunteer Panel Attorney Training, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trust and Estates Section, "Working With Other Counsel", Sportsmen Lodge, Studio City, CA, November 3, 2018

• Trusts Bootcamp - The Basics, Pincus Professional Education, March 14, 2019

• How to Work with Attorneys in Contested Matters, Professional Fiduciary Association of California, 24th Annual Educational Conference, with Co-Speakers Judge James A. Steele (Ret.) and Yevgeny Belous, Esq.; Disneyland Magic Kingdom Ballroom #1, May 2, 2019

• Is the Backdoor Closed? Sanchez, Hearsay & Expert Witness Testimony in Will & Trust Contests, Orange County Bar's, Trust and Estate Section, with Co-Speaker Hon. Maria E. Stratton of the Los Angeles Superior Court; Orange Conference Center, Orange, CA, May 8, 2019

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