Brandon Martin

I spent the first two decades of my career at some of California’s most prestigious firms, doing demanding work for sophisticated clients. It was a good education. What it also taught me is that the moments when people most need a lawyer are rarely the dramatic ones — they are the ordinary ones. A couple finally getting the trust done. A daughter sitting at her father’s kitchen table with a drawer full of statements and no idea what to do next.

So I built this practice around those two tasks and nothing else. Estate planning for the people who are getting ahead of it, and probate for the families who did not get the chance. Both are difficult. Neither should be mystifying.

In practice that means a few commitments. I put the fee in writing before I begin — a flat fee for planning work, and in probate the fee the statute sets, explained to you up front. Nobody should be afraid to call their own attorney. I keep the calendar open enough that most new clients see me within a week, because the questions that bring people here do not keep well. And I explain things the way I would want them explained to my own family: in plain English, as many times as it takes.