Community Highlights: Meet Elise Lampert of Law Office of Elise Lampert

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Lampert.

Hi Elise, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When the Pool Boy ends up with grandma’s house, call me.

As a child I did not dream of becoming a trust and estates litigation and estate planning attorney but that is the focus of my law practice today and I have been practicing in this area for over 20 years.

As a native Angelino, I have been fortunate to be exposed to a lot of what California has to offer, including participating in outdoor sporting activities year round, our rich cultural diversity, as well as our world-class museums, theater, the arts, and technology. Exposure to all of these things on a regular basis is part of who I am today and makes me a better lawyer for it.

I first became interested in the law through participation in the Youth and Government Program that is sponsored by the YMCA. This program allows middle and high school students to actively participate in model legislatures, mock court trials, appellate practice, and a model UN. After participating in this program for several years, I knew I wanted to become a lawyer when I grew up. The law is all around us and affects everything we do. It is the structure of our society.

As an undergraduate at UCLA my interest in the law was further peaked as a political science – international relations major. In law school and as a young lawyer, I worked in many different areas of the law including family law, business, personal injury, tax, business, and real estate, probate and estate planning, which gave me the perspective of how interrelated everything is and then I opened my own practice.

A lot of my clients needed wills and trusts. So, I began drafting estate plans as part of my practice. My clients were concerned about protecting their loved ones and families in the event something happened to them. Though this topic is hard for some to discuss, it is extremely important as the failure to do so can result in the breakup of a family and having the next generation at war with one another. Being a trust and estate litigation attorney also helps me be a better estate planner, as I see first hand the missteps people make that lead them to a battle in court which at times could have been avoided if there was proper planning and honest communication. Today my practice is mainly made up of estate planning, probate, trust and estate litigation, and conservatorships.

In addition to practicing law, I am an Adjunct College Professor at Los Angeles Mission College, where I have taught in their paralegal program for many years. I am also extremely active in the Assistance League of Los Angeles, which raises funds to support at-risk children in the Los Angeles area. I am a single parent and my family is my two adult sons and my younger son’s husband. We are a very close, loving family that always support one another.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Some of the struggles along the way were being a full-time working parent and trying to balance that with raising a family and wanting to be present for my children. Being in my own practice gave me the flexibility to work untraditional hours so that I was able to be an involved parent as well as a lawyer.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I established my law practice in 1994. The main focus of my practice is Trust and Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Probate. I received my Bachelor’s degree from UCLA and my Doctorate from the University of La Verne. I am a member of the State Bar of California and am licensed to practice before all the courts in the State of California.

I am a skilled lawyer who has the ability to draft living trusts, special needs trusts, residential trusts, irrevocable trusts, insurance trusts, durable powers of attorney for healthcare, healthcare directives and durable powers of attorney over assets. I represent clients in probate court, at trial, and at the appellate level. I represent clients in both the State and Federal Court Systems. I have served as a volunteer mediator with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Probate Department and have served on the San Fernando Valley Bar Association’s Senior Citizen Pro Bono Attorney Panel. I am a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to practicing law, I am an Adjunct Professor at Los Angeles Mission College in the Paralegal Studies Program and have been an instructor at the UCLA Paralegal Training Program for several years. At both UCLA and Los Angeles Mission College, I have instructed students in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Probate, Real Estate, Corporate, and Business Law. I have also developed online paralegal courses in the areas of Probate, Estate Planning, and Elder Law for ICDC College in West Los Angeles.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I have always found it helpful to find mentors by volunteering my time for various legal aid organizations that are looking for help and have built a networking community by joining various networking groups that focus on areas of the law that are impacted by trust and estate law.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eliselampert.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EliseLampertLaw/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliselampert/
• Twitter: https://x.com/lampert_elise?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
• Other: https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/2323436276546759013