Independence Real Estate Lawyers

Chris DeWys focuses on civil litigation dealing with commercial and residential real estate, business disputes, neighbor issues, land use, and landlord-tenant matters. Chris also handles Danfoura Law P.C.'s probate administration practice and litigation. Chris has been in civil litigation since 2008 and joined Danfoura Law P.C. in 2015 after four years of solo practice and two years at a boutique civil litigation firm in San Francisco. Chris is committed to active client engagement throughout the litigation process and ensuring that client goals are achieved both efficiently and with value. Chris moved to San Francisco in 2003 after growing up in...

Karen Matcke Crosby Attorney / Mediator P.C. 35+ years of legal practice and 15+ years as a mediator. WHY MEDIATION CAN BE SUPERIOR TO COURT By Karen Matcke Crosby (2021) Court litigation exposes parties to great public exposure, expense and long delays in court proceedings. Litigants have little or no control over the procedural process. How a dispute arose in the first place, is given short shrift, failing to consider the parties’ intentions, experience in negotiations (or lack thereof), personality, ego, culture, norms, morals, bullying, customs, or values. What is heard in court is the representing attorney’s version of his client’s legal...

Ryan W. Young is a co-founder of the OC Trial Group and acts as one of the primary Trial attorneys. Mr. Young represents individual and corporate clients throughout the state of California. Mr. Young’s litigation career is rooted in his national law firm experience where he litigated on behalf of the 15th largest law firm in the country. He brings this “big law” experience to OC Trial Group to efficiently resolve matters for our clients. Areas of Practice Mr. Young focuses his practice on the representation of clients in trust administration, pre-litigation trust disputes, trust litigation, real estate, and...

Brian P. Ballo has been a real estate attorney for 28 years in Orange and San Diego counties. Currently, his practice is focused on representing homeowners in lawsuits against lenders seeking to foreclose, and negotiating loan modifications, forbearance agreements, short sale transaction approvals, and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. Brian is skilled in articulating cause of actions against lenders who have violated laws at the time of loan origination and closing, as well as during the foreclosure, loan modification and short sale processes. He has successfully obtained Temporary Restraining...

After getting his Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and working as an auditor for Ernst & Whinney (now known as Ernst & Young), Jeffrey H. Ochrach began his practice of law at a large firm in San Francisco. He is a trial attorney who focuses his practice on the areas of business law, real estate law, business and financial aspects of family law, and lawyer malpractice law. In 1993, Mr. Ochrach formed his own law firm in Placer County. Mr. Ochrach has extensive trial experience and an unparalleled record of victories. He has tried 40 cases and won 37, or 92%....

Mr. Khalfin is managing attorney of Vaksman Khalfin, PC and oversees its Business Law, Trusts and Estates, Real Estate and Civil Litigation matters. He has significant experience in developing legal strategy, counseling clients in practical solutions, and building and managing legal teams. Mr. Khalfin has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star every year since 2013 and is a member of the San Mateo County Bar Association’s Estate Planning and Probate Panel. He received his Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law, holds a Bachelor of Arts form the University of California, Los Angeles, and attended the Cornell Law School...

Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration UCLA Juris Doctorate UCLA Law LLM (in taxation) NYU Served 25 years as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association Admitted to: California Supreme Court United States Tax Court United States District Court for the Southern District of California Broad experience in Probate & Estate Planning, We give client's a free 1/2 hour consultation. Very competitive fees. Probate fees are statutory. For a single person we prepare a Trust, Certificate of Trust, Will, Health Care Directive with Hippa Release, Assignment of Assets to the Trust and Quick Claim deed to put the house into the Trust...

35+ years representing business and business owners in a wide variety of transactional and litigation matters. I act as outside "general counsel" to help my clients navigate legal issues and help grow their business.

Pomona College, BA 1970
Stanford Law School, JD 1975

James P. Finigan is a native San Diegan. His schooling began in Solana Beach, CA, at Santa Fe Christian School. His studies continued at the University of Oregon, where he earned his B.S., double-majoring in Political Science & Philosophy. He then traveled east to study law at the University of New Hampshire, School of Law.

While there, he accepted the Senior Style Editor position for the Pierce Law Review, worked as a legal writing teaching assistant for both his second and third years, and was awarded a full-time internship with the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Office...