Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP
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JAMES K. LEESE


Position Areas of Practice Education
Published Works Affiliations

JAMES K. LEESE is a partner in the law firm of Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP. He was born June 6, 1953, in Dayton, Ohio, and admitted to the California bar in 1979. The State Bar of California recognizes him as a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. He received his bachelors degree from The Defiance College in 1975, his juris doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1978, and a masters degree in taxation from Golden Gate University in 1992.

Mr. Leese is primarily responsible for the firm's estate and business succession planning departments. He limits his practice to transactions involving business, estate and gift tax planning, preparation of trusts and wills, probate and trust administration for individuals and owners of businesses. He works in a team approach with trust officials, financial planners, insurance agents, accountants, and appraisers to design and implement plans that will best meet the client's needs and objectives. Mr. Leese works with the high net worth client, using sophisticated estate planning strategies and tools, as well as with the client who has non-tax related planning goals in mind.

Since 1994, Mr. Leese has taught the fundamentals of estate planning and advanced estate planning courses in the Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program at the University of California at Irvine Extension. He also has taught a layperson course on estate planning for UCI Extension. He speaks frequently to such professional groups as the National Business Institute, the Orange County/Long Beach Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Easter Seals Society. He has contributed to the Estate Planning text Estate Planning and Taxation, Joan C. Bost, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company; and is a co-author of the textbook used at UCI Extension entitled Advanced Estate Planning for Financial Professionals.

Mr. Leese resides in Tustin Ranch, California, with his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Lauren, Angela, Alyssa, Ryder and Dylan.

Current Employment Position(s):

Partner

Areas of Practice:

Business & Commercial Law
Business Organizations
Contracts
Estate Planning, Trusts & Wills
Estate & Probate Administration

Certification/Specialties:

Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, The State Bar of California

Bar Admissions:

California, 1979

Education:

Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, California, 1978
Juris Doctor

Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California, 1992
M.S. in Taxation

The Defiance College, Defiance, Ohio, 1975
B.S. in Political Science
Honors: Cum Laude

Published Works:

Advanced Estate Planning for Financial Professionals, (Co-Author)

Estate Planning & Taxation, (Contributor), Kendal-Hunt, 1996

Business Succession Planning, a Critical Element for Family-Owned Businesses, Uncertainty About Fate of Estate Tax Increase, Urgency for Effective Planning, Orange County Business Journal, Vol. 25, No. 42, 2002

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Teacher, Fundamentals of Estate Planning, PFP Certificate Program at UCI-Extension, 1994 - Present

Teacher, Estate Planning for the Layperson, UCI-Extension, 1995 - Present

Speaker, National Business Institute

Speaker, Orange County/Long Beach Chapter of the CA Society of CPAs

Speaker, Easter Seals Society

Teacher, Advanced Estate Planning, PFP Certificate Program at UCI-Extension, 1996 - Present

Speaker, Arthritis Foundation

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Irvine Senior Foundation, 1996 - 1999
Past President

Irvine Swim League, 1999 - 2001
President

State Bar of California, Sections on Estate Planning, Trust & Probate, 1979 - Present
Member

Listed as Super Lawyer, Southern California, Estate Planning & Probate, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (Super Lawyers identifies the top 5 percent of attorneys in each state, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics); listed by Orange Coast Magazine, as a 2010 Five Star Wealth Manager, Estate Planning (represents 3 percent of wealth managers in Orange County); and AV Preeminent Rated Attorney (Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating).