David is an exceptional human being and attorney. I had several legal questions regarding our real…read moreestate transfer and purchase, and he took the time to answer every single one of them with incredible patience and care--without asking for any payment, which is truly rare and deeply appreciated. He is extremely knowledgeable and guided us thoughtfully through our situation, helping us understand our options and find the best path forward. We are very grateful for his generosity, expertise, and kindness. Thank you so much, David!

Very responsive and helpful. Thank you for being awesome and available, great resource.read more

Best service in town, Worked with Magany many times over past several years, she really knows what…read moreshe is doing, Glad I found her, if you need law advice she is the one to call!

Maganey Abbass was truly an exceptional find among the many estate planning attorneys available…read morethrough my MetLife legal plan. From day one, she was incredibly responsive. In fact, she personally answered my call while her staff was on an extended lunch break--a level of accessibility that immediately impressed me. We needed to establish a living trust and prepare our Advance Health Care Directives, and Maganey and her team handled every aspect of the process with the utmost professionalism. She took the time to thoroughly explain each step, while also providing thoughtful legal guidance that helped us make informed decisions aligned with our family's long-term goals. As an experienced real estate attorney, she immediately identified a critical issue with the title to our property. Before finalizing our trust, she prepared the necessary documents to correct the title, ensuring everything was properly structured from the outset. That level of attention to detail gave us tremendous peace of mind. I also appreciated the clear expectations she established from the beginning. She explained exactly what services were covered under my MetLife legal plan and what, if any, additional costs would apply. There were absolutely no surprises. Everything remained within the scope of my legal plan's benefits, and both parties received exactly what was expected. Maganey Abbass and her staff made what could have been an overwhelming process feel organized, straightforward, and stress-free. I highly recommend her to anyone seeking a knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely caring estate planning attorney. Thank you, Maganey and your entire team, for your outstanding service!

I left a message on here, and he responded very promptly. In his reply, he specifically highlighted…read morethe details of the case that could potentially work against you, thereby ensuring that you were mentally prepared to address these issues in advance. This stands in stark contrast to some of his peers, who often prioritize legal fees and billable hours above all else.

J. Richards is helpful, knowledgeable and generous. I recommend them highly for your legal needs.read more

David Arietta and Megan Huffman were both incredibly patient and compassionate throughout the…read moreentire case, helped guide us through every step, and made sure everything was taken care of. Professional, diligent, and reliable; highly recommended to anyone who needs legal representation!

Terrible experience!!! I reached out to David and his team for their service. I was charged $3500…read morefor the entire service and when I asked to delay the filing of the case, he was going to charge me another $3500. All I needed was to wait to file my case for another 2 months. From there, I opted to cancel his service and I only got partial of my payment. He and his team (Megan) lacks communication. It takes weeks for either one of them to get back to you. Megan had all my paperwork all wrong. More than half of my claims were missing for the filing and she says "I didn't look through all of them." What am I paying you for?!? Would NOT recommend their service.

GETTING A TRUST: Trust McKenna Koepke of Blackstock & Barsell as she is as sharp as a tack! What…read morea pleasant positive experience it was using McKenna to make my Trust. Hearing all the buzz on making sure you have a Trust in place; but also hearing of the nightmares with the court system when you DON'T have a Trust in place, I KNEW I needed one. So I searched and called McKenna Koepke of Blackstock & Barsell in Walnut Creek. This office has plenty of parking which was a plus for me. It is located very close to Whole Foods in Walnut Creek. I was greeted at the office door with a welcoming smile and immediately proceeded to meet McKenna in her office. She went through the Trust procedure precisely and in a way that I understood it; not confusing me with all the legal words/terms. She answered all my questions and gave me plenty of time to ask them all; and there were a lot. Indeed it was a very easy meeting full of education and knowledge. I knew right away that I wanted McKenna of Blackstock & Barsell to do my Trust. McKenna also promptly answered all my after-meeting telephone questions that had popped into my head later when I got home and the week after. I said yes to her doing my Trust and the ease it took to come to the final paperwork was astonishing. McKenna is friendly, extremely knowledgeable, tentative, expeditious and organized. AFTER TRUST FINALIZED AND FUTURE: McKenna is a hands-on person! Every time I call her with questions, she gets back to me promptly which is a rarity these days. For instance, I had a question about something I heard on the street about Power of Attorney and she quickly called me back and updated me. When I bought some property it was a quick call to her and it was taken care of. Hands-on McKenna has sent me educational emails of law changes which may affect my generation in case we need to change anything in our Trust. I can't begin to write how happy and secure I feel with McKenna Koepke of Blackstock & Barsell working on my behalf.

We worked with McKenna to help us with our estate planning, she was knowledgeable and pleasant to…read morework with. She also made the process super simple and straightforward. The turnaround time from our first meeting to when she was able to complete the documents was not long at all. We would definitely recommend her to others for the same services!

Continuing from first review…read more.. Robert A. Miller made me subpoena a former roommate in order to get her to be a witness. This was unnecessary as her email to me was sufficient. Additionally, there are many instances where Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg revealed that they did not examine all of the evidence that I provided. Robert A. Miller kept stressing issues of my pet cat's bodily functions. There was not a single complaint (no email or text, but only something the landlord wanted to add to her retaliatory eviction) of cat urine smell from my two roommates and their partners. I stated that numerous friends of mine have visited and can be witnesses to support that cat urine smell was never an issue. Robert A. Miller responded that the plaintiff Juliet Welch would then call on the other four downstairs tenants as witnesses of cat urine smell. How can downstairs tenants witness what happens in my upstairs apartment when the units are separate and the downstairs tenants and upstairs tenants are not friends and therefore the downstairs tenants are never invited inside the upstairs unit. Moreover, the downstairs tenants have a senior dog and a new puppy, both of whom require puppy pads and potty training. The downstairs tenants also dogsit. There are multiple animals at the 61 Franciscan Way address. A week before my conference court date, Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg required an additional $18,000 in order to represent me, essentially abandoning me. At which point, I asked them to stop work. My new counsel reached a settlement of my staying until the end of December (as opposed to October) and $9000 in new money. The attorney fee agreement clearly states that the $5,000 (the one where I gave $10,000) would ensure the case goes to a jury trial. This is a breach of contract, fiduciary duty, and fraud. Neither Robert A. Miller nor David M. Sternberg went over the retainer fee agreement with me. As a matter of fact, David M. Sternberg did not even sign the retainer fee agreement until August 14th, 2019 after receiving the additional $5,000 (where I gave $10,000). I filed a Ca State Bar Mandatory fee dispute in Feb. 2022. Robert A. Miller answered to serve David M. Sternberg who did not agree to be served until November 2022. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg ignored the CA State Bar Mandatory fee dispute so that the statute of limitations would expire. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg responded after I filed small claims because the CA State Bar Dispute was not going anywhere. I called everyday and left messages and CA State Bar only responded once when I received a call back that they will not discipline attorneys for not answering. At the small claims court date, David M. Sternberg twisted the fee dispute to become legal malpractice to claim a one year statute of limitation. I never used the language of legal malpractice in any of my communication with Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg set themselves up nicely so that they can claim that any court proceeding waives my rights to pursue a fee dispute with Ca State Bar. Robert A. Miller and David M. Sternberg are unscrupulous lawyers who are greedy and take advantage of vulnerable clients.

I am having a difficult time getting my landlord to complete payment of relocation expenses as…read moreagreed upon. I reached out to the Law offices of Robert Miller to see what steps I could take and what to do next since my requests to the landlord are going unanswered. Mr. Miller called me back within 24hrs of me reaching out and was very thorough in explaining what steps I should take before reaching the point of needing to officially engage legal counsel. Legal fees can add up quickly and I appreciated him pointing me in the right direction during our phone consultation. I intend on following his guidance and because of his willingness to help without my retaining him, when the time comes to engage counsel with this matter, I will absolutely be using his services. Thank you Robert!

I first met Sean when our boys played soccer together in elementary school. Sean was an all around…read morenice guy. Always willing to help another parent or the soccer team. Great parent which becomes obvious when you get to know his family. I had known Sean for a couple of years before needing any legal assistance but when the need arose Sean was the first call I made. Over the past few years I have had Sean handle several legal matters and have to say that I could not be more pleased. What you get here is an honest attorney (probably one of the few) who is organized, hard working and cares about his clients. Sean is a master at research so if does not know an answer he will not stop looking until he finds the correct answer. Thanks Sean!

Sean was really excellent to work with. He's very straight-forward and practical and I trust him…read more He's also a genuinely nice man who is really easy to talk to. We have some real estate investments and my husband owns a small business and Sean helped us with some legal matters for both. He will talk honestly with you and tell you what your options and risks are. That's so important because dealing with legal matters is confusing and it's not easy to make decisions. Sean made it easy. He is always very fair on the pricing and he's clear and upfront about that which is so important and helpful.

James provided thoughtful and neutral estate planning advice. I would highly recommend him.read more

We recently worked with James Stein, upon the recommendation of friends, to create our estate plan,…read moretrusts, etc. He was a delight to work with. Very thorough, excellent at explaining the "whys" of what we were doing together, and fun to work with - even working through thorny topics! We received a huge estate plan binder from him once the plan was finalized and some further instructions for making any necessary changes to deeds and accounts to add the trust and avoid any problems in the future. I would not hesitate to recommend him to others.