Publications

  • California Practice Guide: Probate
    The Rutter Group, Thomson Reuters, 1986 – 2018, Supplemented Annually
  • Co-Editor, Guide to the California Rules of Professional Conduct for Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law
    The State Bar of California Trusts and Estates Section, First Edition, 2004

Representative Presentations

  • “Fiduciary Litigation and Financial Elder Abuse,” The Jon Gallo Memorial Lecture
    7th Annual STEP Institute on Tax, Estate Planning and the Economy, February 15-16, 2018
  • “Mom and Dad Loved You Best: Navigating Fairness and Equality, Real and Perceived” (with Eileen F. Gallo)
    Hawaii Tax Institute, November 6-8, 2017
  • Recent Developments in Trusts and Estates Controversies, Ethics and Fiduciary Litigation
    Hawaii Tax Institute, November 6-8, 2017
  • 50th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
    January 11-15, 2016
  • Recent Developments in Estate and Trust Litigation and Financial Elder Abuse
    Hawaii Tax Institute, November 5, 2015
  • 49th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
    January 12-16, 2015
  • Ethics
    Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys 2013 Fall Summit, October 5, 2013
  • Elder Financial Abuse
    Collier County Bar Association Annual Estate Planning Symposium, Naples, Fla., February 15, 2013
  • Elder Abuse
    Suncoast Estate Planning Council, St. Petersburg, Fla., February 14, 2013
  • Annual Inns of Court Banquet and the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Distinguished Lecture
    Stetson University College of Law, February 13, 2013
  • Hawaii Tax Institute
    “Financial Elder Abuse: Protecting the Aging Client from the Likely and Sometimes Unlikely Predators; Addressing Every Day and Practical Malpractice Issues Facing Wealth Transfer Advisors,” November 5-8, 2012
  • Duke University Estate Planning Conference
    Steering the Fiduciary Through the Shoals of Surcharge: Recent Voyages Past (or onto) the Reefs, October 18, 2012
  • Ethical Issues in Practice: Important Fiduciary Litigation
    ALI-ABA Annual Program, Planning Techniques for Large Estates, Boston, April 24, 2012
  • Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
    “Ethics - The ACTEC Commentaries in the 21st Century: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going? and Elder Financial Abuse: Protecting the Aging Client from the Den of Thieves,” January 9-13, 2012
  • Financial Elder Abuse
    Legal Week's Private Client Forum, November 3 - 5, 2011
  • Ethics and Recent Fiduciary Litigation
    ALI-ABA Annual Program, Planning the Large Estate, October 25, 2011
  • Legal Malpractice in Estate and Trust Planning and Administration
    ACTEC Fall Meeting, San Diego, Calif., October 13, 2011
  • The Anna Nicole Smith Story
    Sacramento Estate Planning Council, September 28, 2011
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Commentaries
    National Association of Estate Planning Attorneys, San Diego, November 19, 2010
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Commentaries
    ALI-ABA program, San Francisco, November 18, 2010
  • “The ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct: How to Do Right by Not Doing Wrong”
    The National Association of Estate Planners and Councils (NAEPC) Foundation Annual Conference, San Diego, Calif., November 15-17, 2010
  • “BombProofing the Estate Plan”
    Seattle Estate Planning Annual Seminar, November 1, 2010
  • “Recent Developments in International Trust and Estate Litigation”
    International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, Barcelona, May 23, 2010
  • “Ethical Issues in Practice: Important Fiduciary Litigation”
    Planning Techniques for Large Estates, ALI-ABA, New York, NY, April 30, 2010
  • International Trust Litigation
    Moderator, IBA Annual International Wealth Transfer Practices Conference, London, England, March 2, 2010
  • “SWOT for Private Clients in 2010: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats They Face”
    Moderator, International Litigation, March 1, 2010
  • “Between ‘Sunrise and Sunset’ The 2010 One-Year Estate and GST Tax Repeal. Planning Opportunities, Traps and Pitfalls in the 'Gap Year'”
    Moderator, The Rutter Group, February 22-24, 2010
  • “Bombproofing the Estate Plan”
    Heckerling Institute, January 27, 2010
  • “Arizona Ethics: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Professionals”
    Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, November 20, 2009
  • Ethics; Recent Fiduciary Developments
    ALI-ABA Annual Program, "Planning the Large Estate", November 17, 2009
  • “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Recent Developments in Estate and Trust Litigation”
    Southern California Tax and Estate Planning Forum, October 23, 2009
  • “Steering the Fiduciary Past the Shoals of Surcharge: Advice to Trustees and Their Advisors”
    Duke University Annual CLE, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, October 15, 2009
  • “Bombproofing Your Trust: How to Make Sure You Do It Right”
    American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, San Diego, Calif., October 10, 2009
  • Ethical Issues in Practice: Important Fiduciary Litigation
    Stanford Renaissance Court in San Francisco, Calif., November 20, 2008
  • Recent Developments in California Estate, Trust and Conservatorship Litigation
    Holland & Knight Program, October 14, 2008
  • Estate Planning in the Face of Litigation: Current Dilemmas and Malpractice Traps
    Holland & Knight Webinar, August 13, 2008

  • Bruce has an incredible knowledge base … and uses something that sometimes gets lost in complex legal matters—common sense.

    John W. Graziano

  • He knows how to nudge parties towards resolution in a respectful and effective manner.

    John W. Graziano

  • Bruce digs in, educates himself to the facts, and then listens. His ability to listen and understand what the parties want, and then go to work to find common ground, makes him a first-class problem solver.

    John W. Graziano

  • A stellar reputation in this industry nationally.

    Chambers High Net Worth 2017

  • One of the go-to people in the country for sophisticated fiduciary litigation … Bruce often litigates in trust, estate and conservatorship matters.

    Chambers High Net Worth 2017