Bruce S. Ross
OF COUNSEL

Bruce S. Ross is preeminent in the realm of trust, estate and conservatorship disputes, providing stellar client representation strengthened by his decades of experience as a trial lawyer.  He is certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, having been so certified each year since such certification has been recognized.

Mr. Ross has more than 50 years of experience with high-value fiduciary litigation and the resolution of estate, trust, protective and financial elder abuse proceedings and disputes, both in the United States and internationally. He was named a statesman by his peers in trusts and estates law according to Chambers High Net Worth, which has ranked him in its highest tier for lawyers handling private wealth disputes.

Since 1986, Mr. Ross has been a principal author or co-author of The Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide: Probate, considered one of the leading treatises on California probate issues. He is also a frequent lecturer at conferences for trust, estate and probate professionals, financial advisors and wealth managers, including the Hawaii Tax Institute and the annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. He is a Past President and Regent Emeritus of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), spearheading the College’s adoption of the ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. 

Mr. Ross is an Academician in the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and a past Chair of California’s Probate and Trust Section of the California State Bar (now the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Bar Association).

Experience Highlights

  • Preeminent authority on trusts, estates, and protective proceedings
  • Over 50 years of resolving estate, trust and financial elder abuse disputes at trial and through settlement and mediation
  • Experienced neutral in complex trust, estate and probate matters

Probate, Estates & Trusts Expertise

  • Will and trust contests
  • Estate and trust administration disputes
  • Financial elder abuse
  • Contested protective proceedings
  • Business succession disputes
  • Intra-family estate planning challenges
  • Fiduciary standards of care, professional responsibility and professional malpractice

Professional Experience

  • Principal, Law Office of Bruce S. Ross, LLC (2018-2024)
  • Seyfarth Shaw, Counsel (2019-Present)
  • Holland & Knight, LLC, Partner (2001-2018); Chair of the National Estate and Trust Resolution Team (2001-2017)
  • Ross, Sacks & Glazier, Founding Partner (1992-2001)

Accolades and Recognition

  • Chambers USA– Ranked #1 in Wealth Management: Western Region – National
  • Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Disputes: USA (2017-2020)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® Guide, Litigation – Trusts and Estates (1993-2021)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® Guide, Non-Profit/Charities Law (2013-2021)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® Guide, Trusts and Estates, Nonprofit / Charities Law, and Litigation -Trusts and Estates (2025)
  • Southern California Super Lawyers(2004-2020)

Leadership & Professional Affiliations

  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) (1983-Present), Past President (2006-2007) and Regent Emeritus (2008-Present)
  • International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, Academician and Past Member, Executive Council
  • California Board of Legal Specialization, Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law (1991-Present)
  • American Bar Association, Commissioner, Commision on Law and Aging (2015-2018)
  • California State Bar, Past Member and Chair, Executive Committee, Trust and Estates Section

Past Legal Experience

  • Private Wealth Services
  • Wealth Planning and Preservation
  • Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations
  • Trusts, Estates and Fiduciary Litigation

Education

  •  J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Order of the Coif (1971)
  • A.B., cum laude, Oberlin College (1968)

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California