Russell M. Ozawa – Partner at David Lee Rice APLC

Partner
Location: Torrance, California
Phone: (310) 517-8600, 424-203-7553
Fax: 310-517-8606
Email: Click Here

Mr. Ozawa has extensive litigation experience, including settlement negotiations, mediation, law and motion, discovery, and trials. Mr. Ozawa’s clients include trustees, executors, conservators, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries. As part of Mr. Ozawa’s practice, Mr. Ozawa evaluates and analyzes each case independently and advises each client on possible cost-effective resolutions before proceeding to trial.

As part of Mr. Ozawa’s fiduciary litigation practice, Mr. Ozawa represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all aspects of trust, estate, and conservatorship disputes, including:
• Breach of trust actions
• Trust and will contests
• Accounting contests
• Undue influence claims
• Misappropriation of assets from trusts and estates
• Disputes regarding distributions
• Disputes between trustees and beneficiaries
• Seeking appointment of conservators in contested conservatorship matters

In addition, as part of Mr. Ozawa’s civil litigation practice, Mr. Ozawa presents both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving:
• Financial elder abuse
• Financial fraud
• Breach of contract
• Professional negligence, including accountant malpractice
• Breach of fiduciary duty

Representative cases
• In a conservatorship litigation matter, after a 3-day trial, an order was obtained appointing the client as a conservator of the person and estate instead of a competing petitioner also seeking an appointment.
• In a trust litigation matter, after a 2-day trial, an order was obtained approving client’s accounting and finding that client did not breach the trust.
• In a fiduciary litigation matter, settlement achieved in favor of client for more than $600,000 in an accountant malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty action.
• In a conservatorship matter, obtained an order appointing client as conservator despite hesitation by court.
• In a conservatorship matter, settlement achieved on client’s behalf under which client’s parent remained at an excellent skilled nursing facility with a caregiver and, further, client obtained an early distribution of $100,000 and reimbursement of client’s attorneys’ fees.
• In a trust litigation matter, client obtained a settlement providing her with monthly distributions from a trust that she was not receiving prior to settlement.
• In a trust litigation matter, client, by way of settlement, received back real property wrongfully transferred out of the trust.

Areas of Practice

• Trust and Estates Litigation
• Conservatorship Litigation
• Fiduciary Litigation
• Commercial and Business Litigation
• Financial Elder Abuse Litigation

Litigation Percentage

• 95% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• California, 2010
• U.S. District Court Central District of California, 2011
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 2011
• U.S. Tax Court, 2011

Education

• University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, California
  • Juris Doctor – 2010
  • Honors: U.S.F. Law Review
  • Honors: National Moot Court Competition
  • Honors: Roger J. Traynor California Appellate Moot Court Competition
• University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • B.S., Bachelor of Science – 2005
  • Major: Management Science

Published Works

• The Kindler and Gentler IRS Is Targeting E-File Practitioners—Are You in Compliance? (Co-Author with David Lee Rice, Esq.) (CCH Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure, December 2011-January 2012)
• Third-Party Federal Tax Liens and Levies and How to Fight Them (Co-Author with David Lee Rice, Esq., and Dennis N. Brager, Esq.) (CCH Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure, December 2012-January 2013)

Classes/Seminars

• Elder Law: Basics of Elder Law from A-Z (LawReviewCle), 2013 – Present

Honors and Awards

• National Finalist and Second Best Brief, National Moot Court Competition, 2010
• Third Best Brief, Roger J. Traynor California Appellate Moot Court Competition, 2010
• CALI Award for Excellence in Partnership Taxation, 2009
• Best Brief, University of San Francisco Appellate Advocacy, 2009

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Beverly Hills Bar Association
• Los Angeles County Bar Association

Past Employment Positions

• Akay Sull LLP, Law Clerk, 2008 – 2009

Pro Bono Activities

• Board of Director, My Wish List Foundation, 2013-Present