WHITE AND BRIGHT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder, CWSL Intellectual Property, Technology & Telecommunications Clinic
Attorney Bridget Burns is a partner at White and Bright, LLP. Her practice focuses on all aspects of trust and estate law, including complex estate plans, asset protection, and probate and trust administration. Having been promoted at only 18 months into her career with White and Bright, Bridget Burns is one of the fastest rising partners at the firm.
Attorney Bridget Burns' practice focuses on all aspects of trust and estate law, including complex estate plans, offshore trusts, probate and trust administration. Read More
Originally from Arizona, Ms. Burns moved to San Diego to attend the University of San Diego on academic scholarship. After moving to the east coast to attend New York University School of Law, Ms. Burns returned to San Diego to begin her legal career. Prior to joining White and Bright, Ms. Burns practiced at a boutique law firm focused on estate planning and asset protection, where she was the head of the asset protection department. In addition to assisting clients with all basic and advanced estate planning needs, Ms. Burns also helped clients with both offshore and domestic strategies for privacy and lawsuit protection. Ms. Burns started her career practicing business law, including complex litigation, where she handled multiple trials at both state and federal levels, as well as arbitration and mediation.
Ms. Burns lives in San Marcos with her husband, son, and terrier mix Indy. She enjoys spending her free time exploring the outdoors with her family, as well as reading. Ms. Burns serves on the Board for the San Diego non-profit Women's Empowerment International, and she is an active member of the Lawyers Club of San Diego.
Education
J.D., New York University School of Law, 2011 - Environmental Law Journal Articles Editor
B.A., University of San Diego, 2008
White and Bright, LLP, a Southern California-based real estate law, estate planning, and probate law firm, has announced the promotion of Bridget Burns, who specializes in asset protection, estate planning, and probate, from senior counsel to partner… Read More
David S. Bright started White and Bright in 1981. Although Bruce recognized that there was more money to be made elsewhere, he loved the practice of law and was active in the practice until his death in 2005. He was a trusted counselor and learned friend and is missed by all who came to rely on his unmatched intellect and sound advice.
Job Titles:
- Reception / Office Manager
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Founding Partner of White
David Bright is a founding partner of White and Bright (1981) and has recently retired from the firm. He has extensive trial experience with an emphasis on complex real estate, business, and trust cases. Laura Bright's practice focused on estate planning, probate, trust and estate administration, elder law, business entity formation and transactional business, and real estate.
David S. Bright started White and Bright in 1981. Although Bruce recognized that there was more money to be made elsewhere, he loved the practice of law and was active in the practice until his death in 2005. He was a trusted counselor and learned friend and is missed by all who came to rely on his unmatched intellect and sound advice.
David Bright is a founding partner of White and Bright (established 1981) and has recently retired from the firm. David has extensive trial experience with an emphasis on complex real estate, business, and trust cases. He served as head of the firm's litigation group during his years in practice, and he has represented parties in wills and trust litigation involving complex issues such as breach of fiduciary duty, surchage, and accountings.
In addition to earning his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, David graduated from Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, a leading international program that provides comprehensive mediation training. He is now a mediator with the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC), a resource founded in 1983 by the University of San Diego Law Center and the San Diego County Bar Association. NCRC is dedicated to helping people, organizations, and communities manage and solve conflicts equitably and with civility.
David has extensive experience in private dispute mediation, focusing on real estate and business disputes. He has previously spearheaded volunteer settlement panels to assist the Superior Court of North County in resolving cases expediently. He has also testified as an expert witness in the California Superior Court, providing insight on real estate issues and issues related to broker and attorney standards of care.
Mr. Pfister's legal practice focuses on litigation, primarily involving commercial and residential real estate matters, such as disputes concerning real estate sales and ownership, partnership disputes, breach of lease, title issues, purchase/sale transaction disputes, agent and broker defense, easement disputes, encroachments, boundary disputes, commercial unlawful detainer, breach of contract, indemnity issues, and other commercial disputes.
Fred Pfister is a partner of White and Bright and represents clients in real estate/business litigation and transactional real estate and business matters. Mr. Pfister's legal practice focuses on litigation, primarily involving commercial and resid… Read More
Laura Bright is a former partner of White and Bright and has recently retired from the firm. Her practice focused on estate planning, probate, guardianships, conservatorships, trust and estate administration, elder law, business entity formation and transactional business, corporate compliance, and real estate.
Laura worked as an attorney at White and Bright following her graduation from California Western School of Law and admission to the California bar in 1996. During law school, she was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Estate Planning. She was also the recipient of the Academic Achievement Award for Accounting for Lawyers. Prior to earning her juris doctorate, she earned her Bachelor of Science from San Diego State University, graduating with high honors. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband, David, who is a founding partner of White and Bright and who has also recently retired.
Larua expertly managed clients throughout North County and the greater San Diego area. Laura greatly expanded White and Bright's corporate law and trust and estate practices. She handled corporate work for a variety of clients, including corporations, limited liability companies, and general partnerships. Her trust administration and litigation work included representation of grantors, trustees, and beneficiaries alike. Her strong work ethic and genial personality are greatly missed, and the firm foundations she helped set into place have allowed White and Bright to continue to grow as a prominent law firm in the North County region and greater San Diego area.
Practice Areas
Independent Contractor Agreements
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Partner
- Adjunct Professor at University of San Diego School of Law
- Partner of White
Melissa Engle, a partner at White and Bright, LLP, has been named a 2023 San Diego Rising Star by Super Lawyers. This is the eighth consecutive year that Ms. Engle has been recognized with this award; this repeated recognition serves as a testament t… Read More
Melissa Engle is a Partner of White and Bright and rated AV® Preeminent™ through Martindale-Hubbell.
Ms. Engle's legal practice focuses on both litigation and transactional work, primarily involving real estate, business disputes, and employment law. In particular, she assists numerous businesses and brokerages in various suits, ranging from non-disclosure actions, real estate transaction disputes, lease disputes, wrongful termination and discrimination claims, partnership and shareholder disputes, breaches of contract, indemnification issues, and other commercial and residential real estate matters.
Michael Friedrichs is a partner with the firm and rated AV® Preeminent™ through Martindale-Hubbell. A native of Escondido, Mr. Friedrichs focuses his law practice on real estate and business litigation, as well as on commercial transactions. With… Read More
Michael Friedrichs is a partner with the firm and rated AV® Preeminent™ through Martindale-Hubbell. A native of Escondido, Mr. Friedrichs focuses his law practice on real estate and business litigation, as well as on commercial transactions. With a focus on achieving his clients' goals, he has experience litigating cases through trial, as well as using alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation and arbitration.
Mr. Friedrichs has represented buyers and sellers of real property, contractors, business owners, creditors, landlords and tenants, and victims of personal injuries, in the following matters:
Purchase and sale of commercial real property, including pre-close of escrow issues and after close of escrow disputes
Construction related issues including claims involving mechanic's liens
Commercial debt collection, including prosecuting applications for right to attach order
Disputes over ownership and encumbrances to real property, including quiet title and partition claims
Easements and boundary issues
Landlord/Tenant matters
Contract related issues
Enforcement of judgments
Third party personal injury claims
Uninsured Motorists' Claims
He also handles transactional matters, including drafting and revising commercial leases, buy-sell agreements, and business contracts.
In addition, Mr. Friedrichs has been the featured speaker at various seminars on commercial debt collection practices and enforcement of judgments.
Mr. Friedrichs was admitted to practice law in California in 1995 after graduating cum laude from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He began work at White and Bright in 1990 as a paralegal and continued in that capacity while attending law school at night. He joined the firm as an associate attorney in 1995 and then as a partner in 2003.
Active in the community, Mr. Friedrichs served as President of the Board of Directors between 2007 and 2011 at Interfaith Community Services, Inc., a social services organization headquartered in Escondido, California. He has served as a Judge Pro Tem with the San Diego Superior Court where he participated on the court's Two-Attorney Settlement Panel as a settlement judge.
Mr. Friedrichs lives in Escondido with his wife, Lynne-Marie.
Education
J.D., cum laude, Thomas Jefferson School of Law (formerly Western State University), 1995