LAKIN SPEARS - Key Persons
The late Conrad F. "Connie" Gullixson, a bomber pilot during World War II, joined the firm in 1951 upon graduation from Stanford Law School, and continued the firm's tradition of participation in Peninsula civic life. A business and estate planning lawyer, he served on the Palo Alto City Council and on the Stanford University Hospital Board, including one year as its president in 1978. Mr. Gullixson was the first person to sit as a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge pro tempore in the North County Courthouse in Palo Alto in 1964. A board member of the Palo Community Housing Inc. for 20 years, Mr. Gullixson also served as president of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and Grace Lutheran Church.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Certified Tax Law Specialist
- Tax Counsel to
Donald H. Read is a certified tax law specialist who emphasizes tax aspects of marital dissolutions in his broad tax practice. He has been named a Northern California SuperLawyer since 2008 and is past chair of the Taxation Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. In May 2010 he obtained a landmark private letter ruling from the IRS fully recognizing the community property rights of registered domestic partners in California. In January 2015 he was appointed to the 21-member Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC), a public forum for senior IRS executives and representatives of the public to discuss relevant tax administration issues. Focused on broad policy matters, the IRSAC reviews existing tax policy and recommends policies with respect to emerging tax administration issues.
Don has served as Tax Counsel to Lakin Spears since 1987. In the mid-1970's, he was an attorney-advisor in the United States Treasury Department's Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, and in the late 1980's he was an adjunct professor at USF School of Law. Don provides tax law support to each of our practice groups and is particularly active in the family law tax area.
Don previously served as vice-chair of the Domestic Relations Committee of the ABA Taxation Section and represented the Section in the development of Revenue Rulings 2002-22 and 2004-60 (division of stock options and nonqualified deferred compensation on divorce). He also represented the taxpayers in PLR 1994-27-009 (stock redemptions on divorce), PLR 2004-42-003 (buyout of nonqualified deferred compensation after divorce), PLR 2005-19-011 (division of community property stock options on divorce) and PLR 2007-37-009 (divison of incentive stock options on divorce). He has been actively involved in tax issues of California registered domestic partners and same sex spouses. He is a frequent speaker to county bar association family law sections, the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants and California Continuing Education of the Bar. For more information on Don's divorce-related tax practice see www.
Job Titles:
- Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Geniveve is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and is currently an officer and member of the Board of Managers. She has been certified as a Specialist in Family Law since 2003 and is also a member of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS). She has been named a Northern California "Super Lawyer" every year since 2006 and has frequently been named as one of the Northern California's "Top 50 Women Lawyers" across all practice areas.
To learn more about Geniveve's approach to mediation, and whether mediation is right for you, watch this video, prepared in collaboration with Sand Hill Global Advisors.
J. Anthony Villanueva has practiced law since 1981. He joined Lakin Spears, LLP in 1983, and became a partner in 1989. In his real estate practice, Tony represents individuals, developers, and investors in all aspects of acquiring, owning, managing, leasing, and disposing of commercial and residential real estate. He prepares and negotiates real estate purchase and sale agreements, secured and unsecured real estate loan documents, loan opinion letters, construction contracts, architectural contracts, property management agreements, tenancy in common agreements, easements, licenses, CC&Rs, REAs, and a wide variety of other real estate related documents. Tony has extensive experience in reviewing and resolving real estate title matters. In addition to preparing and negotiating a wide range of commercial leases on behalf of both landlords and tenants, he advises both landlords and tenants on a variety of landlord-tenant issues. Tony is also a licensed real estate broker.
Jessica F. Arner was a partner at Lakin Spears from 1992 to 2016, and is currently Of Counsel to the Firm. She has practiced family law exclusively for over 30 years. She has been certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a family law specialist since 1983.
Jessica joined Lakin Spears in 1979 and developed a recognized expertise in child custody, focusing on complex custody disputes in both San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Jessica is the author of the chapter about custody evaluations in the 2006 California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) book, "California Child Custody Litigation and Practice," and its annual updates. She is a past contributor to the CEB family law treatise and lectured for CEB and other organizations about child custody.
Jessica has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America since 1997 and in Northern California Super Lawyers since 2004. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County for over 30 years and is a past president of the organization
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Partner
- Member of the Stanford Golf Course
Joan A. LeBlanc was a partner at Lakin Spears until 2021 and is currently Of Counsel to the Firm. She has practiced law since 1982. Joan is certified by the State Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law.
Joan's estate planning practice focuses on the drafting of wills and revocable living trusts, for both married or unmarried couples and singles, that include testamentary transfers to irrevocable trusts for surviving spouses, qualified domestic trusts for non-citizen surviving spouses, and general succession planning for descendants. She also prepares various irrevocable trusts for both lifetime and testamentary transfers including life insurance trusts, generation-skipping trusts, and other irrevocable tax planned trusts.
Joan's estate and trust administration practice includes the handling of probate and other court supervised fiduciary proceedings, the administration of revocable and irrevocable trusts, and uncontested modification and reform of irrevocable trusts. On occasion, for existing clients, she will handle estate administration.
Prior to joining Lakin Spears, Joan was a partner at Aufmuth, Fox & LeBlanc, Palo Alto, for 10 years and prior to that, a partner with Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper) in Palo Alto. Joan served as Managing Partner of Lakin Spears from 2006 to 2008. She has a peer-review rating of AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale Hubbell. Joan has been named a Northern California "Super Lawyer" every year since 2006 and was named as one of the Northern California's "Top 50 Women Lawyers" across all practice areas in 2008. Joan is active in the Palo Alto Area Bar, Silicon Valley Bar, and Santa Mateo County Bar Associations.
A native of the Bay Area, Joan is a member of the Stanford Golf Course.
Job Titles:
- Partner in the Family Law
Lydia E. Crandall is a partner in the Family Law Group. Lydia began work with the Family Law Group in 2004 as a law clerk. She clerked with the firm throughout law school, became an associate of the firm in 2007 and a partner in 2016.
While completing her law degree, Lydia served as senior editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review and was a member of the law school's Moot Court Board. She was also selected to participate in the intensive Honors Lawyering Program.
Lydia handles a variety of family law matters including dissolution of marriage cases, post-judgment support and custody modifications, as well as premarital and post marital agreements. She has been trained as a mediator and in Collaborative Practice.
Lydia has been named a Northern California Rising Star every year since 2009 by Super Lawyers Magazine. She served as Co-Chair of the Family Law Section of the San Mateo County Bar Association in 2010 and as Chair in 2011. She was Co-Chair of Collaborative Practice of San Mateo County in 2014 and Chair in 2015. She currently serves as treasurer for the organization. Lydia has co-authored articles on disclosure obligations and attorney's fees and sanctions in family law cases.
Prior to attending law school, Ms. Crandall studied abroad in Australia and volunteered in Bahia, Brazil.
Job Titles:
- Attorney in the Family Law
Megan Berman is an attorney in the Family Law Group and handles all aspects of high-asset dissolution cases, including property characterization and division, child and spousal support, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and post-judgment issues. She is a skilled litigator, but also excels as an advocate for her clients in mediation and settlement settings. Megan has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine and recognized for Excellence in Family and Divorce Law by Lawyers of Distinction.
Prior to practicing family law, Megan worked in large, international law firms as a class action litigator, giving her a diverse background that lends itself to creative and flexible legal solutions for her clients. She is a member of the State Bar of California, as well as the San Mateo County and Santa Clara County Bar Associations.
Megan received her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, magna cum laude, where she was Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of College and University Law. She has a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, where she competed with and coached Mock Trial teams.
Megan has a strong history of commitment to pro bono and volunteer efforts, and has litigated immigration, criminal, and family law cases on a pro bono basis for victims of domestic violence and indigent clients. Originally hailing from the Midwest, Megan's interests include quilting, podcasts, and chasing her nieces and nephews.
Job Titles:
- Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Partner in the Family Law
Rita A. Patterson is a partner in the Family Law Group and is a Certified Family Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Her practice is devoted to handling complex financial and custody issues including spousal and child support, property division, business valuation, allocation of equity interests, premarital agreements and parenting plans.
Rita moved to the Bay Area in 1999 and was admitted to the California State Bar in 2000. She became a Family Law Specialist in 2005, and practiced with the law firm of Hammer & Jacobs, LLP from 2000-2007, where she was made a partner in 2005. Rita joined Lakin Spears, LLP as a partner in 2008.
Rita is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and is currently an at-large board member of the Northern California Chapter. Rita has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer every year since 2010. She is also an active member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the San Mateo County Bar Association. She has been a presenter at family law continuing education seminars and serves as a Pro Tem Settlement Officer for the Family Law Division of the Santa Clara County Superior Court.