Nicholas J. Van Brunt is a partner in the Business Trial Practice Group and is the Team Leader of the firm’s Private Wealth Services Team. Mr. Van Brunt focuses his practice on resolving disputes over trusts, estates, conservatorships, and other fiduciary matters. A respected member of the Los Angeles legal community, Mr. Van Brunt is known as a pragmatic and effective trusts and estates litigator who seeks to achieve favorable results for his clients through skillful negotiation, strategic counsel and deft trial work.
Whether in the courtroom or at mediation, it is his ability both to advocate passionately and effectively for his clients and to counsel clients compassionately but credibly that has helped him consistently achieve favorable outcomes in various contexts.
Mr. Van Brunt has developed an impressive roster of clients who value his discretion, experience and accessible approach. His clients include individuals, non-profit organizations and corporate entities, whom he represents in matters large and small. His typical client matters include will and trust contests, breach of fiduciary duty cases, trustee accounting matters, conservatorship proceedings, and cases involving the intersection between probate law and other legal issues.
Mr. Van Brunt also has substantial general business litigation experience, including disputes arising in labor and employment, intellectual property, securities, real estate, professional responsibility matters, judgment collection, bankruptcy matters, and general breach of contract and tort actions.
Mr. Van Brunt is actively engaged in the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), as a member of the Executive Committee of the LACBA Trust & Estates Section and the Chair of the PVP Liaison Committee, which is responsible for producing several training programs each year throughout Los Angeles County for court-appointed attorneys in conservatorship and guardianship matters.
Mr. Van Brunt is also very involved in pro bono matters on behalf of both individuals and non-profit organizations and serves as a Probate Settlement Officer with the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Pro Bono Probate Settlement Program, offered through the San Fernando Valley Bar Association.
Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Mr. Van Brunt was a partner of Loeb & Loeb, LLP, in the Trust and Estate Litigation group. Mr. Van Brunt began his legal career as an associate in the litigation department of White & Case LLP’s Los Angeles office.
Education:
- The University of Oxford and the George Washington University, Joint Programme in International Human Rights Law, 2001
- J.D., George Washington University, 2004, Notes Editor, American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal
- M.A., George Washington University (Elliott School of International Affairs), 2004
- B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1999
Admissions:
- California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Experience:
- Obtained stipulated resignation of individual trustee after first morning of trial seeking his removal from office.
- Won a trial concerning the interpretation of several clauses of a 100+ page trust instrument, resulting in a seven-figure benefit to the client.
- Successfully obtained conservatorship over person and estate of client’s parent in connection with estate valued in excess of $30,000,000, where allegations of elder abuse and undue influence necessitated protection of the client’s parent.
- Successfully defended directors of non-profit foundation that provides millions of dollars to various charitable beneficiaries in binding arbitration.
- Member of team that successfully represented current owner of National Basketball Association franchise in high-profile litigation concerning the sale of that team.
- Obtained numerous favorable settlements for individual trustees, individual beneficiaries, corporate trustees and entities, and nonprofit organizations, both through mediation and face-to-face negotiation.
Cost
Rate : $$$