About Erica

I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and grew up in Martinez, California. I attended the University of California, Davis and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. In 1994 I realized a life-long dream and attended law school at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California, and earned my J.D. in 1998. 

I practiced environmental and employment law for a class-action firm for two years. I decided it was time for a change and went to work for the Dryden firm where I practiced personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice and construction law for thirteen rewarding years. 

So how did my past lead me to estate planning? My Grandmother passed away in 2011. She had an estate plan and updated it before she died, but the trust administration hit a snag - documents proving her home belonged to the trust had disappeared. The attorney who drafted her trust was permanently unavailable and his files were inaccessible. Prior to converting to electronic records, the County Recorder’s Office burnt down, and all of the records were destroyed. Fortunately, a sentimental family member who was a retired attorney that had shared office space with my Grandmother’s attorney kept a copy of her file because the documents contained his deceased brother’s signature! This spared our family from spending hours in court and thousands of dollars on attorneys’ fees. This experience inspired me to return to Golden Gate University in 2014, where I earned my LL.M. in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. 

I support local businesses and causes that are important to me including Habitat for Humanity, Wounded Warrior and Pug Rescue of Sacramento. I enjoy reading, cooking, mountain biking and traveling abroad. In my spare time, I love exploring my neighborhood in the Livermore Wine Country with my husband and our three rescue pugs, Louie, Fiona, and Bianca.