Profile
Bette Epstein, Esq. has been mediating trust and estate disputes since 2000. Following a remarkable career as a litigator for over 30 years, she turned her focus to alternative dispute resolution 16 years ago and has been helping parties settle their disputes ever since. She is now available as a full-time mediator and discovery referee.
Ms. Epstein is highly regarded as one of the Bay Area’s leading probate specialists. She spent the last 28 years of her litigation career handling trust and estate disputes, contested conservatorships, elder abuse claims, and serving as an expert witness in conservatorship, trust & estate litigation proceedings. As an associate and partner at Crosby Heafey Roach & May (now Reed Smith), she was responsible for building up its trust and estate litigation practice, and eventually went on to become a managing partner of its Oakland office in 2007.
Areas of Specialization
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- Contested Conservatorships
- Financial Elder Abuse
- Trust and Estate Accounting Disputes
- Real Property Transfers
- Trust Contests
- Trust Administration Disputes
- Will Contests
Legal Experience
- Reed Smith
- Partner, Senior Counsel 2003-2015
- Managing Partner, Oakland Office 2007-2012
- Crosby Heafey Roach & May
- Shareholder, Director 1993-2002
- Associate Attorney 1986-1992
Professional Experience
- Clinic for Adults and Children
- Licensed Psychotherapist, Director of Geriatric Counseling 1979-1983
Education
- University of San Francisco, J.D. with honors, 1986
- California State University at Hayward, M.S. Counseling – 1979
- University of Southern California, B.S. Psychology – 1965
Mediation Training
- Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University – 2013
- Appellate Mediation, Richard Birke and Dana Curtis – 2001
- Advanced Mediation, John Paul Jones Group – 2001
- Comprehensive Mediation, John Paul Jones Group – 1999
Professional Recognition
- AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, 1996-Present
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), 2002-Present
- Top 100 Super Lawyers in Northern California, 2010-2012
- Northern California Super Lawyer, 2004-2016
- Woman of Distinction, San Francisco Business Times, 2009
- Best Lawyers in America, 2009
- Woman of Distinction, East Bay Business Times, 2008
Publications
- Continuing Education of the Bar Action Guide, Co-Editor for all 7 editions
Capacity and Undue Influence: Assessing, Challenging and Defending 1999-2014 - Aspatore Books, Contributor
Best Practices for Structuring Trusts and Estates 2014
Speaking Engagements
Ms. Epstein is a frequent lecturer at the University of San Francisco, School of Law and Golden Gate University Law School on the subject of legal ethics, and a frequent MCLE presenter on the topic of mediating trust and estate disputes.