Experienced business, probate, and trust litigators…

delivering cost-effective results.

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About Hoffman Legal Corporation

For years, Hoffman Legal Corporation has been providing reliable business, probate, and trust litigation services to clients in Southern California and nationwide. We are recognized for delivering cost-effective results for individuals, businesses, and corporations in a wide range of industry sectors. Our clients turn to our experienced team because they trust the proactive and tenacious way we represent them in mediation, arbitration, or in the courtroom.

Probate and Trust Litigation
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Will and Trust Contests

Business Litigation
Breach of Contract
Fraud and Undue Influence

Areas of practice

Our expansive litigation services also include:

Trust Accountings
Business interference actions
Commercial collection lawsuits
Conversion
Corporate director/officer liability
Defamation and libel
Elder abuse
Fraudulent transfer
Landlord/tenant and unlawful detainer
Partnership/shareholder disputes
Real estate/title/easement disputes
Trademark and copyright infringement
Trade secrets
Unfair competition
Wrongful termination of key employees

Services

We aggressively advocate on behalf of our clients to save unnecessary legal costs and we analyze cases thoroughly upfront. We then develop a unique strategy that often results in early settlement or case-dispositive court rulings for our clients’ benefit. Our clients achieve exceptional success involving various disputes at arbitration, mediation, jury trials, bench trials, and appeals.

what our clients say

“Hoffman Legal Corporation recently helped resolve my case quickly and efficiently. If I had worked with the firm initially, I am convinced the case time would have been saved and overall legal costs would have been greatly reduced. From our first meeting, the frank advice we were given by the attorneys at Hoffman Legal Corporation, was key to confirming the reality I had been feeling all along.”

“When working with Sandra Becker at Hoffman Legal Corporation, her intelligence and focus was evident throughout our work together. Sandra’s ability to look beyond just facts was critical and she quickly assessed emotional factors that were driving multiple parties with disparate objectives. Coupled with Paul Hoffman’s experience and his ability to project costs and the benefits of mediation and trial, I received the “reality check” I was looking for. In short, I received professional service and advice.”

“It was no small feat for us to get the great settlement in our legal case that we achieved recently. The key was being fully prepared to go to trial, but willing to settle for a reasonable amount if the opportunity presented itself. Our 13 hours in mediation together produced results that saved months of time, tens of thousands of dollars, and freed us from a burden that could have lasted years.”

achievements

$4 million

Our clients were cheated out of their benefits under an employment agreement. We sued the company and its principals for breach of contract, fraud, concealment, conspiracy, and severe emotional distress. After a 6-week trial, the jury awarded our clients almost $4 million, including $2.7 million in punitive damages.

$4.1 million

We obtained a $4.1 million dollar verdict for our clients after a 4-week jury trial, which found the defendant had converted our client’s investment of $600,000 in a real estate partnership.

Dismissed

We obtained the dismissal of securities fraud claims potentially worth millions of dollars against seven limited partnership clients. The Court granted our motion on the grounds of the statute of limitations and the Court of Appeal affirmed in a published opinion.

Undue Influence

A client’s mother with dementia was unduly influenced by the client’s sister to sign a will and trust, disinheriting the client 10 days before her mother died. We sued to invalidate the trust and to surcharge the sibling for her fraud in attempting to enforce the invalid trust. After a deposition which destroyed her defenses, the greedy sibling agreed to a settlement restoring the full amount of our client’s inheritance.

Dishonest Trustee

A dishonest trustee tried to cover up the fraudulent expenses he incurred for the trust, in an attempt to secure more than his share of a testamentary trust. We obtained an order for an accounting and settled the case for a large sum of cash, after exposing the dishonest trustee in deposition, proving that his claims for reimbursement were fraudulent.

Anti-SLAPP Dismissal

A client was sued for using an allegedly false psychiatric evaluation in a court proceeding and for violating the plaintiff’s privacy by obtaining proof of the plaintiff’s affairs. We filed an anti-SLAPP motion to strike these allegations from the complaint. The case was dismissed on very favorable terms after the filing the motion.

Harassment Order

Our client was physically assaulted and harassed at a political rally by a member of a rival group who was continuing to threaten the client. We obtained a court order requiring the defendant to stay away from our client and to not contact him either directly or indirectly, in person, or on social media.

Defamation Retraction

A major university student newspaper defamed our client and damaged his reputation by claiming he was a terrorist. We intervened and obtained a public retraction of the false claim and the removal of the slanderous accusation.

Five-figure Settlement

We achieved a large five figure settlement on behalf of an investment advisor and asset manager who performed valuable services for a trust, but who was accused of having a disqualifying conflict of interest with one of the trust beneficiaries.

Key People

Sandra M. Becker-Zymet

Attorney At Law

Paul A. Hoffman

President

Attorney At Law

professional background

For over 30 years, Paul Hoffman has successfully represented numerous small-to-medium sized businesses and individuals in business litigation and in probate/trust contests stopping relatives who are conspiring to steal from their parent’s estate or trust.

Paul helps his clients achieve the kind of outstanding legal results they expect from major law firms, but with cost-effective pricing that can only come from smaller firms. Among many creative and cost-saving strategies Paul uses for his clients’ unique needs, results are often achieved through early negotiated resolutions or case-dispositive motions, eliminating the need for further litigation and excessive legal costs.

Paul is highly experienced and skilled in business litigation, will and trust contests, breach of fiduciary duty, contract interference, intellectual property, and many other claims, for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Education

Paul Hoffman holds a Juris Doctorate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science from Brigham Young University. Paul graduated cum laude and he was also a Note and Comment Editor for BYU Law Review.

Professional Ratings

Paul Hoffman is AV Preeminent, the highest peer rating for professional excellence through Martindale-Hubble.

Memberships/Associations

State Bar of California
Bar of the US Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US District Court for the Central District of CA
US District Court for the Southern District of CA
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
US District Court for the District of Utah
Utah State Bar
Orange County Bar Association
J. Reuben Clark Law Society
Affiliate Attorney, Individual Rights Foundation
General Counsel, The Fort Moore Garrison a 501 © (3) nonprofit organization

Just for Fun

Paul pursues his interest in history by acting as General Counsel and Living History Reenactor for a local non-profit corporation and participating in historical reenactments throughout Southern California. Paul also enjoys mountain biking in wide open terrains with his wife Cindy whenever they can fit it into their schedules.

professional background

Sandra Becker-Zymet has an extensive and successful legal background in business litigation, as well as trusts and probate litigation. Sandra is skilled at handling national, as well as international business transactions, and she advises clients on corporate formation and intellectual property protection.

education

Sandra holds a Master’s Degree in Law from Southwestern Law School. She also holds a German law degree from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany and successfully completed the University’s “Foreign Law and Language Program” (FFA).

Memberships/Associations

Orange County Bar Association
German American Business Association
California State Bar
United States District Court for the Southern District of California

just for fun

Born and raised in Germany, Sandra is fluent in German. In her free time she enjoys power yoga, traveling to exotic places, and hiking with her dog.

(949) 600-8889 phone | (949) 297-3767 fax | info@hoffmanlegal.net

27405 Puerta Real, Suite 270, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 | Mission Viejo Law Office Map

Experienced business, probate, and trust litigators…we deliver cost-effective results.