Attorneys
Matthew S. Avedikian
BIO:
Matthew handles all aspects of the firm’s estate planning practice, and the administrative components of the firm’s trusts and estates practice, including basic and complex planning, revisions to existing estate plans, elder law matters, probates, and non-contested trust administration. In addition, Matthew assists clients with preparing for the eventuality of facing significant long-term care costs, balancing asset preservation with important estate, gift, income, and property tax considerations.
Despite having prepared and administered hundreds of trusts over his 17-year career, Matthew treats each client uniquely and strives to provide a tailored, comprehensive client experience and work product. For this reason, Matthew is proud to be entrusted with referrals from existing and former clients, as well as attorneys, financial planners, CPAs, real estate brokers, and other professionals who share a similar client-centered philosophy.
Prior to Avedikian Law, Matthew practiced at the Walnut Creek office of Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley (now Donahue Fitzgerald) handling general business and corporate law, and commercial real estate transactions. Matthew began his career counseling entrepreneurs, professionals, and small business owners on property acquisitions, succession planning, and commercial transactions in a leading Central Valley firm.
Matthew brings these broader legal experiences to bear on his current estate planning and trusts and estates practices, and helps clients protect and administer a wide-range of assets, including limited liability companies, jointly owned real estate interests, residential and commercial rental properties, leasehold interests, closely-held businesses, corporate and partnership interests, professional corporations and limited liability partnerships, stock options and restricted stock units, and other specialized assets.
BAR ADMISSIONS:
· California
· U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
EDUCATION:
· J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, (UC Law SF), 2007
· B.S., Business Administration, Pepperdine University, 2004
· B.A., Religion, Pepperdine University, 2004
EXTERNSHIPS:
· The Honorable James A. Ardaiz (Ret.), Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2005, 2007)
AFFILIATIONS:
· State Bar of California, Estate Planning Section
· Contra Costa Bar Association, Estate Planning & Probate Section
· California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), Estate Planning Panel
· Estate Planning Council of Diablo Valley
· East Bay Trusts & Estates Lawyers
· Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa, Inc., Board Member
Elizabeth A. Avedikian
BIO:
Liza handles the firm’s litigation practice, representing and advising clients in family law, trusts & estates, and probate. She also advises entrepreneurs and small businesses on employment policies, best practices, discrimination, and wage and hour matters.
As a Korean-American (formerly “Elizabeth Yi”), Liza is a passionate advocate for empowering entrepreneurs and marginalized individuals with the legal tools necessary to realize their personal and professional goals.
Liza began her legal career at a prominent public interest firm where she defended entrepreneurs and businesses against unfair regulatory practices at both federal and state levels. She authored amicus curiae briefs filed with the California Supreme Court and other state courts, supporting the freedom to contract, legal tort reform, and defending employers against class action lawsuits. Liza thereafter practiced labor and employment law with a statewide firm, and worked at the California Court of Appeal briefing judges on pending cases. She began her family law practice at a legal aid center where she represented victims of domestic violence.
During law school, she interned at the California Attorney General’s Office and worked as a research assistant to Professor Roger C. Park where she edited portions of his “Witness” volume to the New Wigmore evidence treatise.
BAR ADMISSIONS:
· California
· U.S. District Court, Northern & Eastern Districts of California
EDUCATION:
· J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, (UC Law SF), 2007
· B.A., Economics, Minor Mathematics, Occidental College, 2003
LEGAL PUBLICATIONS:
· The Spirit of Brown in Parents Involved and Beyond, 63 U. Miami L. Rev. 657 (2009).
· Pay for Commuting and "Off-The-Clock" Work, Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal, Oct. 1, 2009.
· Cause for Alarm, Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal, June 10, 2009.
· The Impact of AT&T v. Hulteen, Law360, June 10, 2009.
· The Court's Pregnant Pause, Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal, Dec. 30, 2008.
· Opinion Editorial: Vaccine Lawsuit Hazards, The Washington Times, June 8, 2008.
AFFILIATIONS:
· State Bar of California, Family Law Section
· Contra Costa County Bar Association, Family Law Section
· Committee, U.C. Hastings-Contra Costa Alumni Association
AWARDS:
· State Bar of California, Wiley W. Manuel Award For Pro Bono Legal Services, 2010 & 2011
· The President's Volunteer Service Award, The President's Council On Service And Civil Participation, 2011
Steven G. Hasegawa
BIO:
Steven specializes in the firm’s family law practice, handling all types of divorce, custody, support, and pre- and post-marital agreements. Steven also assists in the firm’s litigation practice, including civil, probate, trust and estates litigation.
Steven works with clients who are going through difficult personal situations to design individualized solutions and strategies. His practice can range from planning and executing a litigation strategy in a complex dispute to negotiating favorable settlements without creating undue tension.
Steven began emphasizing family law practice after encountering the field as a judicial extern in the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles. During law school, he interned at a family law office in Walnut Creek, before joining the same office as an Associate Attorney. Steven has extensive experience litigating child custody and visitation, child support, spousal support, dependent adult child support, asset division, domestic violence, and breach of fiduciary duty issues.
Steven appreciates working in practice areas where legal knowledge, sense, and strategy are coupled with the practicalities of each client’s individual circumstances to turn a low-point into the beginning of a new chapter of life.
BAR ADMISSIONS:
· California
EDUCATION:
· J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 2016
· B.A., English, University of California, Berkeley, 2013
EXTERNSHIP:
· Judicial Extern, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, 2014
AFFILIATIONS:
· California Lawyer's Association, Family Law Section
· Contra Costa County Bar Association, Family Law Section