THE FIRM'S ATTORNEYS
The philosophy of Tobin & Tobin, unchanged since its formation in 1852, is to provide to its clients high-quality, prompt and professional services that are responsive to their needs. Accordingly, the firm selects and develops a limited number of highly competent attorneys to serve its clients. This approach has achieved a high degree of client satisfaction and a favorable reception by the members of the legal and business communities throughout California.
MARTIN D. MURPHY, born San Francisco, California, 1935. Admitted to California Bar 1962. Education: University of Santa Clara (B.A. 1956); University of San Francisco (J.D. 1961).
Mr. Murphy is the senior member of the firm and practices exclusively in the areas of estate planning, probate, trust administration and nonprofit organization representation. Mr. Murphy is a member of the Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Laws of the American Bar Association; Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Section of the State Bar of California; and the Attorneys' Probate Section of San Francisco. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has lectured on estate planning for the California Continuing Education of the Bar.
Mr. Murphy has served as an officer or director of many nonprofit, community-oriented organizations. In recognition of his services to the Church, he was invested as a Knight of Malta in 1981. In 1985, he was the recipient of the St. Thomas More Award presented by the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco. In 1988 the University of San Francisco School of Law gave him its St. Thomas More Award in recognition of his service to the school.
EUGENE C. PAYNE III, born San Francisco, California, 1947. Admitted to California Bar 1973. Education: Georgetown University (A.B. 1969); Harvard Law School (J.D. 1973). Mr. Payne was in the Office of the General Counsel of Bank of America before he joined Tobin & Tobin.
Mr. Payne is a business and financial institutions member of the firm and is a member of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and is a member of, and served as Co-Chair in 1981-1982 of, the Banking, Business and Corporation Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. He served as Chairman of the San Francisco Bank Attorneys Association in 1989. He is a past President of the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco and serves on the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Payne's practice
principally involves transactional work on behalf of businesses and financial
institutions, including general corporate law, loan documentation, operations
advice, contract and lease negotiation and preparation, and regulatory
matters.
ecpayneiii@tobinlaw.com
PAUL E. GASPARI, born San Francisco, California, 1952. Admitted to California Bar 1977. Education: University of San Francisco (B.A. 1974); University of California, Hastings College of Law (J.D. 1977).
Mr. Gaspari is a
litigation partner of the firm, with an emphasis on commercial law, insurance
defense, real estate, and employment related litigation. He routinely
represents employers and their insurers in the defense of employee misconduct
actions including the defense of sexual harassment and Title VII claims.
Mr. Gaspari also litigates First Amendment issues for several national,
state and local religious organizations. He was trial and appellate counsel
in the following reported cases: Karoutas v. HomeFed Bank (1991) 232 Cal.App.3d
767; Bollard v. California Province (9th Cir. 1999) 196 F.3d 940; East
Bay Asian Local Development Corp. v. State of California (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th
1033, and Juarez v. Boy Scouts of America, Inc. (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th
876. He is a member of the Litigation, Employment and Real Property Sections
of the California State Bar. He has lectured on Articles 3 and 4 with
the Practicing Law Institute and on construction litigation with California
Continuing Education of the Bar. He has authored a chapter on "Stolen,
Lost or Forged Instruments" in Practicing Law Institute's series on Basic
UCC Skills, 1990, Articles 3 and 4. Mr. Gaspari is also a member of the
bar of the United States Supreme Court.
pgaspari@tobinlaw.com
KEITH A. KANDARIAN, born Fresno, California, 1952. Admitted to the Bars of California and Nevada 1978. Education: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (B.A. 1974); Southwestern University, SCALE program (J.D. 1977).
Mr. Kandarian is a business and financial institutions member of the firm. He served as Law Clerk to the Honorable James A. Brennan, District Judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court, Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1978 to 1979. He is a member of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar and Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco; and was trial counsel in the following reported cases: The Society of California Pioneers v. Roger Baker (1996) 43 Cal.App. 4th 774; and Nevada National Bank v. Snyder (1992) 108 Nev. 151.
Mr. Kandarian practices
general business law, with an emphasis in securities and general corporate
financing. He represents financial institutions in commercial and real
property lending transactions, and is also a member of the bar of the
United States Supreme Court.
kkandarian@tobinlaw.com
C. DARRELL SOOY, born Berkeley, California, 1944. Admitted to California Bar 1970. Education: University of California at Berkeley (B.S. 1966); University of California, Hastings College of Law (J.D. 1969).
Mr. Sooy is the senior managing director of the firm. He was the Chair in 1986 of the Attorneys' Committee of the California League of Savings Institutions and is a member of the Attorneys' Committee of the United States League of Savings Institutions. He is the author of the Chapter on "Escrow and Closing the Sale" in California Real Property Sales Transactions (1998) published by the California Continuing Education of the Bar and its annual supplement. He has also written the Chapter on "The Deed of Trust" in California Real Estate Finance Practice (2000) published by the California Continuing Education of the Bar. Mr. Sooy has represented the Bar Association of San Francisco at the State Bar Convention for a number of years.
Mr. Sooy is a regular lecturer for California Continuing Education of the Bar on the subjects of Escrows and Escrow Litigation, Secured Real Property Transactions and Recent Developments in Real Property Practice. His practice emphasizes financial institution law, real property and secured transactions.
Mr. Sooy has specific
experience in litigating many of the important issues that have faced
real property lenders in California. Mr. Sooy was counsel for the savings
and loan in the California cases which upheld the prepayment clause in
loan document (Lazzareschi Inv. Co. v. San Francisco Fed. Sav. & Loan
Ass'n) (1971) 22 CA.3d 303, 99 CR 417 and the limited liability of construction
lenders (Fox & Carskadon Financial Corp. v. San Francisco Federal Savings
and Loan Ass'n (1975) 52 CA.3d 484, 125 CR 549). Mr. Sooy has also defended
class action lawsuits against financial institutions such as Wilson v.
San Francisco Federal Savings and Loan Association (1976) 62 Cal.3d 1,
132 CR 903.
dsooy@tobinlaw.com
HILARY L. LAMAR, born San Francisco, California, 1948. Admitted to California Bar 1980. Education: University of California at Berkeley (B.A. 1971, with honors); University of San Francisco School of Law (J.D. 1980, cum laude). Ms. Lamar was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Awards for Excellence in Secured Interests in Personal Property and Estate Planning. She also received the Prentice-Hall Award for Excellence in Taxation.
Ms. Lamar is a probate, trust and estate tax member of the firm. She served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Ira A. Brown, Judge of the Superior Court, Law and Motion Department, City and County of San Francisco in 1979. Ms. Lamar is the co-author of the Chapter on "Estate Planning for Shareholders" in California Closely Held Corporations Tax and Practice Guide, published by Matthew Bender & Company in 1987; and the chapter entitled "Estate Planning Considerations at the Time of Organization" in Closely Held Corporations, published by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education in 1986. She served as a consultant to the California Continuing Education of the Bar for California Trust Administration published in 1986.
Ms. Lamar practices exclusively in probate, trust administration and estate planning.
Ms. Lamar is a member
of the Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Section of the State Bar of
California; Section on Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of
the American Bar Association; San Francisco Area Women Tax Lawyers; and
Attorneys Probate Association of San Francisco.
hlamar@tobinlaw.com
JOHN P. CHRISTIAN, born San Francisco, California, 1958. Admitted to California Bar 1983. Education: University of California at Berkeley (B.S. 1980); University of San Francisco School of Law (J.D. 1983). Mr. Christian was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Contracts. He is a past President of the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco.
Mr. Christian is a financial institutions and litigation member of the firm. He served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Ira A. Brown, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, City and County of San Francisco, in 1983. Mr. Christian served on the Editorial Advisory Board for the first edition of California Causes of Action, published in 1998 by James Publishing, Inc. He is a member of the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Mr. Christian has served as an officer or director of a number of not-for-profit, community-oriented organizations.
Mr. Christian's
practice emphasizes litigation and transactional work for financial institutions,
including creditors' rights, bankruptcy, real property and general commercial
litigation.
jchristian@tobinlaw.com
PHILLIP R. POLLOCK, born Omaha, Nebraska, 1947. Admitted to California Bar 1974; New York Bar 1975. Education: Stanford University (B.A. 1970); Stanford Graduate School of Business (M.B.A. 1974); Stanford Law School (J.D. 1974).
Mr. Pollock practices general corporate law, with an emphasis on corporate securities transactions. His practice emphasizes private and public financings, including venture capital funding for start-up and developing companies, initial and secondary public offerings and mortgage and asset securitizations for financial institutions. He represents a number of real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Mr. Pollock is a
member of the Business Law and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law
Sections of the American Bar Association. He also serves on the Secondary
and Capital Markets Committee of Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
prpollock@tobinlaw.com
W. STEPHEN WILSON, born Helena, Arkansas, 1948. Admitted to the California Bar 1973. Education: Stanford University (B.A. 1970); University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D. 1973).
Mr. Wilson is a corporate law and real estate law member of the firm, specializing in transactional work. He is a member of the Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the California Bar Association. He was the author of the Chapter titled "Brokers" in California Real Estate Sales Transactions (1993) and a contributing editor of California Mortgage and Deed of Trust Practice (1990) and California Real Estate Remedies Practice (1982 and later supplements), all published by California Continuing Education of the Bar. Mr. Wilson has also served as a State Bar-appointed member of the CEB Advisory Board, and has lectured for that organization for many years.
His appellate cases in the real estate area include Easton v. Strassburger (1984) 152 Cal.3d 90, which established the modern disclosure standard for residential real estate brokers.
In the corporate area, Mr. Wilson has developed a specialty practice in the area of emerging technologies, representing software, electronics and internet companies in almost all aspects of their businesses.
Mr. Wilson has founded
and/or served as a director of a number of nonprofit organizations, including
several serving the needs of at-risk children. He is an active advocate
for the adoption of children from the former Soviet Union.
wswhome@aol.com
GREGORY J. RYKEN, born San Francisco, California. Admitted to California Bar 1973. Education: University of San Francisco (B.A. 1969); University of California, Hastings College of Law (J.D. 1973). gryken@value.net
MARY A. PRICE, born Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 1953. Admitted to California Bar 1978. Education: Stanford University (B.A. 1974); University of California, Hastings College of the Law (J.D. 1978). Ms. Price was in the Office of the General Counsel of Bank of America before she joined the firm in 2005.
Ms. Price practices General corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on consumer transactions. She has developed an expertise in laws governing federal and private student loans. She also participated, on behalf of the California Bankers Association, as an observer and as a member of the Consumer Issues Subcommittee, as the Article 9 Drafting Committee developed a new version of Uniform Commercial Code Article 9, effective 2001.
Ms. Price is a member
of the Consumer Financial Services Committee of the Business Law Section
of the American Bar Association; the California State Bar Consumer Financial
Services Committee; and the Governing Committee of the Conference on Consumer
Finance Law.
mprice@tobinlaw.com
LAWRENCE
R. JANNUZZI, born Phoenix, Arizona, 1956. Admitted to California
Bar 1987. Education: Arizona State University (B.A. 1978, magna cum laude);
University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D. 1987).
At Boalt, he served as a Senior Section Editor of the International Tax
and Business Law Journal, was a member of the Moot Court Advisory Board,
and received the William L. Prosser Award for Excellence in Constitutional
Law. Mr. Jannuzzi is a litigation and business transactions associate
of the firm. Mr. Jannuzzi is a member of Real Property and Litigation
Sections of the Bar Association of
San Francisco.
ljannuzzi@tobinlaw.com
TANIA TOUR-SARKISSIAN, admitted to Illinois Bar, 1985; admitted to California Bar, 1989. Education: Yale College (B.A., cum laude, 1981); Columbia University School of Law (J.D., 1984); Co-Author Patton on Titles and Basye on Clearing Land Titles.
STACY
K. STECHER, born San Francisco, California, 1971. Admitted
to California Bar 1998. Education: Boston College (B.A., magna cum laude,
1993); Hastings College of the Law, University of California (J.D. 1998).
sstecher@tobinlaw.com
VÉRONIQUE B. VIARD, born Paris, France, 1976. Admitted to California Bar, 2003. Admitted to French Bar, 2000. Education: University of Paris-X Nanterre (B.A. and J.D. in French and Anglo-American Law). University of Reading, UK (LLM in Business Law). University of Paris-Sorbonne (Master in European Community Law). After 2 years of practice in France, Ms. Viard (née Legros) joined the firm in 2002. She practices in general corporate law, securities law transactions, including mortgage and assets securitization, and has developed an expertise in corporate governance compliance for SEC reporting clients represented by the firm. vviard@tobinlaw.com
DANIEL
C. ZAMORA, born Hinsdale, Illinois, 1977. Admitted to California
Bar 2003. Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A.,
magna cum laude, 1999); University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall
School of Law (J.D. 2002)
dzamora@tobinlaw.com
