Practice/Organization Description
Leslie Daff is certified by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law, a designation earned by less than 1% of licensed attorneys in the state. Formerly with the law firms of Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison LLP, Best Best and Krieger LLP, and Palmieri, Tyler, Weiner, Wilhelm and Waldron LLP, she founded professional law corporation Estate Plan, Inc. in Laguna Beach 2005. She added an Irvine location in 2006, and in conjunction with Randy Gardner, JD, MBA, LLM, CPA, added an Overland Park location in 2010.
Leslie received her B.S. degree in Finance from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and her M.B.A. degree from the University of California, Irvine Paul Merage School of Business. Prior to law school, she worked as a financial analyst and as Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis at subsidiaries of the Coca-Cola Company and Baxter Healthcare, respectively.
She received her J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she served as an editor on the Loyola Law School Entertainment Law Review, received American Jurisprudence Awards for Excellence in Legal Research and Writing and Ethical Lawyering, and was installed as a member of the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society. She also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Sheila Prell Sonenshine, Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal.
Consistently named by OC Metro magazine as one of Orange County's top lawyers, Leslie is co-author of the Estate Planning Considerations chapter update for the State Bar of California Continuing Education of the Bar book Buy-Sell Agreements. She is co-editor of the 2009 book Estate Planning Strategies, Collective Wisdom,Proven Techniques. She is a regular columnist on estate and tax planning matters for the Journal of Financial Planning.
Leslie serves on the Board of the South Orange County Bar Association. She is also a member of the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the American Bar Association, the Trusts and Estates Section of the Orange County Bar Association, and the Orange Coast Estate Planning Council.
She is involved with the Alumni Board of Directors for the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business – Orange County Chapter, a member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle of the University of California, Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Laguna Beach Rotary Club Foundation. She regularly speaks on estate planning topics for a variety of groups and organizations, including the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Bar Admissions
California 2000
Education
B.S., USC Marshall School of Business
M.B.A., UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
J.D., Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
Professional Associations & Memberships
Board of Directors, South Orange County Bar Association
Member, American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
Member Orange County Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Section
Board of Directors, University of California Irvine Graduate School of Management Alumni Board
Member, Dean's Leadership Circle, University of California, Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
Board of Directors, University of Southern California Marshall School of Business Alumni Board - Orange County
Member, State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Section
Board of Directors, Laguna Beach Rotary Club Foundation
Member, Orange Coast Estate Planning Council
Honors and Awards
Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
O.C.'s Top Lawyers - OC Metro Magazine
American Jurisprudence Award for Legal Research and Writing
American Jurisprudence Award for Ethical Lawyering
Corpus Juris Secundum Award for Contracts
St. Thomas More Law Honor Society
