About Rothrock Legal
A trust and estate litigation firm built for the way cases are won now.
We represent the people who get hurt when a trust or estate goes wrong: the daughter cut out by a late amendment, the brother whose co-trustee sibling won't show the books. San Jose, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area.
What we do
Trust and estate litigation. That's the practice.
Most of our cases start the same way. Someone died, the trust or the will isn't what everyone expected, and the person holding the money won't explain.
We contest trusts and wills, prove undue influence and lack of capacity, remove and surcharge trustees and executors who break the rules, force accountings, recover property that was moved out of a trust or estate under Probate Code section 850, and stop financial elder abuse. We handle these cases in San Jose and Santa Clara County and across the Bay Area, in San Mateo, Alameda, and San Francisco counties.
We work both sides of the table. A family-member trustee who never asked for the job and is now facing an accounting demand, a removal petition, or a surcharge claim gets a defense, and a trustee acting in good faith can hire us at the trust’s expense. And when the estate is a complicated one, with several properties, an LLC or a family business held in trust, and millions at issue, that is the kind of case this firm was built to run.
Trust contests
“A sibling changed Mom’s trust.”
What you can do
Will contests
“We were cut out, and the will doesn’t say why.”
What you can do
Undue influence & capacity
“Dad signed a new will when he couldn’t remember our names.”
What you can do
Trustees who break the rules
“The executor is selling things off and paying themselves.”
What you can do
Accountings & information
“The trustee won’t show us the accounting.”
What you can do
Property disputes (§ 850)
“Assets that were supposed to be in the trust are gone.”
What you can do
Financial elder abuse
“A caregiver ended up with the house.”
What you can do
Representing trustees
“I'm the trustee, and a beneficiary is coming after me.”
What you can do
Complex and high-value estates
“Multiple properties, an LLC, a family business?”
What you can do
We also take business and partnership disputes when a family company is part of the fight.
An AI-enabled practice
AI is in this firm's DNA.
Arthur is the co-founder and CEO of Legion, an AI litigation platform built for California litigators, and this firm runs its cases on it. For your case, that means the bank records, medical files, and trust documents are organized and searchable in days, not months. First drafts of pleadings and discovery come back in hours, not days. The lawyers’ time goes where it counts: strategy, evidence, and the courtroom. And the heavy lifting costs less.
None of that replaces judgment. What to file, what to argue, when to settle, when to try the case – every one of those calls is a lawyer’s. A lawyer reads every filing before it goes out, and a lawyer stands behind it in court.
The Legion AI Litigator seal
A Legion AI Litigator is a lawyer who has committed to using AI responsibly at every level of a client’s case: the research, the drafting, and the strategy, with a lawyer in charge of every decision, the client’s information safeguarded, and the savings passed on.
Whoever you talk to about your case, it is a fair question to ask: is AI being used on my matter, and who is in charge of it? This seal is one firm’s answer, in writing. The commitments below are what you can hold us to.
Your information is safeguarded.
Everything you share is protected by a lawyer’s duty of confidentiality and handled on systems built for law firms, under the same rules as everything else a lawyer holds.
A lawyer is in charge at every step.
AI never decides anything. A lawyer directs the research, shapes the strategy, signs every filing, and answers for it in court.
The best technology, on the hard parts.
Cutting-edge AI sharpens the research, the drafting, and the strategy behind your case, so the lawyers’ hours go to judgment and advocacy, not paperwork.Cutting-edge AI sharpens the research, the drafting, and the strategy behind your defense, so the lawyers’ hours go to judgment and advocacy, not paperwork.
The savings are yours.
The hours the technology saves are hours you are not billed for. More of your budget goes to the judgment and the advocacy that move your case.
Who we are
Small on purpose.
You'll talk to the people doing the work, not an intake desk.
Four lawyers. Arthur Rothrock, a litigator, founded the firm. Jonathan Joannides, a former Marine Corps infantry captain who practiced at Wilson Sonsini and Fenwick & West and is President of the Honorable William A. Ingram American Inn of Court, is Of Counsel. Gerry Lin and Max Discher are the associates. Three of us were classmates at Santa Clara University School of Law.
The people you meet in the first conversation are the people who work the case.
Credentials
Recognition, on the record.
Arthur E. Rothrock
Founder
Award
Super Lawyers® Rising Stars
Northern California
Award
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
Litigation – Trusts and Estates
Award
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
Commercial Litigation
Vice Chair
American Bar Association Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute
Member
Honorable William A. Ingram American Inn of Court
Host
The Litigator's Path
A podcast about building and running a litigation practice
Listen
Service area
San Jose first. The whole Bay Area when the case calls for it.
We meet by video anywhere in California. Bay Area trust and estate cases are heard in the courts below.
Where cases are heard
- Santa Clara County Superior Court
- San Mateo County Superior Court
- Alameda County Superior Court
- San Francisco Superior Court
Families we work with
San Jose, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, Milpitas, Atherton, Menlo Park, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, Burlingame, Fremont, and the rest of Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley, the Peninsula, the East Bay, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Atherton, Menlo Park, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, and Burlingame go to San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City; a Fremont trust dispute is usually filed in Alameda County; everything else on this list goes to San Jose.
Where we practiceClient words
What clients say after the dust settles.
I had the pleasure of working with Arthur a few years back on a family estate matter and was impressed with my fellow Pennsylvanian's responsiveness, knowledge of the underlying subject matter and diligence that led to a very positive result. Arthur doesn't let moss grow on him when he's addressing your legal needs and you will be happy you engaged him!
Darius
I wholeheartedly endorse Arthur. His keen mind, relentless determination, and ability to transition from a comforting ally to a fierce advocate make him an outstanding lawyer.
Mark
Choosing Arthur was the wisest choice I made for my legal issue. His astute analysis, calming nature, and courageous representation, paired with his dedication to keeping me updated and composed, make him an indispensable resource for anyone aiming to achieve the most favorable result.
Tony
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. A testimonial is not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction about your matter.
Start with a consult request.
Tell us what happened, in writing or by voice, and upload what you have. We strive to respond within one business day.