Shannon H. Burns
Senior Litigation Associate
Tel: 310.473.7000 ext.125
Fax: 310.473.1730
sburns@handwlaw.com
Assistant Contact Information
Laverne Smith
Phone: 310.473.7000 ext. 136
lsmith@handwlaw.com
Shannon H. Burns brings over 25 years of legal experience to Hinojosa & Wallet, LLP and focuses on fiduciary, estate, trust and conservatorship litigation, including financial elder abuse, in addition to handling estate, trust and conservatorship administration. Shannon's experience includes complex trust and estate litigation involving multi-million dollar estates, and she has been involved as plaintiff's and defendant's counsel in civil financial elder abuse matters since enhancement remedies were added to the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. Before devoting a substantial part of her career to probate, trust, and conservatorship litigation, Shannon's practice included multi-national asset estate planning and probate matters following several years living and working in England for an American attorney handling the drafting of estate plans and probates for expatriates and foreign clients with assets located in the United States. Upon her return from England, Shannon commenced practicing law at Wyman, Bautzer, Kuchel & Silbert in Los Angeles as their sole associate in the area of estate planning and probate.
Notable matters successfully handled by Shannon include:
- Represented a beneficiary in a trial that recovered millions wrongfully taken by a trustee.
- Represented the daughter of a conservatee whose caretaker stole the family home and all of the conservatee's assets, recovering for the client the family home and cash located in numerous hidden bank accounts of the perpetrator.
- Represented the sole beneficiary of a will and trust in successfully removing the personal representative and trustee who stole and wasted assets and mismanaged the property, regaining control of the estate.
Shannon speaks on estate and trust related issues before both bar and community organizations including the California Education of the Bar (CEB) and the Los Angeles County Bar Association, most recently including:
- CEB Panel Member, Practical Problems in Probate (Irvine and Los Angeles) (January, 2011)
- CEB Panel Member, Practical Problems in Trust Administration (Irvine and Los Angeles) (January, 2010)
- CEB Panel Member, Practical Solutions in Probate (Irvine and Los Angeles) (January, 2009)
- CEB Panel Member, Fundamentals of Estate Planning (2 day program, 2008)
Shannon is Vice Chair of the Incapacity and Educating Seniors sub sections of the Trusts and Estates Executive Committee (“TEXCOM”) of the State Bar of California, and a member of TEXCOM, including its Litigation and Estate and Trust Administration sections. Shannon is a past member of the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trust and Estate Section.
Shannon is also very active on the Los Angeles County Probate Volunteer Panel (“PVP”). The PVP consists of attorneys who have been determined by the Probate Court of the Los Angeles Superior Court to have the requisite skill and experience necessary to assist the Court with the resolution of various proceedings before it. Shannon is frequently appointed to represent the interests of the potential conservatee or ward in general and limited conservatorship matters and to review court ordered accountings.
In Los Angeles County, PVP attorneys are required to be members of the State Bar of California in good standing for each of the previous three years and have no pending disciplinary proceedings. The PVP attorney must also meet certain educational requirements and maintain proscribed levels of professional insurance. Within the panel, attorneys frequently designate special expertise, and certain members are appointed to deal with particular issues such as special needs trusts, taxes, or complex litigation.
Shannon graduated from University of California, Los Angeles in 1977 with a B.A. in English and received her law degree in 1986 from Whittier College School of Law. She also studied French and French civilization at the Université de Grenoble.
Shannon is an active, lifetime member of the UCLA Alumni Association, participating in various programs, including the Dinner for 12 Strangers and assisting in the annual Homecoming and parents' weekend events.
Professional Affiliations/Memberships
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Beverly Hills Bar Association
- Santa Monica Bar Association
- State Bar of California
- Vice Chair, Incapacity and Educating Seniors sub section, Trusts and Estates Executive Committee (“TEXCOM”)
- Member, Litigation and Trust and Estates Sections
Distinctions
- Highest “AV Preeminent (5 out of 5)” Professional Rating by Martindale Hubbell Law Directory
Practice Areas
- Trust and Estates Litigation
- Conservatorship Litigation
- Fiduciary Litigation
- Estate and Trust Administration
- Conservatorships: Appointment and Administration
Education
- Whittier College School of Law, J.D., 1986
- University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1977
Bar Admission
- California, 1986
