Kristin A. Pace - Oakland, CA
Attorney at Donahue Fitzgerald LLP
Trusts and Estates Lawyers in Oakland, CA
1999 Harrison Street 26th Floor Oakland, CA 94612
- 1 Super Lawyers®
-
38
Years
Experience
Oakland Trusts and Estates Lawyer
Updated: 03/03/2026
Areas of Practice
- Trusts and Estates
Reviews
Highlights
-
0.5 Value
-
0.5 Quality of Service
-
0.5 Professional Competence
-
Hired Attorney 2021-2022I had wills, powers of attorney, & a trust done for myself & my spouse. The process took a full year to complete. Her work was subpar. Not only was it full of misspellings & grammatically incorrect sentences, but there were substantive issues with the drafts that could have been fixed with ease if she paid attention to her work. E.G., the trustee indicated that tangible personal property should remain outside of the trust. When she corrected this she only corrected it half way. Also, she only had the power of attorney execute upon incapacity & not at will. There are numerous examples of substantive corrections that often took her 2-3 times to correct (even when I gave her specific language for the correction). Then she sent an invoice when 2/3 complete that was for 1.5 times the original estimate. We agreed on a fixed fee at that time. After completion she sent another invoice for some fixed costs. I considered paying it as the amount was small, but given the year long agony she had put me through, I opted not to. Then she sent an extremely unprofessional email and finally she showed her true colors. My edits were straight forward, specific, and provided within 1-2 days each time. Lawyers are supposed to pay attention to details. Legal documents are, by definition, precise. But when you change paragraph numbers and repeatedly forget to change the references to the paragraphs, that is just lazy and incompetent. Once she told me that her clients generally do not proofread her work. That is her defense for poor quality work - that it is great work if you don't proofread it.
Contact
1999 Harrison Street
26th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510) 451-3300
Fax: (510) 451-1527
Website: http://www.donahue.com
Hours: Mon - Fri, 9 AM - 5 PM
Disclaimer
Your Profile? Update Now
When viewing a listing, consider the state advertising restrictions to which lawyers and law firms must adhere, as well as our FindLaw.com Legal Directory disclaimer. Some lawyers publish comparative information regarding the services that they provide which may be subject to specific comparative communications restrictions.
How do I choose a lawyer?
Consider the following:
- Comfort Level – Are you comfortable telling the lawyer personal information? Does the lawyer seem interested in solving your problem?
- Credentials – How long has the lawyer been in practice? Has the lawyer worked on other cases similar to yours?
- Cost – How are the lawyer's fees structured — hourly or flat fee? Can the lawyer estimate the cost of your case?
- City – Is the lawyer's office conveniently located?
Not sure what questions to ask a lawyer?
Here are a few to get you started:
- How long have you been in practice?
- How many cases like mine have you handled?
- How often do you settle cases out of court?
- What are your fees and costs?
- What are the next steps?
Want to check lawyer discipline?
It is always a good idea to research your lawyer prior to hiring. Every state has a disciplinary organization that monitors attorneys, their licenses, and consumer complaints. By researching lawyer discipline you can:
- Ensure the attorney is currently licensed to practice in your state
- Gain an understanding of his or her historical disciplinary record, if any.
- Determine the seriousness of complaints/issues which could range from late bar fees to more serious issues requiring disciplinary action.