E1 – Capacity Clash: Navigating the Interplay of Roles and Conflict in Fiduciary Practice

Sarah S. Broomer is an equity partner at Ruttenberg Cutler Broomer, LLP. Ms. Broomer obtained her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkely, where she received the Arnold S. Nelson Scholarship for academic excellence from 2000-2004. She then attended Southwest Law School, where she received the Southwestern School of Law Scholarship for 2005-2007.

Ms. Broomer’s practice includes all aspects of complex conservatorship, fiduciary, and trust and estate litigation. Ms. Broomer also handles all aspects of estate planning, family succession planning, charitable giving, and insurance trusts. Ms. Broomer has repeatedly been recognized as a “Southern California Rising Star” in the area of Trust and Estates Litigation by Super Lawyers™, as well as one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Southern California” in Los Angeles magazine. Ms. Broomer is an update author for the CEB, including the following guidebooks: Trust Administration, Powers of Attorney, Irrevocable Trusts, Small & Midsize Estates, and Decedent Estate Practice, as well as the CEB manuals on Handling a Probate, and the Probate Workflow Manual.

Ms. Broomer is currently serving as Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Ms. Broomer previously served as the Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Trust & Estates Executive Committee, and as Co-Chair of the Beverly Hills Bar Association Trust & Estates Executive Committee. Ms. Broomer is the Chair of the Lecture Series (formerly known as the LACBA Trust and Estates Lecture Series). Ms. Broomer received her B.A. degree from University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. degree from Southwestern University School of Law. During law school, she served as Judicial Intern for the Honorable Aviva K. Bobb, the Presiding Judge of the Probate Court.

Debby Doitch is a partner and shareholder at KJMLAW Partners where she manages the litigation department focusing primarily on probate and trust litigation. She represents petitioners, objectors, creditors, beneficiaries and trustees in probate and trust proceedings, as well as families in guardianship and conservatorship cases. Debby also serves as court appointed counsel.

Debby is a major proponent of working with fiduciaries and families to help resolve matters when cases become highly contested. Debby also handles a wide variety of civil litigation, including real estate and family law disputes. Debby has extensive trial experience as well as significant success in taking her cases to mediation.

Prior to attending law school, Debby was an ABA Behavioral Therapist, where she worked with children with developmental disabilities.

Outside of practicing law, Debby enjoys spending time with her family, skiing, traveling and volunteering her time in the special needs community.

Judge Ana Maria Luna has served as a bench officer in the Los Angeles County since 1992. She holds undergraduate degrees in Biological Sciences and Spanish from the University of California, Irvine. She received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Southern California Gould Law School in 1984. Before joining the bench in 1992, Judge Luna practiced as a family law attorney and as a deputy public defender in Los Angeles County. Judge Luna has extensive experience in handling family law matters involving issues of child custody, support and property division. Since 2020, Judge Luna has handled a probate calendar where she manages estate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship cases including long cause trials. She has lectured to bar associations and professional organizations including best practices as to case management and evidentiary hearings.

Judge Mary Thornton House retired from the Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2018 after serving for 22 years. She has started her third career as a private neutral for Alternative Resolution Centers (ARC). Starting out in the Pasadena Municipal Court handling criminal cases, Judge House quickly transitioned to civil and spent 8 years in probate assignments in Pasadena and the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Judge House is also the author of Thomson Reuter’s California Civil Jury Instruction Companion Handbook, updated yearly. Judge House has been honored throughout her career by many organizations. In 2004, Los Angeles County honored her as one of its ‘Women of the Year’ and named Judge of the Year by the Pasadena Bar Association. In 2008, the California Judges Association awarded her the Bernard F. Jefferson’s Award for Excellence in Judicial Education. In 2011, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association awarded her the Excellence in Judicial Administration award for her leadership in getting California’s Expedited Jury Trials legislation passed, the development of the current universal judgment form, and simplification of small claims pleadings. In 2013, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association named her their Judge of the Year.

Judge House was Dean of the California B.E. Witkin Judicial College which provides for education of all judicial officers in California. The college is a nationally recognized institution and exemplar for judicial education where she has been an instructor and seminar leader since 1997. In 2007, Yale Law School selected her to teach at their China Law Center in Beijing, China, courses on small claims and limited civil procedures to selected judges from throughout China.

Judge House was an Assistant City Attorney and civil litigator for the City of Los Angeles. She graduated from UCLA and received her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego.