After more than 25 years litigating trust and estates cases at Evans, Latham & Campisi in San Francisco, Andrew Zabronsky joined Hartog, Baer, Zabronsky, APC, in July 2020. Mr. Zabronsky represents the full range of clients, including individual beneficiaries and trustees, professional fiduciaries, financial institutions, closely held businesses, charities and charitable foundations.

One of the emphases of his practice is breach of fiduciary duty litigation; he is the author of the Breach of Trust chapter in California Trust and Probate Litigation, CEB’s two-volume practice guide. But his practice runs the gamut: he has prosecuted and defended innumerable contests, breach of trust claims, elder abuse actions, accounting proceedings and all manner of trust administration petitions, as well as defended institutional trustees in national class actions and represented trustees and beneficiaries of billion-dollar trusts in both litigation and administration matters.

Mr. Zabronsky has a proven record of success in the trial and appellate courts. He is not afraid to push the envelope. Despite a widespread view that a new law rendered no contest clauses unenforceable in all but the most extreme cases, Mr. Zabronsky persuaded the San Francisco Probate Court to hold that two beneficiaries of a $10-million bequest were disinherited for contesting a trust without probable cause.

Mr. Zabronsky’s interest and experience in trust and estate litigation extends beyond the courtroom. He was invited to address a statewide conference of probate judges and probate court staff to debate growing trend among California probate courts of disallowing demurrers in probate proceedings with the probate judge who was the chief proponent of the trend. It is believed that no probate courts in California currently prohibit demurrers. Similarly, an article by Mr. Zabronsky led to Legislative changes to the Trust Law tracking Mr. Zabronsky’s suggestions.