Aya Kanda
Senior Associate
Aya Kanda is an associate attorney at Barulich Dugoni and Suttmann Law Group, Inc. in the litigation practice group. Her practice is focused on disputes arising out of trusts, estates, and related areas, including elder abuse. Ms. Kanda represents trustees, executors, personal representatives, attorneys-in-fact, and beneficiaries in actions involving accusations of trust mismanagement, breaches of fiduciary duty, and contests to wills and trusts. Ms. Kanda was admitted to the California State Bar in 2019. She received her BA degree in Rhetoric, with a focus in public discourse, from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, and her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law, San Francisco) in 2019. Prior to working at BDS, Ms. Kanda worked in the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel in San Francisco, taking responsibility for two cases and making a special appearance in Tax Court. She conducted research on California laws regarding special needs trusts and expatriation laws as well as income tax treaties between the U.S. and abroad, both of which were submitted to other departments as advisory memoranda.
James R. Cummins
Shareholder & Director
Jim Cummins’ practice is focused on a wide range of trust and estates matters. He represents trustees, executors, personal representatives, and attorneys-in-fact in actions involving accusations of trust mismanagement, breaches of fiduciary duty, contests to wills and trusts, and even disinterment. Mr. Cummins also has significant experience in litigating domestic and international commercial disputes, business disputes in marital dissolution actions, and real property disputes. With a deep understanding of the complex legal issues involved in probate and trust litigation, he is committed to providing his clients with the highest level of legal representation and achieving the best possible outcomes. Mr. Cummins received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2009, where he also earned a Certificate in Social Justice & Public Interest, the CALI Award for Remedies, and served as both a Moot Court Competitor & Honors Moot Court Board Member. Prior to his time at Santa Clara, he received his BA from Loyola Marymount University in 2005. Mr. Cummins has successfully represented clients in numerous high-stakes trust and estates cases. He has been recognized for his outstanding legal work and is a sought-after speaker on trust and estates law, most recently at the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium in 2021 and 2022. In addition to other published works, Mr. Cummins has contributed to the CEB's Practitioner Guide on the following topics: Request For Admissions (Trusts and Estates: Elder Financial Abuse); Petition to Invalidate Will or Trust on Grounds of Forgery; and Petition to Invalidate a Will or Trust on Grounds of Duress or Menace.
