Lily M. Harris
Shareholder, Practice Group Leader
Lily Harris is an experienced litigator who represents clients in a broad range of matters, with a primary focus on trust and estate litigation. A California State Bar Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, she provides comprehensive representation in contested estate, trust guardianship and conservatorship cases. Ms. Harris helps professional fiduciaries, personal representatives, guardians, conservators, heirs, trustees, and other concerned parties protect their interests in a full range of probate and trust matters.
Jeffrey B. Pietsch
Shareholder
Jeff Pietsch is a trusted corporate and securities attorney with extensive experience leading M&A transactions. He counsels companies through equity financings and serves as day-to-day outside counsel on governance, compliance, and strategic planning. Mr. Pietsch combines sharp legal insight with practical business judgment, earning a reputation as a valued advisor in matters that shape the future of his clients’ businesses. Mr. Pietsch earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law. Mr. Pietsch is a member of the Business Law Sections of both the State Bar of California and the Sacramento County Bar Association. He also serves on the Sacramento County Bar Association’s Bylaws Committee.
Brendan J. Begley
Appellate Law Specialist
Brendan Begley is a shareholder at Weintraub Tobin and spearheads the firm’s Appeals and Writs group. He is an Appellate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Begley has been lead counsel of over 100 appeals, in both state and federal courts, concerning various practice areas, including Family Law; Trusts and Probate Litigation; Employment Law; ERISA litigation; Anti-SLAPP Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Civil-Rights Law; and Personal-Injury Litigation. Before graduating, with honors, from U.C. Davis Law School in 1998, Mr. Begley worked as a newspaper reporter for The Sacramento Daily Recorder and correspondent for other Daily Journal publications. While in law school, he worked as a law clerk at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii. After law school, he served as a judicial clerk to the Hon. John M. Gerrard; then Associate Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court; and later as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Connie M. Callahan, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court granted Mr. Begley’s petition for a writ of certiorari that led to the high court hearing and resolving (in favor of Brendan’s client) the famous “Pledge of Allegiance” case in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 540 U.S. 945 (2003). He has delivered numerous public presentations to lawyers, executives, managers, and supervisors on appellate law and best employment practices.
Kelly E. Dankbar
Shareholder
Kelly Dankbar is a shareholder in the Weintraub Tobin’s Trusts and Estates group and focuses her practice on helping people solve problems after someone passes away. She also works with families and other loved ones to protect seniors when they become incapacitated. Ms. Dankbar combines her litigation experience with a thorough knowledge of probate law to help her clients resolve a wide range of trust and probate disputes, including elder financial abuse claims, contested conservatorships, will and trust contests, contested accountings, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and other contested and uncontested matters involving the administration of trusts and estates.
Gary L. Bradus
Shareholder
Gary Bradus represents businesses from formation through all stages of operation, assisting clients with employment, shareholder and director rights and duties, corporate governance, and other internal matters. He also represents clients in connection with purchases and sales of businesses, emphasizing mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, stock purchases, and sales across all industries. Mr. Bradus represents individuals and entities, including corporations, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and limited liability partnerships. Mr. Bradus earned his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984, where he was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honors fraternity. He went on to receive his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1987. Mr. Bradus has been practicing at Weintraub Tobin since 1990. Mr. Bradus is active in the regional business community. He serves on the boards of the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council and Make-A-Wish® Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada, and on the board of SACTO (Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization), which he chaired from 2013 to 2014. Mr. Bradus was named one of the Sacramento Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs in 2022, and The Business Journals included him in The Influencers: Law, its 2018 list of the 100 most influential attorneys nationwide. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® every year since 2018 for Commercial Transactions/UCC Law and Corporate Law; has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer every year since 2010, including several years on the Top 100 list; and holds an AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®.
