1 Hour MCLE

Hon. Clifford L. Klein (Ret.) is a graduate of California’s lauded University of California system, receiving his Bachelor’s degree with High Honors from UC Riverside, and his JD from UC Berkeley Law School. He began his career as a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County, where he prosecuted a variety of criminal cases, specializing in white collar fraud. After becoming a superior court judge, he presided over the implementation of the nation’s first full-time juvenile mental health court, which addressed cases involving juvenile delinquents with serious mental health issues.

After transitioning to criminal court for many years, Judge Klein was then assigned to the probate court, where he presided over cases involving estates and trusts, guardianships, and probate conservatorships. He has overseen the probate cases of numerous public figures, entertainers, and business leaders.

In addition to his work as a judge and prosecutor, Judge Klein is well-known in the legal field for his service in organizations including the California Judges Association, the Los Angeles County Bar, the Center for Judicial Education and Research, and the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Beti Tsai Bergman is the founder and principal shareholder of the law firm, Peninsula Law, A Professional Law Corporation. She has been practicing law for 24 years and her firm specializes in probate, trusts, estates, conservatorships, and financial elder abuse. Ms. Bergman has extensive experience in representing conservators, conservatees, trustees, and executors, as well as, heirs and beneficiaries in uncontested and contested trust and estate matters. Before specializing in probate, Ms. Bergman was a Deputy City Attorney for City of Los Angeles and was a business litigator in private practice.

Ms. Bergman is certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization in estate planning, trust and probate law and has earned a Master Advocate Designation from the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, where she returns as a faculty instructor for their annual Building Trial Skills Program at Loyola Law School. Ms. Bergman is a frequent public speaker and has received numerous awards and honors, which include being named as a Southern California Super Lawyer, a Super Lawyers Top Women in Southern California, a Top Attorney by Los Angeles Magazine, a 10 Best Estate Planning Attorney by the American Institute of Legal Counsel, a Top 3 estate planning lawyer in Torrance by Three Best Rated, and a Best Probate Attorney in Torrance by Expertise.com. She has also been awarded the Best of Torrance Award in the Local Business Category, inducted in Marquis Who’s Who, in the Torrance Business Hall of Fame, and Premier Lawyers of America, and has been featured in Forbes, Fortune 500, Angeleno, and Los Angeles Magazine

Because she has strong commitment of giving back to the community and providing public service, Ms. Bergman serves on the Los Angeles County Panel of Court-Appointed Counsel, the Torrance Memorial Hospital Professional Advisory Council, the South Bay Inn of Court, and the Los Angeles County Bar Trusts and Estates Executive Committee where she chairs the Court Liaison Committee. She is also a past president of the Asian Pacific Women Lawyers’ Alliance Board of Governors and a past president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association.

Ms. Bergman has completed the Mediating the Litigated Case program at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, received her J.D. from UC Davis School of Law, earned a B.S. from UCLA in Applied Mathematics, an M.S. from Long Beach State in Applied Mathematics where she graduated with distinction, and holds an active real estate broker’s license. She has been a volunteer mediator and settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, and serves on the CourtCall ODR panel as a mediator and arbitrator.