Jeff’s primary areas of practice include trust and estate litigation (including will and trust contests), fiduciary litigation, and financial elder abuse actions. He has tried or settled hundreds of probate court actions, as well as wrongful death actions and related tort claims. Jeff frequently represents individual beneficiaries, including on a contingency basis, as well as trustees and private professional fiduciaries. 
 
Jeff is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Jeff is the Chair of the Education Subcommittee for TEXCOM, the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association. Jeff has served as Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the San Mateo County Bar Association (SMCBA) and on the Board of the SMCBA and of the Silicon Valley Bar Association. Jeff is founding President of the San Mateo County Law Library Foundation, and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Jeff has been recognized multiple times as a Top 100 Super Lawyer for Northern California. Jeff obtained his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley Law School (formerly Boalt Hall).

Brent Smyth is an attorney at Trust Law Partners in San Mateo, with a focus on trust and estate litigation and financial elder abuse actions. Before joining Trust Law Partners, Brent was a trial attorney for sixteen years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in both its Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, where he led high-profile enforcement actions and successfully litigated dozens of securities fraud cases.

Brent’s work at the SEC included prosecuting the largest securities fraud in Oregon history, benefitting hundreds of elderly victims of financial abuse, and securing a favorable jury verdict in a landmark insider trading trial. He has deep experience unraveling sophisticated fraudulent schemes, including those involving layered corporate structures and deceptive accounting practices.

Brent obtained his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin and his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. Brent was admitted to the California State Bar in 2001.