Michael Robert Lawler Jr

MICHAEL R. LAWLER, JR.

Attorney at Law

            Michael Lawler’s law practice focuses on estate planning, probate and trust administration and probate litigation.  He has been in practice in Newport Beach, California for over 34 years.  His estate planning experience includes drafting hundreds of wills and trusts, and litigation experience includes will and trust contests and a wide variety of other probate actions.

            Michael is a graduate of the University of Southern California (1975), Western State University School of Law (1980), and the United States Attorney General’s Trial Advocacy Program (1981).  He also attended the Semester At Sea (Fall ’73.) In 1981, he served as the Finance Director for President Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Ball Committee and received a presidential appointment as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, DC, before starting his private practice in Newport Beach.  He also served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Orange County Superior Court.  He is active in the Orange County Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Section and served as president in 2006-07.  He is AV-rated (preeminent) by Martindale Hubble, placing him in the top 2% of estate planning attorneys in the country.

            Michael is a frequent speaker at seminars for other estate planning attorneys.  Topics include, “The Probate Process From Start To Finish In California,” “Family Allowances and Probate Homesteads,” “Beneficiary Disqualifications Under Probate Code 21350,” and “A Practical Guide To Probating Estates.” He also was a vice-president for Northern Trust in Newport Beach from 2003 through 2006.

            In his free time, he enjoys mountain climbing (Mt. Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro, Matterhorn, Half Dome), flying (private pilot’s license and hot air ballooning), and sailing.  He raced in five Transpacs, and in 2010 he completed a three-year circumnavigation on his 47 ft. sailboat “Traveler,” sailing 31,145 nautical miles and visiting 61 countries on six continents.  He is also a three-time past-president of the South Coast Metro Rotary Club.

            Michael also has extensive experience in real estate law and transactions, and with his Real Estate Broker’s License has completed well over 100 sales representing either the buyer or seller over the past 25 years.  He also holds a Series 7 and 66 securities license.  He has three children in their late-20s, and lives on Balboa Island with his wife, Barbara.

901 Dover Drive, Suite 110, Newport Beach, CA 92660