Northern California Lawyer Access, Inc.

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TEL: 530.272.5962
Certified Lawyer Referral Service

Directors

	Matthew Crider, President Matthew Crider is a principal with Crider Law, P.C. a Northern California law firm based in Roseville , California . He represent clients throughout Placer County, Nevada County, Yuba County, and Sutter County, and including the California cities of Roseville, Rocklin, Auburn, Lincoln, Colfax, Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, Yuba City, Marysville, Tahoe City and Truckee. He specializes in Family Law, Estate Planning and Business Advisory Services. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from South Texas College of Law He lives in Nevada City with his wife, Molly Stafford Crider, who is a staff attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance in Marysville.
	Roberta "Bobbie" Swenson, Vice President Roberta Swenson has been an active member of the community for several years. After a career with the State of California in various budget, financial and management positions, she began providing consultant services to non-profit organizations. These include Nonprofit Resource Center of Sacramento, Nevada County Community Leadership Institute and the California Court Appointed Special Advocates. She has served on many Boards of Directors including Sierra College Foundation, United Way of Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado and Placer counties and had been appointed by the Board of Supervisors of Nevada County to county commissions.
	Peter Bronson, Secretary Peter Bronson is a principal in the Law Offices of Peter C. Bronson, a Professional Corporation. His practice emphasizes creditors' rights, bankruptcy and business litigation, both in bankruptcy courts and in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout California , with particular emphasis on Sacramento and Nevada Counties . He is current Chair of the California State Bar's Business Law Section. He is also a past chair of the Insolvency Law Committee of the State Bar Business Law Section, and is also past chair of the Remedies Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Nevada County Bar Association, and the board of directors of the non-profit Nevada County Lawyer Referral Service. Bronson serves as a settlement officer for the California Court of Appeal, and is a member of the mediation panels of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Central and Eastern Districts of California . He frequently lectures on a variety of bankruptcy and litigation topics, and writes a semi-monthly business law column for The Union newspaper in Nevada County.
	Jennifer L. Wilkerson, Treasurer Jennifer L. Wilkerson has been a California attorney since 1983. She has practiced in Nevada County since 1985. Ms. Wilkerson obtained her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, Illinois in 1983. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1977 with an undergraduate degree in social work. Jennifer has been recognized as a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
	Jamie BarberJamie Barber was raised in Nevada County . After finishing college at University of California Santa Cruz with a degree in Film Production, he moved to Southern California to pursue a career in the Film Industry ( Hollywood ). He specialized in finding property for Major Motion Picture Studios, Commercial Companies and TV studios. He and his wife moved back to Nevada County and are the proud parents of a 2 ½ year old daughter. He is now a Realtor with Network Real Estate in Grass Valley.
	Michael G. Colantuono Michael G. Colantuono is a shareholder in Colantuono & Levin, a municipal law firm with offices in Penn Valley and Los Angeles . He is City Attorney of Auburn, General Counsel to the Ophir Hill and Rough & Ready Fire Districts, the Yuba County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and the North Yuba Water District. Michael serves as special counsel to many other local governments around California , including Nevada County and the Nevada County LAFCO. Michael is past President of the Nevada County Bar Association and of the Board of Trustees of the Nevada County Law Library. He was elected by his peers to serve as President of the City Attorney s Department of the League of California Cities in 2003-2004 and appointed the Department's first Ethics Committee. He is a graduate of the Nevada County Civic Leadership Institute and also served on the Commission on Local Governance in the 21st Century, which released a January 2000 report that was enacted into law to make substantial revisions to the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act regarding Local Agency Formation Commissions. Michael graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Government and received his law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law of the University of California at Berkeley.
	Judge Al Dover (Ret.)Judge Al Dover offers Alterative Dispute Resolution services, including mediation, arbitration, early neutral evaluation, and temporary judge. He has had special training in mediation with Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine School of Law, 2005 and completed the 3rd District Court of Appeal Appellate Mediation Training in May 2008. He was a Judge of Nevada County Superior Court from 1987 to 2007 and has sat on assignment in Nevada , Placer, El Dorado , Shasta and Plumas counties. He was also appointed to the California Supreme Court Committee of Judicial Ethics in 1994 – 1995, Judicial Council Task Force on Judicial Ethics, and was a member of the California Judges Association Executive Board from 1993 to 1996, serving as vice president in 1995-1996. Judge Dover lives in Nevada County with his wife, Lynne and enjoys travel, golf, fly fishing, studying American Sign Language and Spanish, as well as reading, jogging and Latin dance.
	Ed Hawkins Edward E. ("Ed") Hawkins is an Elder Law Attorney in Nevada City. His practice involves estate planning, real estate, probate, conservatorships, special needs trusts, and planning for long-term care, including qualification for Medi-Cal. Ed is a native Californian, but graduated from the University of Oregon. After working as law clerk and litigation paralegal for over ten years, he received his law degree in 1995. Ed opened his Elder Law office in Nevada City in 2002.
	LevinLevin has worked as an attorney for the Third District Court of Appeal for over 21 years. After serving as the Lawyer Referral Service Committee representative on the Sacramento County Bar Association's Bar Council, his family relocated to the foothills. When he was elected to the Placer County Bar Association Board of Directors, he pressed the PCBA Board to create an LRS panel, and when he became PCBA President, PCBA partnered with NCLA to accomplish that goal. He is a member of the NCLA Board and works on its Direct Services committee, helping to provide low cost or pro bono services directly to consumers.
	Donna SmithDonna Smith recently opened a Family Law practice in Nevada County , relocating her primary office from Berkeley , California where she has practiced family law since 1999, offering legal services including traditional litigation, mediation, and collaborative dispute resolution. Believing strongly that the law offers disputing parties necessary resources for settlements that meet the legitimate needs of both sides, Donna joins with Northern California Legal Access to contribute to providing a reliable source of referrals for the public to qualified and experienced attorneys. She is a member of the Family Law Section of the California State Bar; International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Nevada County Collaborative Group, and CPCal Public Education committee.
	Molly StaffordMolly Stafford is a staff attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. and manager of the CRLA Rural Fair Housing Center (RFHC). She received her B.A. from Pomona College and J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. She passed the California State Bar in 2003 and began practice at the AIDS Legal Referral Panel in San Francisco where she represented tenants relating to all aspects of their housing, presented training on fair housing law for clients, staff and law firms. Ms. Stafford taught practical legal skills to students in the Honors Lawyering Program as a Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. She has been with CRLA for over 2 years practicing civil litigation in most areas of law - wage/hour, landlord/tenant, real property, unlawful termination and special education. She teaches landlord/tenant and fair housing law workshops to members of the community. As the RFHC manager, Ms. Stafford provides state-wide litigation support to our CRLA offices with their fair housing work and coordinates fair housing grant activities such as fair housing intake, education, outreach, seminars, investigation and testing. In addition to her service on NCLA's Lawyer Referral Service Board, she is also the Secretary for the Yuba Sutter Bar Association.
	Joyce WilsonJoyce Wilson was born in South Dakota and moved to California at the age of three. She graduated from Grass Valley High School and St. Mary's Business College. She retired after working for 32 years in the legal field in Nevada County, but continues her lifelong interest in the law by being involved with Northern California Lawyer Access, a team formed to “improve our county's living.” She has three children and four grandchildren who share her life.
	Doug SummersAfter graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, Doug joined the Los Angeles office of the international accounting firm Peat Marwick Mitchell LLP. During his tenure there he specialized in tax compliance and consulting engagements in the firms Middle Market and High Net Worth individual practices. In 1989 Doug transferred to the Sacramento office of what is now KPMG. During this time he specialized in the tax issues of real estate developers, large retailers, personal financial planning and tax compliance of high net worth individuals as well as extensive experience with complex tax and planning in the estate, trust and generation skipping tax areas. In 2005 Doug left KPMG as a Senior Tax Manager and joined Robertson & Woodford as a partner where he enjoys working closely with his clients on their tax and accounting compliance and consulting issues. Doug is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California State Society of CPA's. Doug currently serves as Treasurer of the Gold Country Estate Planning Council and has served in that same capacity with the Auburn Daybreak Rotary. When he is not in the office Doug enjoys spending time with his family as well as trying to keep in shape at spin classes and working outdoors.
Staff
	Cheryl MillerCheryl Miller is the administrator of Northern California Lawyer Access. Cheryl, born and raised in Grass Valley, attended local schools, Sierra College, and the University of Utah. She and her husband, Lynn, owned and operated a pharmacy near Lake of the Pines for 14 years. When the business was sold to Longs Drugs she stayed on with them for 3 years before joining the staff at NCLA.