Overview
Robert Barton focuses his practice on individuals, families, charitable institutions, corporate trustees and fiduciaries in litigation involving complex trusts and estates. He provides guidance on trust and estate administration, conservatorship and guardianship matters, as well as claims involving elder abuse. Robert works with clients to find creative, effective solutions that protect and advance their interests and has represented clients in high-profile and complex trust and estate disputes in federal, state and tribal courts throughout the country.
He currently serves on the California Lawyers Association’s Trusts and Estates Executive Committee and is the editor-in-chief for the California Lawyers Association’s Trusts and Estates Quarterly. Robert is also the co-chair of the Probate and Fiduciary Litigation Committee as part of the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law group. He publishes and speaks regularly on new laws, such as the Anti-Isolation Restraining Orders effective January 2023, and cutting-edge legal topics, including the administration of estates and trusts holding cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
Results
- Represented an heir to a multibillion-dollar business in litigation proceedings brought by individuals in multiple states who sought ratification of elder financial abuse they committed and to overturn the estate plan to their financial benefit. Successfully resolved the matter with the estate plan being affirmed by the court and a confidential amount repaid by the abusers to the elder*
- Obtained complete dismissal of a $10 million creditor’s claim made against an estate by the decedent’s former business associates*
- Successfully resolved a $40 million trust contest brought by the decedents’ children*
- Obtained a $4.9 million settlement representing a widow against a former corporate trustee over its mismanagement and oversight in the sale of the trust’s primary asset, the widow’s marital residence and the trustee’s subsequent failure to distribute the sale proceeds*
- Represented co-personal representatives in probate and trust proceedings in multiple jurisdictions as contentious litigation took place over the decedents’ multimillion-dollar estate and trust. Successfully resolved the litigation and guided the estate through complex issues arising from an IRS audit of the estate’s Form 706 Estate Tax Return*
- Represented a national charity in resolving litigation over a charitable bequest, resulting in a multimillion-dollar settlement to the charity*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott
Recognitions
- Chambers High Net Worth, California: Private Wealth Disputes, 2018–2023
- The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Los Angeles, 2022–2024
- Southern California Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2015–2022
- The Daily Journal, Top California Lawyers Under 40, 2018
- Probate and Property, American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Excellence in Writing Award: Best Cutting Edge Articles Trust and Estate, 2015
- American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Fellow, 2012–2014
Community
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
- Fellow
- Artificial Intelligence Task Force
- Fiduciary Litigation
- Legal Education
- Technology in the Practice
- American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
- Ethics and Malpractice Committee, Vice-Chair, 2014-2017; Chair, 2018; Co-Chair, 2020
- Probate and Fiduciary Litigation Committee, Co-Chair, 2021-Present
- California Lawyers Association
- Trusts and Estates Executive Committee, 2018 – Present
- Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Editor-in-Chief, 2023
- Southern California Tribal Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Beverly Hills Bar Association
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Panel, Pro Bono Counsel
- Autry Museum of the American West, Member of the Board of Trustees
Credentials
Education
University of Minnesota Law School, JD
University of Wisconsin-Madison, BA, Political Science, History, American Indian Studies Certificate
Courts/Agencies
Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of Minnesota
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
US District Court for the District of Columbia
US District Court for the Central District of California
San Manuel Tribal Court
US Tax Court
Admissions
California
Minnesota
Wisconsin
