Practices: Private Wealth Services | Trusts, Estates and Fiduciary Litigation | Wealth Planning and Preservation | Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations

Vivian Lee Thoreen is the executive partner of Holland & Knight's Los Angeles office and chairs the firm's national Private Wealth Services Dispute Resolution Team. She is a litigator and experienced trial attorney whose practice – both in Superior Court and in the California Courts of Appeal – focuses on complex trust, estate, conservatorship and guardianship matters. She represents individuals, families, charities and financial institutions in cases including will and trust disputes, contested conservatorships and guardianships, breach of fiduciary duty matters, and elder abuse matters. Ms. Thoreen’s experience includes some of the most sensitive and high-profile cases in her field. Whether the matters can be resolved by mediation or require trial, Ms. Thoreen’s clients benefit from her deep personal commitment and nuanced grasp of law and often byzantine facts.

An active member of the community, Ms. Thoreen is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section executive committee. She just completed a six-year term on the California Lawyers Association (formerly the State Bar of California) Trusts & Estates Section executive committee and previously served on the board of governors of the Korean American Bar Association and the board of directors of the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation. She also is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Ms. Thoreen also provides pro bono services through Bet Tzedek, Public Counsel and the Alliance for Children’s Rights.

Published opinions

• Estate of Pryor (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 1466
• Pryor v. Pryor (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 1448

Unpublished opinions

• Estate of Banayot (2009 WL 3338310)
• Siegel v. Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp (2008 WL 204645)
• Newman v. Locke (2006 WL 990244)

Honors & Awards

• Daily Journal, Top 100 Lawyers in California, 2018
• Chambers High Net Worth guide, Private Wealth Disputes: USA, 2017, 2018
• Chambers High Net Worth guide, Private Wealth Disputes: California, 2018
• Chambers High Net Worth guide, Private Wealth Law: Southern California, 2016-2017
• Guide to the World’s Leading Trusts and Estates Lawyers, Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides, 2015
• Southern California Super Lawyers magazine, 2014-2018
• The Best Lawyers in America guide, Litigation - Trusts and Estates, 2014-2019; Trusts and Estates, 2015-2019
• Rising Star, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Diversity of The Bar, 2013
• Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellows Program, 2013
• 50 Fast Track Lawyers, The Recorder, 2012
• Rising Star, Southern California Super Lawyers magazine, 2007, 2009-2013
• Five Associates to Watch, California Daily Journal, January 12, 2011
• The Minority 40 Under 40, The National Law Journal, 2011
• Best Lawyers Under 40, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, 2011
• Rising Stars, Holland & Knight, 2010
• Editor-in-Chief, UCLA School of Law, Asian Pacific American Law Journal

Memberships

• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Fellow
• State Bar of California, Trust and Estates Section Executive Committee
• Korean American Bar Association
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Member and 2010 Convention Planning Committee
• Los Angeles County Bar Association, Trusts & Estates Section

Education
UCLA School of Law, J.D.

Stanford University, B.A., Linguistics

Stanford University, M.A., Sociology

Bar Admissions
California

Faculty Member’s Sessions