Legal Solutions for You,
Your Family & Your Business
Find a Lawyer >
Wills, Trusts & Estates lawyers serving LA - San Gabriel Valley County, CA >
John S. Morris
Back to Search Results
John S. Morris
Morris & Morris, A Law Corporation
150 N Santa Anita Ave
Suite 750
Arcadia, CA 91006
Phone: (626) 294-0880 | Fax: (626) 294-0884
http://www.morrismorrislaw.com
Estate Planning & Administration, Probate, Bankruptcy
Legal Topic
Wills, Trusts & Estates
Preferred New Clients
In the bankruptcy arena, my preference is to help honest, ethical persons obtain a fresh start when they are struggling with a difficult time in their financial life. In the Estate Planning arena, my preference is to help persons who understand that proper planning is essential to achieve one's desired wishes and to minimize the stress, turmoil, and trauma that his or her loved ones will be experiencing when the plan actually needs to be utilized.
Sub-Categories
Estate Planning
- Charitable Giving
- Charitable Trusts
- Drafting Trusts
- Drafting Wills
- Estate Administration
- Estate Planning
- Living Trusts
- Living Wills
- Probate
Legal Topic
Family Law
Preferred New Clients
My preference is to help honest, ethical persons who are struggling with a difficult time in their personal life.
Sub-Categories
Family Law
- Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- Name Changes
- Restraining Orders
- Domestic Violence
- Adoptions
- Child Support
- Children's Rights
- Custody
- Paternity
- Visitation
- Civil Unions
- Common Law Marriage
- Domestic Partnerships
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender Rights
- Living Together/Cohabitation
- Marriage
- Power of Attorney
- Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
- Guardianships & Conservatorships
- Medicaid & Medicare Planning
Legal Topic
Divorce
Preferred New Clients
My preference is to help honest, ethical persons who are struggling with a difficult time in their personal life.
Sub-Categories
Divorce
- Alimony/Palimony/Spousal Support
- Annulment
Legal Topic
Bankruptcy
Preferred New Clients
In the bankruptcy arena, my preference is to help honest, ethical persons obtain a fresh start when they are struggling with a difficult time in their financial life. In the Estate Planning arena, my preference is to help persons who understand that proper planning is essential to achieve one's desired wishes and to minimize the stress, turmoil, and trauma that his or her loved ones will be experiencing when the plan actually needs to be utilized.
Sub-Categories
Bankruptcy
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 7
- Debt Relief
- Garnishments
- Foreclosures
Bar Admissions
CA, Dec 1994
Bar Number: 173014
Other Court Admissions
Supreme Court of California, United States District Court, Central District of California
Association Memberships
Los Angeles County Bar Association; California State Bar Association
Continuing Education
I am current on my entire bar MCLE required units. I also recently attended the National Wealth Counsel seminar.
Example Cases
We have handled every aspect of family law all the way through appeal successfully.
Education
Degree:
B.A.
School:
University of California, Los Angeles
City:
Los Angeles
State:
CA
Year:
1989
Focus and Accomplishments:
History
Degree:
J.D.
School:
Loyola Law School
City:
Los Angeles
State:
CA
Year:
1994
Focus and Accomplishments:
Clerked for prominent 1st Amendment law firm. I worked on briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Number of Attorneys
3
State Licensed In
California
Firm Focus and History
Morris & Morris was founded by John and Shinju Morris in 1997 with the primary focus of Family Law and Bankruptcy. Additional practice areas included Criminal Law and Probate. In 2004 the firm began a concerted effort to expand the Trusts & Estates portion of the practice.
Previous Employment Summary
1995 - 1997 Associate, Ribeiro Law Corporation, Whittier, CA; 1997 - present Principal, Morris & Morris, A Law Corporation.
Activities and Awards
I regularly serve as a court appointed mediator for the Los Angeles County Family Law Mediation Panel.
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
Lawyers are appropriately described as attorneys and counselors. I consider both portions of that description very important. The counselor portion of that description requires that I educate my clients so that they can make informed and intelligent decisions. Ask any educator, in any field, and they will agree that students who are engaged, interested, and studying on their own are much easier to teach than students who wants the teacher to do all the work. Accordingly, I believe that when clients are willing to take some effort to educate themselves so that they can more fully understand the process that they are caught in, those clients are much more likely to be able to provide me with the relevant information I need to handle a case successfully. I am very much in favor of clients educating themselves and being active participants in their legal matters.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
Yes, I am willing to review documents prepared by clients.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
Yes, I am willing to coach clients that want to represent themselves.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
I have always had an affinity for understanding rules and regulations. I also have always had willingness to debate and argue issues. This naturally caused friends and relatives to tell me, while I was growing up, that I should be a lawyer. When I explored the possibility on my own in college, I found that the prospect attracted me greatly. While in law school, I discovered that I truly enjoyed the study of law, and in my experience as a lawyer I have reached the conclusion that there is no other job I would rather have.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
My work experience has been quite varied as to the areas of law to which I have been exposed. Prior to law school, I worked as a paralegal in a large corporate law firm and was exposed to the culture, atmosphere, and work ethic of such firms. While in law school, I worked as a law clerk for a firm that was very prominent in the area of First Amendment/Freedom of Speech issues. As a lawyer I have handled a wide variety of legal issues, including criminal, family, probate, dependency, guardianship, conservatorship, bankruptcy, and even small claims and traffic.
While I have now chosen to focus my practice on the areas of family law, bankruptcy, and estate planning, this broad exposure to different areas of the law gives me a breadth of experience that is not common among lawyers. This will often allow me to see, and understand, issues that others might overlook.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
In each of my areas of focus, I am engaged in the task of helping individuals solve problems. In family law and bankruptcy, I help to solve current problems, and provide solutions that allow the individual to move on with his or her life. In estate planning, I help to create the plans that are necessary in order to avoid the problems which naturally arise when there has been a lack of planning. The commonality is that there is tremendous job satisfaction in knowing that I have helped a person in need.
What do you like best about your career?
As stated above, I realize my greatest job satisfaction from knowing that I have helped a person in need. The kind "thank you's" and warm letters of appreciation from happy clients is definitely the best part of my career.
Tell us about your law firm:
My law partner is also my real life partner. Shinju Morris and I were married in 1992 and we have two beautiful children; Caitlin and Alexander. Shinju's practice is limited to family law where she primarily focuses on representing children in high conflict custody cases.
Chih-Yi Lin is an associate with the firm. She has been with the firm since shortly after its founding in 1997. She practices in the area of bankruptcy, estate planning, and family law. Ms. Lin also fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese and has substantial knowledge of Cantonese.
What are your strengths and style?
I can empathize with others, and this often leads to a greater understanding of their motives and goals. This understanding will often reveal solutions that would not be apparent to one who is unable to fully understand one's current opponent. While I would not go so far as to call it unique, years of experience lead me to believe that the trait of empathy is rare among lawyers.
I will not waste a client's money. Often this means taking a pragmatic look at the circumstances and understanding that it simply does not make sense, for example, to spend $10,000.00 to recover $1,000.00. However, that being said, there certainly are times when the issues at stake represent more than simply money. In such circumstances, my goal is to educate my client as to the pros and cons of available strategies, so that the client can make an intelligent and informed decision about to how to proceed.
Personal Interests:
I am a history aficionado; preferring primarily military and legal history. For sports, I enjoy tennis, softball, volleyball and bicycling. Although I have not had the time to remain active with it, I am also a great fan of the sport of fencing. In fact, it was on the UCLA Fencing Team that I first met my wife.
Office Manager/Assistant
Lisa Velarde
Fax
(626) 294-0884
Office Hours
Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Emergency After Hours
No
Foreign Languages
Mandarin, Taiwanese (Ms. Lin)
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
'Chapter 7 Bankruptcy $2,000 flat' (can be adjusted up or down depending on complexity)
Uncontested Divorce: $2,000.
Hourly Rates
$300 - $350.
Free Initial Consultation?
Yes, I offer a free initial consultation over the phone and in the office.
Typical Retainer
$4,000.
Nolo's Licensing Check
Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the applicable bar associations upon joining the directory.
Directory lawyers are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any bar association.
