(PRWeb) Palo Alto, CA -- April 4, 2011 -- For the fifth year in a row, attorney Janet L. Brewer has been named to the Northern California Super Lawyers list, an independent lawyer ratings service owned by Thomson Reuters.
To be named a Super Lawyer, an attorney must make it through a selection process that includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Selections are made annually on a state-by-state basis. The list represents no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state.
“To be named among the top 5 percent of lawyers in Northern California is a big honor. To have it happen every year since 2007 makes me realize that my peers understand and appreciate what I do,” Brewer said.
Serving Palo Alto and the surrounding region, Brewer is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the CA State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. She writes the California Probate, Trusts, and Estate Law Blog and has authored several guides on estate planning, including:
“I create workable, money-saving estate plans for very affluent people,” Brewer said. “Some of the plans can get quite complex, involving trusts, limited partnerships and other business arrangements. Relatively few attorneys have what it takes to do this. That’s what my clients are paying for: advanced training and decades of experience. They know that if their estate plan is poorly designed, nobody will know until it’s too late. There are no do-overs.”
Super Lawyers enter the candidate pool by being formally nominated by a peer, identified by the Super Lawyers research department, or informally nominated. Lawyers cannot nominate themselves. The research department then evaluates each candidate using 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement: verdicts and settlements; transactions; representative clients; experience; honors and awards; special licenses and certifications; position within law firm; bar and or other professional activity; pro bono and community service as a lawyer; scholarly lectures and writings; education and employment background; and other outstanding achievements.
Candidates with the highest point totals from the first two steps are asked to serve on panels in their primary practice areas and rate other candidates.
About the Law Offices of Janet L. Brewer
Janet Brewer is a certified specialist in estate planning by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, and has an advanced degree in tax law. She has practiced California estate, gift-planning, and probate law exclusively since 1991, and has served as an instructor in the certified financial planner program at UC Santa Cruz.
For more information, contact the Palo Alto, CA, law office at (650) 325-8276.