James P. Cilley

The senior trial partner at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP, James P. Cilley focuses his practice on estate and trust litigation, and he has been certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by the Board of Legal Specialization of The State Bar of California. With clients throughout Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties, Mr. Cilley's experience has encompassed cases involving breaches of fiduciary duty, conservatorships, will contests, elder abuse, the interpretation of estate planning documents and similar matters. He also has handled many of them through such alternative dispute resolution methods as arbitration and mediation, and he frequently serves as an expert witness on issues related to his practice areas.

Admitted to practice before all California courts, Mr. Cilley is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Highly regarded by his fellow attorneys for his successes both in and out of the courtroom, he has been given an AV Preeminent* peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Cilley has delivered several presentations to continuing legal education programs, and some of the other groups he has been asked to speak before have included the Professional Fiduciary Association of California and the Santa Clara County Bar Association.

Mr. Cilley's numerous professional memberships include the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council and the Silicon Valley Bar Association. He has served on the boards of the Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa county bar associations as well. Mr. Cilley received a Bachelor of Science in business finance from San Jose State University in 1990 and his Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1993.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.