Howard A. Kipnis

Currently serving as of counsel at Artiano Shinoff in San Diego, California, Howard A. Kipnis is a commercial and business attorney with over 40 years of experience. Throughout his career, he has represented corporations, financial institutions, dealers and brokerage companies in resolving complex disputes and litigation. He serves clients in San Diego County in other litigation matters, including elder abuse, trust and probate and complex civil litigation.

Mr. Kipnis' practice encompasses both the prosecution and defense of claims across Southern California's federal and state courts, including San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Imperial, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. He also represents clients in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and American Arbitration Association arbitration hearings. He has also been recognized as lead counsel in several published opinions. He was lead counsel in the 2024 California Supreme Court case, Haggerty v. Thornton, which unanimously held that a revocable trust can be modified by any available revocation procedure unless the trust explicitly states its amendment method is exclusive.

Before pursuing his legal studies at Georgetown Law Center, Mr. Kipnis earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California. While in law school, he served as an extern to the Honorable J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. He gained his Juris Doctor in 1984 and in the following year, he was admitted to The State Bar of California. He is further admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Central Districts of California.

As an active member of the Trust and Estates Section Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association, Mr. Kipnis chaired several subcommittees, including Litigation and Ethics and was the former managing editor of the California Trust and Estates Quarterly. His commitment to his profession has gained him professional adulation, and he has been AV Preeminent* peer-review rated through Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been honored as one of San Diego Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” in both banking and probate and trust litigation.

*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 Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.