Lawyers to Aid Elderly in Public Service Bid : Probate: An attorney who enriched himself with clients’ property has prompted the bar to offer advice, seminars to help senior citizens.

SANTA ANA — Orange County Bar officials on Tuesday sought to stem a crisis of confidence in probate lawyers, following revelations that a Laguna Hills attorney had made himself the beneficiary of millions of dollars from the estates of his elderly clients.

Beginning today, seniors in Orange County will receive some free legal advice about their wills and estate planning documents as part of a comprehensive outreach program by the Orange County Bar Assn.

Bar officials also disclosed plans to hold free seminars in senior centers across the county to educate seniors “about their fears and estate planning concerns.”

Bar President Michelle Reinglass said the outreach program was designed by a bar task force after a Times investigation last November revealed that Laguna Hills lawyer James D. Gunderson had arranged to receive millions of dollars in cash, stock and real estate from clients’ estates.

Gunderson, 68, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing despite a longstanding California Supreme Court ruling that anything more than a “modest” gift from a client’s estate raises questions of impropriety. The State Bar, Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the county bar are continuing separate investigations into his law practice, which is just across the street from the Leisure World retirement community in Laguna Hills.

The Times reported that in one instance, Gunderson arranged for the execution of a will and trust that together bequeathed him stock valued at $3.5 million and made other beneficiaries liable for an estimated $2 million in inheritance taxes he normally would have incurred.

In another case, Gunderson persuaded a judge to name him legal guardian of a senile Canadian woman who was incapable of managing her assets. Once in control of her affairs, Gunderson drafted a new will that gave him most of her estate: nearly $250,000 worth of AT&T; stock. Another heir reluctantly accepted Gunderson’s offer of $60,000 if she abandoned her court challenge.

The Times also reported that the State Bar was investigating allegations that two other Orange County attorneys--Donald Bruce Black of Laguna Beach and Lloyd Copenbarger of Irvine--had unethically benefited from their clients’ multimillion-dollar estates.

Black and Copenbarger, who operate separate practices, have denied any wrongdoing.

Reinglass said publicity about Gunderson has had “a continuing effect” on attorney-client relationships in Orange County and a “dramatic effect on (other) lawyers.” Large numbers of seniors have confronted their lawyers, declaring that they could not understand the provisions of their wills and estate planning documents, Reinglass said.

Seniors especially were “looking at their lawyers in trepidation . . . and so suddenly the trust relationship was being impaired,” she said.

The bar’s first free estate planning panel discussion for seniors will be at the Fullerton Senior Center on April 22. A similar event has been planned for the Westminster Senior Center on May 10.

The local bar has also set up a hot line for seniors who need information about the free seminars and the legal support services available to the public. Interested persons can call (714) 541-6222.

About 50 probate lawyers have volunteered their time to offer legal advice to seniors on the phone and at public meetings. Reinglass said the lawyers have vowed to decline any business the program might generate.

The local bar has also agreed to waive its $25 referral fees for seniors who need to consult a lawyer.

“We want to be sure that this is strictly an educational program and it’s not perceived in any way as a marketing ploy,” Reinglass said.

Reinglass also announced that the local bar is continuing its investigation of Gunderson and that it also is supporting pending legislation in Sacramento that would restrict lawyers from making themselves beneficiaries of their clients’ estates.

In addition, the State Bar is proposing a rule forbidding lawyers to prepare wills or trusts that bequeath them gifts.