ATTORNEYS
ADA SANDS
Chairman
Firm founder Ada Sands is an expert in family law, probate trust and estate planning, related litigation and has conducted numerous trials, from financial matters to paternity, custody and allegations of abuse. Highly regarded and experienced in conservatorship issues, Ms. Sands is frequently appointed by the Los Angeles Superior Court to represent conservatees and wards.
Born in Europe and raised in the West Indies during WWII, Ms. Sands has achieved a triumphant, pioneering career starting when many professions were closed to women. She graduated magna cum laude from San Diego State University, where she became the U.S. National Womens Debating and Oratory Champion, the Western States Mens Debating Champion and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Offered law school scholarships to Harvard, Stanford and University of California (UCLA), Ms. Sands worked as clerk to the Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Courts Probate Department before attending law school at UCLA and South Western University. Graduating first in her class, she earned American Jurisprudence Awards in Estate Planing and Taxation, Constitutional and Criminal Law and Procedure, as well as West Publishing Co.s Corpus Juris Secundum Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. Ms. Sands has also served as a lecturer at University of Southern California (USC).
An active volunteer and community leader, Ms. Sands has served as Chair of the business and Professional Womens Division of State of Israel Bonds; director and legal adviser to John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary; director and legal counsel to Educational Resources and Services Center, Inc. (ERAS); director and legal counsel to Associates for Breast Cancer Studies; president of the Municipal Auditorium Commission, City of Los Angeles (Convention Center) 1983, 1989; member of several Blue-Ribbon Commissions for the City of Los Angeles; and Judge pro tempore, Los Angeles Municipal Court.
She received the Los Angeles Mayors Certificate of Appreciation in 1989. Ms. Sands is a member of the American Bar Association and the ABAs Taxation Section; the State Bar of California; the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section; and the Los Angeles Superior Court Probate Volunteer Panel. Ms. Sands holds an AV Rating with Martindale Hubbell, the highest available rating for an individual Lawyer.
Ms. Sands was the former President of the auxiliary of HavenHouse, a shelter for battered women and Vice Chairman of the Board of iPalpiti Artists International, Inc.
LEONARD S. SANDS
deceased
Leonard Sands was founder and senior partner of the law firm Sands, Schaffer, Pachter, Kaplan, and Gold of Los Angeles, which focused on civil litigation and commercial matters, Recognized as an accomplished, tenacious and successful litigator, Mr. Sands has represented clients in numerous law suits, arbitrations and administrative proceedings in federal and state courts in Los Angeles and beyond during over 54 years of legal practice. He has earned an A.V. Rating from Martindale Hubbell the highest available to an individual lawyer. Mr. Sands is also an entrepreneurial businessman, with experience in banking and a long record of representing public and privately owned businesses. He has tried many cases and handled many appeals successfully.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Mr. Sands attended the University of California at Los Angeles and earned his Juris doctor at Loyola School, Los Angeles. A member of Phi Delta Phi, he was admitted to the California Bar in 1958. Mr. Sands developed a focus on business and commercial disputes and financial and corporate law, and has represented financial institutions, asset based lenders, and many other businesses. He also specializes in real property and construction law, represented developers, contractors, design professionals, and others in a broad range of construction and development litigation, contract disputes and financing. Mr. Sands has extensive experience in corporations and partnerships and represented shareholders, corporations, partners and partnerships in a myriad of transactions and disputes. He also has served as an arbitrator and as judge pro tem in California, Los Angeles County.
Active in the greater community, Mr. Sands remains involved in several nonprofit organizations, and has received commendations from the City of Los Angeles, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups he has served. He has served on the boards of director of several corporate entities and has been listed in Whos Who in America, and Whos Who in the West. He is a member of the Los Angeles Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association and the American Bar Association.