Areas of Practice
Education
- University of California, Los Angeles (1979)
- University of California, Davis (1991)
Diana Jessup Lee’s law practice emphasizes probate and trust ligation, business disputes and litigation, particularly in connection with real estate, lease and landlord-tenant issues, partnership and corporate dissolutions, contract disputes and collection matters. She also handles commercial and residential leasing and sales transactions. Additionally, Diana has received extensive training as a mediator and has served as a mediator for the Sacramento Mediation Center, the Santa Barbara County Court and the Santa Barbara Community Mediation Center.
After working as a senior litigation paralegal, Diana returned to law school and graduated from the University of California at Davis in 1991, graduating Order of the Coif. Diana was an associate with the law firm of Schramm & Radue in Santa Barbara before she joined the law firm of Reicker, Pfau, Pyle & McRoy, when it was founded in 1996. She has been a partner since January 1, 1997 and served 3 years as the Managing Partner.
Diana spent a year at the University of Mexico in Mexico City, remains conversant in Spanish and graduated from UCLA in 1979.
Diana headed the Santa Barbara legal team in Advanced Modular Sputtering v. Superior Court (2009) 132 Cal.App. 4th 826.
- Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara Board of Directors
- Superior Court Settlement Master
- Teen Court Judge
- St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Ruling Elder
- Former Member of Girsh Park Board of Directors
- Former Member of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust Community Advisory Board
- Former Member of Santa Barbara County Bar Board of Directors
- Former Member of William L. Gordon America Inn of Court
- Order of the Coif (1991)
- Frank R. Crandall Community Service Award (1997)
- The Sid Smith Volunteering Award (2015)
- Successfully defended a trial court victory on behalf of a successor trustee in a published opinion (Sachs v. Sachs, — Cal. Rptr. 3d —, 2020 WL 63944 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 7, 2020))
- Represented Condor Express when landlord sued to evict; obtained a ruling of a bad faith conduct against landlord
- Represented beneficiary short-changed by sibling; obtained a ruling of bad faith conduct against sibling
- Represented multiple commercial landlords, in Montecito, Santa Barbara, Isla Vista and Santa Maria
- Lead trial counsel in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles
- Thoughtfully represented many Trustees and Beneficiaries in trust disputes; able to negotiate positive settlements
Education
- University of California, Los Angeles (1979)
- University of California, Davis (1991)