Lerman Law Partners

What Lerman Law Partners does

Lerman Law Partners, LLP is a California-based law firm founded in 1998 by Michelle C. Lerman and Jeffrey H. Lerman, operating from offices in San Rafael (headquarters) and San Francisco. The firm specializes in serving commercial real estate investors and individuals needing estate planning, operating across three core practice areas: estate planning, trusts and probate; real estate transactions; and litigation. Service offerings span the full real estate investment lifecycle including entity formation, syndication, joint ventures, loan documentation, commercial leases, construction agreements, asset protection, and partnership disputes, alongside estate planning services such as living trusts, life insurance trusts, business succession planning, property tax planning, and trust dispute resolution. The firm employs 11-50 people and operates as a Limited Liability Partnership with no proprietary technology platforms, relying on standard law firm technology for document management and client communication.

The firm generates revenue primarily through professional services fees billed on hourly or fixed-fee arrangements, with engagements structured around quote-based pricing and free initial consultations. Go-to-market relies on a content-driven strategy: educational blog content dating back to 2010, free special reports and webinars, speaking engagements at real estate investment clubs, national television appearances (NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNBC), and referrals from real estate investment club leaders, CPAs, and other advisors. In April 2023, the Lerman Law Partners team joined CunninghamLegal in a strategic integration, with Michelle Lerman serving as Of Counsel at CunninghamLegal while the firm maintains its brand identity and operations. The firm has also published Michelle Lerman's book 'Create Your Best Legacy' (third edition, 2018) and operates a free newsletter ('Lerman on the Law') as additional lead-generation assets. No venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment has been disclosed.

Name

Lerman Law Partners

Legal name

Lerman Law Partners, LLP

Website

https://realestateinvestorlaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lerman Law Partners is a California-based law firm founded in 1998 that serves commercial real estate investors and individuals needing estate planning through integrated legal services spanning transactions, litigation, and trust/probate practice across two Bay Area offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK), Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory (FSAEAKAC)

Keywords

• Real estate law
• Estate planning
• Trust administration
• Probate services
• Commercial real estate

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Estate Planning: Attorney fees for estate planning services including living trusts, wills, probate, trust administration, and business succession planning. Typically billed hourly or fixed fee arrangements.
2. Legal Services - Real Estate Transactions: Legal representation for commercial real estate investors covering purchases, sales, entity formation, syndications, joint ventures, loan documents, commercial leases, and construction agreements.
3. Legal Services - Litigation: Trial attorney representation for real estate disputes, partnership conflicts, and related litigation matters.
4. Book Sales: Sale of Michelle Lerman's book 'Create Your Best Legacy' published in 2018 (Third Edition)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lerman Law Partners is a California limited liability partnership that provides specialized legal services to real estate investors, business owners, and the families that own those businesses. The firm delivers three integrated practice areas — Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate; Real Estate Transactions (including syndication, joint ventures, entity formation, and asset protection); and Litigation — and supplements its legal practice with the published book "Create Your Best Legacy."

Product overview

Lerman Law Partners is a law firm offering integrated legal services for real estate investors and individuals. The firm provides three core service areas: Estate Planning/Trusts/Probate, Real Estate Transactions, and Litigation. The practice focuses on the complete lifecycle of real estate investment and wealth transfer, with services including asset protection, syndication, joint ventures, entity formation, loan negotiation, construction contracts, and commercial leases. For estate planning, the firm offers living trusts, probate administration, trust administration, life insurance trusts, business succession planning, and property tax planning. The firm also publishes educational resources including the book 'Create Your Best Legacy' and a free newsletter called 'Lerman on the Law.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate Legal services for individuals and families covering wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, estate and gift tax planning, trust administration, and probate court representation. Designed for clients who need a coordinated plan for their assets — particularly those with real estate holdings or closely held businesses — and for families navigating the administration of an estate after a death.
• Real Estate Transactions Transactional legal services for real estate investors, owners, brokers, syndicators, and developers, including purchases and sales, syndications, joint ventures, entity formation and structuring, asset protection, financing, leasing, and 1031 exchanges. Intended for clients who need counsel with hands-on real estate investment experience to close deals and structure ownership entities.
• Litigation Civil litigation services for real estate, land use, construction, business, and related disputes, including representation in state and federal court, alternative dispute resolution, and trial work. Intended for real estate investors, business owners, and other clients who need trial-ready counsel — including those whose deals or ownership arrangements have escalated into disputes.
• Create Your Best Legacy (Book) Authored book published by the firm that educates readers on wills, trusts, estate planning, and legacy planning. Targeted at the firm's estate-planning audience and the broader public as a complementary offering to its legal services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients report the firm has saved them many times what they paid in legal fees through aggressive representation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CunninghamLegalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2023The Lerman Law Partners, LLP team has joined CunninghamLegal. Michelle Lerman serves as Of Counsel at CunninghamLegal. This merger brings expansive expertise to clients, combining the firms' shared approach to professional and caring legal services. CunninghamLegal founder Jim Cunningham is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law with nearly 30 years of experience.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Nolo: Long-standing legal self-help publisher of books, forms, and online resources covering estate planning, real estate, and small business law. Adjacent competitor in the consumer education layer that funnels prospects toward or away from attorney-led services like Lerman's.
• LawPay: Legal-industry payment and trust-account management provider used by many California boutique law firms. Adjacent ecosystem vendor rather than a direct competitor, but representative of the broader legal tech stack supporting firms like Lerman.
• Avvo: Online legal directory and attorney rating platform on which Lerman attorneys hold a 10.0 Superb rating. Functions as a discovery channel for prospective estate planning and real estate clients searching for California attorneys.
• Martindale-Hubbell: Legal directory and peer-review rating service on which Lerman holds an AV Preeminent 5.0/5.0 rating. Not a direct competitor but an ecosystem participant that influences client attorney selection and firm credibility.

Emerging players

• Trust & Will: Online estate planning platform providing wills, trusts, and related documents via guided software flows. Targets the same living trust and probate-avoidance use cases that anchor Lerman's individual clients, primarily in lower-complexity matters.
• FreeWill: Online will and estate planning platform, often distributed through financial advisors and nonprofits. Overlaps with Lerman's basic estate planning entry point and increasingly partners with financial institutions that could refer more complex work elsewhere.
• Wealth.com: Estate planning platform built for financial advisors that combines automated document generation with attorney oversight. Indirectly competes with Lerman's estate planning service by enabling RIAs to deliver in-house planning to their HNW clients.

Broad incumbents

• Rocket Lawyer: Subscription-based online legal service offering document templates and on-demand attorney access, including real estate and business formation forms. Competes with Lerman's entity formation and basic transactional document work for price-sensitive small businesses.
• LegalZoom: Large online legal services platform offering DIY estate planning, business formation, and real estate documents. Competes with Lerman's estate planning book at the entry-level price point, particularly for simpler living trusts and probate-avoidance work.

Direct peers

• CunninghamLegal: California estate, trust, real estate transaction, and tax-planning firm that the Lerman Law Partners team joined in 2023. Directly comparable in service mix (estate planning, real estate transactions, asset protection) and California regional focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lermanlawpartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/realestateinvestorlaw
• Xx.com/reinvestoratty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lerman Law Partners