Lita Pettus-Dotson

Areas of Practice:  I handle the full spectrum of family concerns, from dissolution, child custody and support issues to legal guardianship and conservatorship of elderly or impaired clients and their property.   I earned my undergraduate degree at San Diego State University and my JD at John F. Kennedy University School of Law. 

Back Story:  After graduating law school in 1997, I practiced for a year in asbestos litigation.  Great deposition training but I found the area depressing, always interrogating very sick people.  I gravitated to an insurance defense practice, and worked with all the major insurance companies handling personal injury and real property claims, ranging from the very small (why are litigating this?) to multi-million dollar cases involving catastrophic injuries or property damage, or both.  I lingered in this area of practice for over a decade honing my litigation and ADR skills, and rising through the ranks.  I turned from the insurance defense area and began to add to my present expertise in the areas of family law, conservatorship, guardianship and elder law.    

On Being a Solo: Through a series of shifts involving a firm closure, merger and a detour, I am pleased and content to be the captain of my own ship.  I have a profound interest in stabilizing rocky familial situations and, as a mother of two little girls, ages 7 and 10, the needs of those with the littlest voices has become of primary importance to me.  For the past 5 years, I have been a board member of St. Lawrence O'Toole School in Oakland; I sit on the board of SEEDS, a non-profit dispute resolution service providing mediation services; and I am a commissioner on the Alameda County Human Relations Commission where I serve as Treasurer.  

Extracurricular:  In my spare time, I enjoy jewelry making (a passion), reading, watching movies, driving my girls from place to place, traveling (favorite places are Paris and my hometown of San Diego, GO AZTECS) and  reflecting on the many blessings I have.