Theodore Hankin

Mr. Hankin is licensed by the State of California as an Attorney at Law and as a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Hankin is currently engaged in the full-time practice of law at his office in Newport Beach, California. A sole-practitioner since 1986, Mr. Hankin was formerly a partner in the Santa Ana, California law firm of Oster, Suchman & Hankin. Born October 7, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, Mr. Hankin graduated cum laude from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelors Degree in Economics in 1974. Mr. Hankin then attended University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in San Francisco, California. He earned his Juris Doctorate from that institution in 1977. Mr. Hankin was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1977 and was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in 1978. Mr. Hankin is currently admitted to practice before all of the Courts of the State of California, as well as the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern districts of California. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, the Orange County Bar Association, the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, the American College of Forensic Examiners, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Hankin concentrates his practice in the areas of Business Law, Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate Law. He has been a director and general counsel of independent banks. In addition, between 1981 and 1991, Mr. Hankin represented the brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith as collection and as defense counsel in numerous matters; offices represented by Mr. Hankin during this period included the following offices in Southern California: Newport Beach, Santa Barbara, Upland, San Bernardino and San Diego. Mr. Hankin has recently represented or currently represents an NASD licensed broker/dealer, law firms, engineers, mailing list companies, manufacturers, computer technology dealers, homeowners associations, retail businesses, physicians and other professionals. This is in addition to numerous individual clients. Mr. Hankin has substantial estate planning experience, including the drafting of wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advance health care directives. He also has substantial experience in many areas of business law, including accountant malpractice, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and business torts, real estate partition, shareholder claims and trade secrets litigation. Mr. Hankin also is active in the areas of probate and trust litigation. Mr. Hankin's transactional experience includes formation of partnerships and corporations, mergers and acquisitions (including financial institutions), dissolution of business entities, drafting of employment contracts, leases, purchase and sell agreements, and other business documents. Mr. Hankin has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the National Credit Union Administration, as well as various state regulatory agencies (including but not limited to the Franchise Tax Board). Mr. Hankin has an AV rating from the Martindale-Hubbell Directory of Attorneys and is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. Mr. Hankin has been designated a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Accounting by the American College of Forensic Examiners. He has been a speaker for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants and for the National Business Institute. Mr. Hankin is a member of the Board of Directors of Coastal Family Therapy Services, a non-profit public benefit corporation, dedicated to the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and domestic violence. Mr. Hankin also participates in a volunteer program for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, where he is a member of the leadership cabinet. In addition, Mr. Hankin is a member of the board of directors of the Law Enforcement Resource Fund, a non-profit public benefit corporation, dedicated to providing additional funding for equipment and training of reserve law enforcement officers.