BIOGRAPHY
Jason Fellner is a founding partner of Millstein Fellner, LLP. Mr. Fellner is a top-rated trial lawyer who represents individual and corporate clients throughout California with a focus on complex civil litigation. Mr. Fellner has successfully represented clients in all phases of dispute resolution from pre-litigation mediation and arbitration all the way through trial. He also serves as general counsel to companies and law firms. A hallmark of his practice, Mr. Fellner works collaboratively with his clients in providing them with recommendations on how best to address the legal, financial, and the emotional aspects of each case. He is recognized by the California State Bar as a Certified Specialist in Legal Malpractice Law and is a Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He speaks regularly and often to lawyers on legal ethics and also serves as an expert witness on legal malpractice and ethics.
Prior to founding Millstein Fellner, LLP, Mr. Fellner was a partner at a mid-sized West Coast law firm. Immediately following law school, Mr. Fellner clerked as a legal research attorney for the Honorable Peter J. Busch in the San Francisco Superior Court’s Law & Motion Department. Since 2013, Mr. Fellner, who is an American Board of Trial Advocates (A.B.O.T.A.) Trial College Fellow, has been selected every year as a Northern California Super Lawyer, and since 2017, has served as guest faculty at Stanford Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop.
Jason Fellner
EDUCATION
University of San Francisco,
School of Law
Doctor of Jurisprudence
University of California,
San Diego
Bachelor of Arts
HONORS
Super Lawyers
2013 – Present
America’s Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators® in California
ABOTA Trial College Fellow
PRACTICE AREAS
Complex Litigation
Negotiation
Environmental Law
Contracts
General Counsel
Professional Liability
Power
in Practice
Published Appellate Decisions
Flake v. Neumiller & Beardslee, et al., (2017)
9 Cal.App.5th 223
Motion for summary judgment based on statute of limitations upheld on appeal in defense of action against law firm client.
Trapp v. Naiman, (2013)
218 Cal.App.4th 113
Anti-SLAPP motion upheld on appeal in defense of action against law firm client.
CALIFORNIA’S TOP RATED ATTORNEY
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
- Evidence, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2021 Quarter, September 23, 2021
- Mitigating California Legal Malpractice Exposure in a Post Covid-19 World, Co-presented with Kevin Cardona, San Mateo County Bar Association, L&E Section, August 26, 2021
- Opening Statements, Presented by Jason E. Fellner, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2020 Quarter, October 15, 2020
- Depositions, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2019 Quarter, October 3, 2019
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims, Co-presented With Charles N. Bahlert, San Mateo County Bar Association, March 28, 2019
- Opening Statements, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2018 Quarter, October 22, 2018
- Tolling Legal Malpractice Statute of Limitations – The Uncertainty of “Continuous Representation”, Co-presented With Geoffrey T. Macbride and Mark B. Abelson at the California Lawyers Association Real Property Section’s 37th Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA – April 22, 2018
- Top Ten Ethical Blunders Made by Attorneys and How to Avoid Them, Bar Association of San Francisco, November 15, 2017
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims – A Primer for Both New and Seasoned Attorneys, Co-presented With Caitlin T. DiMaggio, Private Law Firm Presentation in San Mateo, CA, Oct. 20, 2017
- Smart Utilization of Demonstratives at Trial, Co-presented With Caitlin T. DiMaggio, MPBF, San Francisco, CA, October 26, 2017
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims – A Primer for Both New and Seasoned Attorneys, Co-presented With Caitlin T. DiMaggio, Private Law Firm Presentation in San Mateo, CA, October 20, 2017
- Tolling Legal Malpractice Statute of Limitations – The Uncertainty of “Continuous Representation”, Co-presented With Geoffrey T. Macbride, Bar Association of San Francisco, October 12, 2017
- Depositions, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2017 Quarter, October 7, 2017
- Because You Asked… Hotline FAQs, Co-presented With Arthur J. Harris and Mandy L. Jeffcoach, Lawyers Mutual, July 2017
- Malpractice and Ethics – What I Wish I Knew, Co-presented With Barbara Engler of Arch Insurance, Alameda County Bar Association, Oakland, CA, May 4, 2017
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims – A Primer for Both New and Seasoned Attorneys, San Mateo County Bar Association, San Mateo, CA, February 9, 2017
- Next Generation of LPL Leaders, American Bar Association National Legal Malpractice Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 28, 2016
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims, Bar Association of San Francisco, March 15, 2016
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims – A Primer for Both New and Seasoned Attorneys, Santa Clara County Bar Association, November 4, 2015
- Avoiding Malpractice Claims – A Primer for Young Lawyers, San Mateo County Bar Association, November 20, 2014
- Mitigation Potential Legal Malpractice Claims, Co-presented With Peter Weber and Lemme Insurance, City Club San Francisco, April 23, 2014
- Ethical Issues in Family Law, San Mateo County Bar Association, January 24, 2014
- Reducing Legal Malpractice Exposure with Effective Engagement Agreements, San Mateo County Bar
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Access Denied: California’s Watering Down of the Legal Profession, The Daily Journal, October 1, 2021
- State Bar Offers Ethical Guidance on Third-Party Litigation Funding,
Co-authored With Ebony - A New Standard for Determining Waiver of Work Product Privilege,
Co-authored With LaKeysia Beene, The Daily Journal, August 20, 2020 - Demurrer Can Dispose of Legal Malpractice Claims Based on the Statute of Limitations Tolling Provision, Co-authored With Kevin Cardona and John Girarde, The Daily Journal, June 12, 2020
- It’s Never Too Soon to Prepare for Trial: The Seeds of Good Trial Preparation Begin Early in Litigation, The Daily Journal, June 10, 2020
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Takeaways From a Recent Pro Bono Malpractice Complaint, Co-authored With Kevin Cardona, The Recorder, October 9, 2019
- Are Noncompete Laws Like California’s Coming to Washington State?, Co-authored With Alston Lew, SHRM, April 16, 2019
- Quoted in How Firms Can Avoid Conflicts Involving Corporate Affiliates, by Ryan Davis on Law360.com, March 1, 2019
- Quoted in Calif. Ruling on DQ Appeals May Mean Delays, by Andrew Strickler on Law360.com, July 31, 2018
- Quoted in Build the Wall: Four Ethical Screen Rulings Attorneys Should Know, by Andrew Strickler on Law360.com, March 8, 2018
- Proposed Rule 1.4.1 Communication of Settlement Offers, Co-authored With Tarah Powell-Chen, Daily Journal, September 8, 2017
- Keeping Pace With the Evolving California Case Law: How to Distinguish Between Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims and Legal Malpractice Claims Against Attorneys, Bloomberg BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, Co-authored With Anjali Kulkarni, August 23, 2017
- Clear Termination of Attorney-Client Relationships Is Key, Law360.com, Co-authored With Geoffrey T. Macbride, August 15, 2017
- Limiting Liability to Client, Proposed Rule 1.8.8, Co-authored With Caitlin T. DiMaggio, The Daily Journal, April 28, 2017
- Defenses and Limits of California Consumer Protections Laws, Co-authored With Charles Bahlert, Law360.com, February 27, 2017
- Quoted in Legal Ethics Cases to Watch in 2017, by Andrew Strickler on Law360.com, January 5, 2017
- Quoted in Three Things Legal Malpractice Attorneys Should Never Tell Clients, by Y. Peter Kang on Law360.com, June 7, 2016
- Quoted in Andrews Kurth May Pay Big for Sticking by Soured Settlement, by Andrew Strickler on Law360.com, November 18, 2015
- The Insurance [P]Art of the Deal: Negotiation Perspectives From Insurance In-House Counsel, ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, September 2015
- Family Law Practitioners Take Notice of the New Bright Line Rule, Co-authored With Allen Kuo, www.mpbf.com, August 2015
- Quoted in The Best Way to Clarify Who Is Your Client and Who Isn’t, by Andrew Strickler on Law360.com, July 28, 2015
- Quoted in California Bar To Attorneys: Just Keep Your Lips Sealed, by Andrew Strickler on Law360.com, June 2, 2015
- Three Steps to Protecting Your Online Reputation, Co-authored With Caitlin DiMaggio, San Francisco Attorney Magazine, Fall 2014
- A Defensive Approach to Mitigating Malpractice Claims, Co-authored With Peter L. Weber and Josh Davis, The Daily Journal, May 23, 2014
- In the Event of a Data Security Breach…, Co-authored With Allen Kuo, The Daily Journal, January 16, 2014
- Now Hiring: Three Keys for New Attorneys to Find Success in a Difficult Job Market, The Bar Association of San Francisco Bulletin, July 2013
- Bury Your Exposure: Malpractice Claims and Estate Planning, Co-authored With Allen Kuo, The Daily Journal, February 20, 2013
- Legal Malpractice Update, www.mpbf.com, January 18, 2010 California’s Prop 65: Is It Worth the Fight?, Co-authored With Steven A. Kronenberg, Law360.com, November 2, 2009
- Lawyers Are Hungry – Too Hungry, Perhaps, Co-authored With Timothy J. Halloran, National Law Journal, June 15, 2009