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.
Education
University of San Francisco, School of Law
Doctor of Jurisprudence
University of California, San Diego
Bachelor of Arts
California State Bar Certified Specialist in Legal Malpractice Law
Honors
Super Lawyers, 2013 – Present
America’s Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators® in California
ABOTA Trial College Fellow
Admission
State Bar of California
State Bar of Washington
All Federal District Courts of California
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- Bio
- Publications
- Lectures & Presentation
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.
Representation of Intraclient Conflicts Can Raise Thorny Ethics Issues. co-authored with Andrew Browning, Daily Journal, November 15, 2023
Crime-Fraud Exception to A/C Privilege Pierces Trump’s Communication with Lawyers, co-authored with Andrew Browning, Daily Journal, March 27, 2023
Quoted in Screening Supervision Key to Avoiding Pro Bono Errors, by Jack Karp on Law360.com, December 2, 2022
Remote Depositions are Here to Stay, co-authored with Laura Dang, The Daily Journal, June 8, 2022
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
Trial Mechanics, Stanford Law Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2023 Quarter, October 30, 2023
Legal Malpractice Post-Covid Primer for Lawyers, Co-presented with Andrew Browning, San Mateo County Bar Association, October 26, 2023
Depositions, Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop for the Fall 2022 Quarter, October 6, 2022
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
Published Appellate Decisions
Trapp v. Naiman, (2013)
218 Cal.App.4th 113
Anti-SLAPP motion upheld on appeal in defense of action against law firm client.