Law Offices of Mathews Bergen & Grier
Serving all of San Diego County
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A B O U T THE FIRM
About Mathews Bergen & Grier
MATHEWS BERGEN & GRIER's managing Principal is John C. Grier. The firm was originally formed by Wesley H. Mathews in the late 1950's. Robert L. Bergen was one of the original partners. Bob retired in 1988. Wes retired in 1995, although he continued to act 'of counsel' for six additional years. Both continue to reside in the San Diego area.
John first began practice with the firm (then known as Mathews, Bergen, Vodica and Potash) in 1979 upon being admitted to the practice of law by the California State Bar Association (John had served the the firm prior six months as a law clerk, while studying for and awaiting the Bar Examination results). Three years later, John became a partner (and the firm name became Mathews, Bergen, Potash and Grier). Howard Potash retired in 1988. John became the managing partner of Mathews Bergen & Grier in 1995. The practice moved to El Cajon (although continuing to serve all of San Diego County) in 2004. Construction of a new office located at 172 Wells Ave., El Cajon is scheduled to begin in 2008, after long delays.
John has been appointed to many County and State Bar committees and actively serves as a Special Master under Court appointment, Superior Court Judge Pro-Tem, San Diego County Fee Dispute Aribitrator and serves on the Client Relations Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association.
John has 3 children, ranging in age from 16 to 24. The oldest (Genevieve) was a June 2006 graduate (with honors) from Cal Poly Pomona. Kendrick recently finished high school and is currently working in construction trades while attending City College in San Diego, while Corrie (16) is a student at Culver City High School, in Culver City, California. Culver City High School empasizes 'creative arts'. Each of John's children have a theatrical 'bent'. Genevieve's minor was theater (she particularly enjoys costume design). Kendrick was a 'boy sailor' in the movie Master and Commander, which was filmed nearby in Rosarito, Mexico and Corrie, in addition to her performing arts regular school has spent two summers at the La Jolla Playhouse and a recent summer at the Santa Monica Playhouse in theatrical study.
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PRACTICE CONCENTRATIONS
Practice Concentrations:
Our practice consists principally of the following types of matters:
Trust & Estate Planning (Including Probate Avoidance)
Special Needs Trusts (Supplementary Needs) & Planning
Wills
Durable Powers of Attorney, Both Finacial and Health
Real Property Issues
Estate Tax Advice and Avoidance
Litigation Fo All Estate Related Matters (Wills Trusts, Consevatorships)
General Civil, Including Civil Litigation
Personal Injuries (Plaintiff & Defendant)
If you have a matter not listed above, feel free to contact us for a free referral. You may also contact the San Diego County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service (LRIS) at (619) 231-8585.
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LEGAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Referendar Program
We have welcomed legal interns (referendars) from Germany for many years. Such law students are required to complete a legal internship program which as an aspect of their general legal education. Shortly before completing final exams, a three-month internship is required. Some of these young lawyers choose the San Diego area and of these some are choosen by Mathews Bergen & Grier for this important part of their practical legal education.
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CONTACT US
Contact:
MATHEWS BERGEN & GRIER
1076 Broadway, Ste. B.
El Cajon, California 92021
PHONE NUMBERS
Office: (619) 298-2100
Fax: (619) 440-5043
CONTACT NAMES
Managing Principal
John Grier, Esq.
mbglaw@cts.com
Assistant to Mr. Grier
Sharon L. Whiteman
mathewsbergengrier@gmail.com
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INFORMATION REQUESTS
NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST
Monthly, Mathews Bergen & Grier sends an electronic (i.e., e-mail) newsletter to interested individuals and firms. To be added to our e-mail list, just e-mail us at mbglaw@cts.com indicating in the message line that you wish to be added to our e-mail list. Unless you request otherwise, we will not contact you for any other reason.
Back Issues Available
Certain back issues of newsletters are available. If you wish e-mail copies, so indicate in the body of your e-mail and we will attempt to accomodate you.
INFORMATION REQUESTS
We are happy to provide you, free of charge, the following:
ESTATE PLANNING BROCHURE (explaining how estate planning works)
"SENIORS AND THE LAW" (A Guide for Maturing Californians)*
"KIDS & THE LAW" (An A-to-Z Guide for Parents)*
* Publications of the State Bar of California
Use the e-mail link above, or telephone us at (619) 298-2100 to request any of these publications.
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L I N K S
Links:
We may, from time-to-time feature various links, such as below. Please review the "Site Information" page for a statement about such links. Using these links, you can perform Internet searches, use the California State Bar web site (including its Member Search function), do your own legal research (both case and statutory law are availabe through FindLaw.com), for example. Some sites will require registration. Not all areas of each site are 'open to the public'.
Google Search
California State Bar
Yahoo
Amazon
E-Bay
FindLaw.com
Search Msn
Askjeeves
San Diego Superior Court
San Diego County Bar Assn.
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SITE INFORMATIONCaveats:
In using this site, remember: (our lawyers require the following 'fine print'): The information provided in these pages is general in nature and is oriented to California law. Comments should not be considered legal advice as to any particular matter which you may have. In short: while we hope you will find genuine interest in these pages and any links to other information, you may not rely upon any comments or references as specific advice regarding your (or any, for that matter) situation. The times change, the law changes and even our opinions change. These changes may not be reflected in our pages in a timely way. We have included an e-mail contact link. However, presently at least, the use of e-mail does not assure the confidentiality of the communication. (See also: ABA Formal Op. 99-413.) Although we would never so agree, your use of e-mail may be considered a waiver, even if unintentional, of your desire that the contents of the communication be kept confidential. For this reason alone, we may decline to respond to any inquiry directed to us by e-mail. Further, no e-mail communication from you to us, or from us to you, is to be considered for the purpose of establishing an attorney-client relationship unless we specifically agree otherwise. No such relationship exists without our express consent, under any circumstance. Any response to an e-mail inquiry is tentative in nature and shall not be considered by you to constitute legal advice, unless there is a preexisting attorney/client relationship. We normally represent clients who reside in, or have legal maters relating to the law of, the State of California. For this reason, this site is intended for California residents or those doing business in or in relation to the State of California. This site may be considered both and "advertisement" under Business and Professions Code sections 6157 to 6158.3 and a "communication" under rule 1-400(A) of the Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of California. Any misleading information should be brought to the attention of the site owner as soon as possible. The information provided in not a substitute for an in-person, face-to-face, conference with a competent attorney.
About 'Links'. We provide links for your use an enjoyment. We do not endorse any link provided. We do not track (or ask others to do so) 'click-throughs' to such links. Using any link is not recorded by our site, or data transmitted to any person or entity by us. Please see our 'Privacy Policy" statement.
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PRIVACY POLICYPrivacy Policy Statement:
Mathews Bergen & Grier, and each of its attorneys, is committed to maintaining the privacy of web site guests as well as its clients. It does not collect any personal data from those who visit this site. It does not use "cookies" or place text files on a user's hard drive to monitor use of the web site. Attempts are not made to identify anyone using the site unless, consistent with Mathews Bergen & Grier’s security policy, illegal behavior is suspected.
Clients, visitors, and/ or members of the general public cannot access personalized information about either our clients or visitors to this site through this web site. Nor can anyone gather information about a person/entitiy’s relationship with Mathews Bergen & Grier by visiting here.
By using this site, you agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy. Whenever you submit information via this site, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Active Information Collection
Like many Web sites, this site actively collects information from its visitors both by asking you specific questions and by permitting you to communicate directly with us via e-mail, feedback forms. Some of the information that you submit may be personally identifiable information (that is, information that can be uniquely identified with you, such as your full name, address, e-mail address, phone number, and so on).
Some areas of this site may require you to submit information in order for you to benefit from the specified features (such as newsletter subscriptions, tips/pointers, etc. You will be informed at each information collection point what information is required and what information is optional.
Passive Information Collection
We do not use cookies or other form of passive identification.
Use and Disclosure of Information
Except as otherwise stated, we may use your information to improve the content of our site, to customize the site to your preferences, to communicate information to you (if you have equested it), for our marketing and research purposes, and for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy.
If you provide personally identifiable information to this site, we may combine such information with other actively collected information unless we specify otherwise at the point of collection. This site may contain links or references to other Web sites. Please be aware that we do not control other Web sites and that, in any case, this Privacy Policy does not apply to those Web sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every Web site you visit.
Other Terms
Your use of this site is subject to our Legal Notice.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the information practices of this site, please contact us as follows:
John C. Grier
Mathews Bergen & Grier
1076 Broadway, Ste. B
El Cajon, California 92021
Changes to This Privacy Policy
If this Privacy Policy changes, the revised policy will be posted on this site. Please check back periodically, and especially before you provide any personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy was last updated on April 2, 2008. Top
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