Lalit Kundani

Lalit Kundani leads the law firm’s award-winning Trust & Estate Planning practice group. He has been recognized by Newsweek, The National Advocates, Super Lawyers, and the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys as a leading attorney in his field. He is known for his detailed approach to planning. Lalit’s clients include high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, judges, public officials, fellow lawyers, physicians, actors, venture capitalists, and business owners. All of his clients have come to rely on his advice and counsel in the areas of advanced estate tax planning and asset protection.

Lalit works intimately with his clients in order to create comprehensive estate planning strategies. He focuses on minimization of estate, income, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. He particularly emphasizes inheritance preservation planning and asset protection. Lalit Kundani routinely advises startup founders in pre-IPO and liquidation events, reorganizing businesses to qualify for QSBS and Section 1202 tax benefits. He also helps with restructuring California LLCs on behalf of those with significant real estate holdings to minimize property tax reassessments. He also has an extensive clientele of overseas residents who have both domestic and foreign business interests.

Lalit is effective in protecting his clients and their assets because he knows first-hand how the other side thinks. Unlike other estate attorneys, Lalit worked nearly a decade as a trial lawyer. He prosecuted both individuals and corporations and recovered over hundreds of millions on behalf of his clients. Lalit credits his courtroom experience with the reason why he is a better problem solver and why so many clients choose him as their personal counsel.

Lalit graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with Departmental Highest Honors and then graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law. He began his legal career at a large national law firm working on high-stakes litigation. He was later appointed as Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County, where he prosecuted numerous high-profile matters including gang homicides and capital murders, and then worked as a trial lawyer at one of the nation’s leading plaintiff’s litigation firms, where he represented victims of catastrophic injury and death.

Lalit is a published author and sought-after speaker and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, CNN, Forbes, and local radio stations like KFI. He is a former consultant to Dreamworks Animation, he is the founder of The Unholy Cow and is the co-founder of Bruin Bhangra and The UCLA Bhangra Team.

Lalit resides in Orange County with his wife and two daughters. He spends his free time on various philanthropic projects close to his heart, and he is an avid magician and member of The Magic Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts.

Education

• University of California, Los Angeles Bachelor of Arts, 2001
• UC Berkeley School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2005

Awards & Recognition

• National Advocates, Top 100 Lawyers in the Nation: 2015, 2017
• Super Lawyer: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
• Super Lawyer Rising Star: 2015
• American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, Top 10 Attorney: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
• Newsweek, Premier Attorney: 2014

Professional Affiliations

• Wealth Counsel
• Board of Advisors, Cal State Fullerton’s Office of Planned Giving
• South Asian Bar Association
• General Counsel, Sindhi Association of Southern California
• The Magic Castle
• The Academy of Magical Arts

PUBLISHED ARTICLES

• “Understanding the Real Role of a Grand Jury,” Huffington Post, Dec 4, 2014: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/understanding-the-real-ro_b_6268738
• “Prosecutors In Ferguson And New York Chokehold Case May Have Screwed Up In The Same Way,” Business Insider, Dec 5, 2014: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-prosecutors-screwed-up-in-ferguson-and-eric-garner-cases-2014-12
• “Masters of Manipulation,” The Huffington Post, Sept. 29, 2014: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/masters-of-manipulation_b_5902424
• “A Fumbling of Roles: How Roger Goodell Became the Prosecutor of Atlantic County,” The Huffington Post, Sept. 11, 2014: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-fumbling-of-roles_b_5806346
• “When the Tail Wags the Dog: Dangers of Crowdsourcing Justice,” The Siliconeer, July 27, 2013
• “Dangers of Crowdsourcing Justice,” New America Media, July 27, 2013
• “County Agrees to Pay $3.2 million settlement in speeding deputy case,” Ventura County Star, Oct. 18, 2012
• “Why Brian Bank’s Accuser Won’t Likely Face Charges,” Interview on Bill Carroll Show, KFI AM 640, May 25, 2012