Fishman, Larsen & Callister

Focus and practice areas

The firm works out of Fresno and represents businesses, employers, and families across California's Central Valley. Its practice covers employment law for employers, tax and business planning, and estate planning with probate. It also handles real property, corporate law, and general litigation.

These areas fit together in a practical way for owner-run companies. An employer that needs a handbook often needs entity advice and a plan for passing the business on as well. In my opinion, a firm that keeps those threads under one roof can save a business owner the work of coordinating several outside advisers.

How the team is built

The firm names four attorneys. Jared R. Callister, Robert G. Fishman, and Doug M. Larsen are shareholders. Mike Green is an associate. Two of those shareholder names sit in the firm's own name, which points to a practice run by its principals.

The firm also has an association with Sierra HR Partners, a human resources consulting company. That link matters for the employment side of the work. Handbook drafting, wage and hour compliance, and worker classification often start as HR questions before they reach a lawyer. A firm with a consulting partner close by can move a client between practical HR steps and legal advice as a matter grows.

Employment and wage and hour work

Advising employers

Employment law for employers is a core part of the firm's practice. On the advisory side, the attorneys draft personnel policies and handbooks, set up anti-discrimination and harassment procedures, review wage and hour compliance, prepare employment contracts, and analyze independent contractor classification. This is the day-to-day work that keeps a company out of court.

Worker classification is one area where California rules run strict. The state uses the ABC test to decide whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, and the burden sits with the business to show that a worker is genuinely independent. A wrong call can lead to back wages, tax exposure, and penalties. Advice at the hiring stage is one way the firm's compliance work connects to the disputes it later defends.

When claims are filed

When disputes do arise, the firm handles litigation. That work includes wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims, and unpaid wage and overtime claims. The site also lists PAGA defense and wage and hour claims defense among the firm's areas.

The PAGA claims the firm defends have a California-specific structure. The Private Attorneys General Act lets an employee bring wage and hour claims on behalf of the state and other workers. These matters often turn on payroll records, meal and rest break logs, and how a company classifies its staff. Defense work here usually means auditing those records early and then settling or litigating from what they show. In my opinion, an employer that wants both compliance advice and defense from one firm gains some continuity when a claim lands.

Tax, business, and estate matters

Tax and business planning

Outside employment, the firm runs a tax and business planning practice. That work covers entity selection and formation, business planning and transactions, tax planning, and tax litigation and controversy. The site also lists mergers and acquisitions among its Fresno business services.

Business formation and tax planning tend to travel together. The choice between a corporation, an LLC, and a partnership shapes how income is taxed and how owners are paid. Getting that structure right at the start is cheaper than fixing it later. A merger or acquisition adds its own steps. Those include due diligence on the target, a purchase agreement, and the transfer of contracts and assets. The tax controversy practice covers the point where a return is questioned and a taxpayer needs representation before the taxing authority.

Estate planning and probate

The estate planning practice handles trusts, living trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, and probate. It also covers trust and estate administration and litigation. These tools decide who manages a person's affairs during life and who receives property afterward. A living trust can also keep assets out of probate, which shortens the court process for the people left to settle an estate.

Probate is the court-supervised process that follows when an estate needs formal administration. It confirms the will, settles debts, and distributes what remains. A lawyer who drafted the original plan and then handles the administration can keep that sequence steady for a family, and the firm offers both sides of that work.

Where the firm works

The firm is based in Fresno and lists a service area across the Central Valley. That reach names Fowler, Hanford, Kingsburg, Madera, Selma, Tulare, Visalia, and Modesto alongside Fresno itself. This is farm country and small-business country, and the firm's mix of employment, tax, and estate work fits the owners and families who run those operations.

As a reviewer, the clearest feature of the firm is the pairing of employer-side employment counsel with tax and estate planning in one office. A Central Valley business owner can get handbook and wage and hour advice, structure the company, and set up an estate plan through the same attorneys. The firm names three shareholders and one associate, and it lists nine Central Valley communities in its service area.