Brierton, Jones & Jones, LLP

Focus and practice areas

This San Diego firm works only in trust, estate, and probate law. That focus shapes how the firm sorts its work. Its clients are families and individuals planning for the transfer of property, or handling it after a death.

The planning side covers estate planning and special needs trusts. The administration side covers trust administration, property transfers, estate tax returns, and accountings. When a matter reaches the courts, the firm handles probate, conservatorship, guardianship, and agent representation.

Disputes get their own listed services: probate litigation, trust litigation, and trust and estate mediation. In my opinion, the mix matters because these areas often run together. A single family may need a plan drafted, a trust administered, and later a disagreement resolved. One firm holding all of that can carry a matter through each stage.

Reading the practice list

The practice list stays inside one field, and that has a practical side. A person who begins with a will may return years later for a probate case or a trust question, and the firm already holds the history. That continuity is part of what a focused estate practice offers.

How the team is built

The firm names a group of partners, senior counsel, an associate, and retired attorneys, with paralegals and administrative staff behind them. Each partner practices through their own professional corporation, a detail the firm notes on its team page. The firm name honors Jamie Brierton, who lived from 1943 to 2023.

Gregory J. Borawski is the managing partner. The partner group includes Hilary J. Vrem, Ashley E. Rathbun, and Ricsie M. Hernandez. Julie A. Jones is senior counsel, and her practice covers estate planning and probate.

Who does what

Other attorneys the firm lists include Courtney L. Bravo, Jacklyn Alvarez, Gwendolyn C. Peng, and Paige L. Stapleton, whose published work centers on estate planning. Rebecca M. Fletes is an associate attorney. Jerilyn S. Jones, now retired, practiced in guardianship, trusts, probate, and estate planning.

The listed practices split across planning and disputes. Hilary J. Vrem's work includes trust and probate litigation, will contests, and contested conservatorships and guardianships. Gregory J. Borawski's covers probate, estate planning, trust administration, litigation, conservatorships, guardianships, and elder law. Ricsie M. Hernandez handles probate, trust administration, estate planning, guardianships, and conservatorships.

Where the attorneys trained

The published backgrounds point to a mix of local and out-of-state law schools. Gregory J. Borawski earned a B.S. from San Diego State University in 2001 and a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in 2004. Hilary J. Vrem earned a B.S. from Cornell University in 2001 and a J.D. from California Western School of Law in 2003.

Ricsie M. Hernandez earned a B.A. from the University of California in 2010 and a J.D. from California Western School of Law in 2014. Gwendolyn C. Peng also attended California Western School of Law. Ashley E. Rathbun earned a juris doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2010, and Courtney L. Bravo attended the same school.

Paige L. Stapleton attended Santa Clara University School of Law. Jerilyn S. Jones earned an A.B. from Georgia State University in 1965 and a juris doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1984. The dates span several decades, which fits a firm that lists both long-serving and newer attorneys.

What the record shows

The firm states it has practiced in San Diego County for over 30 years. The site does not list a specific founding year, so the exact start date stays open. What the firm does publish is its reach: San Diego and the wider Southern California area, with named communities including Del Mar, Escondido, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and La Jolla.

As a reviewer, I read the exclusive focus as the firm's clearest signal. Its attorneys keep to trust and estate work, and the practice-area list stays inside that boundary. A client with a probate dispute and a client who wants a first will both fall within the same body of law the firm handles.

Probate in California runs through the superior court of the county where the person lived. A firm based in San Diego County works with the same local court and its filing routines. That local footing can smooth the practical steps of a case.

How these matters usually proceed

For readers new to this field, the areas the firm names follow set paths.

Planning documents

Estate planning usually starts with documents such as a will, a revocable trust, and powers of attorney. The client decides who inherits, who manages the estate, and who steps in if the client cannot act. A special needs trust is a separate tool for a beneficiary who receives public benefits, because it holds assets while keeping those benefits in place.

Administration and reporting

After a death, someone has to gather the assets, pay what is owed, and pass the rest to the right people. Trust administration covers that work when a trust is in place. Property transfers move title into the names of the new owners. Estate tax returns and accountings put the numbers on record, where a representative reports what the estate holds and what it owes.

Court-supervised steps

Probate is the court process that settles an estate after death. A petition opens the case, the court appoints a personal representative, that person pays debts and taxes, and the remaining property passes to the heirs. Conservatorship and guardianship both go before a probate judge. A conservatorship covers an adult who can no longer manage personal or financial affairs, and a guardianship covers a minor. Each one needs a petition, notice to interested parties, and accountings that the court reviews over time.

When parties disagree

A will contest, a challenge to a trustee, or a dispute over an accounting can move a matter into probate or trust litigation. Mediation gives the same parties a chance to settle before a judge rules. Agent representation supports a person named under a power of attorney or a health care directive, who then handles decisions for someone unable to act alone. The firm lists all of these, and each sits inside its stated focus on trust and estate work.