Lawyer Referral Service of Santa Cruz County Bar Association: An interview with attorney Lauren T. Corman

In this series, we feature stories from attorneys who have participated in our Lawyer Referral Service. Here, Lauren T. Corman shares the significance of LRS to both herself and her practice.

How long have you been with the Lawyer Referral Service?

Since 2013 or 2014.  I don’t remember exactly, but it has been quite a while!

What areas of law do you practice?

I am a certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law.  I also handle trust administrations, special needs trusts, taxation, and business planning.

Without giving specific details – please describe a successful case that occurred from your work with the Lawyer Referral Service.

I have two examples:

I was approached by two sons, whose father was on his death bed.  He owned real property, and my office was able to assist in setting up and executing a trust and other estate planning documents with the father in his hospital room.  When the father passed away soon after, his children inherited the assets without going through an expensive and time-consuming probate.

Also, just this week, I wrapped up a years’ long tax controversy.  My client is disabled, and was unable to pay her tax debt.  I was able to assist her over the years free of charge in applying for and renewing her tax deferrals.  This week, we were able to close the case, as the statute of limitations had run on the collection of my client’s unpaid taxes.

Why did you join the LRS?

I always saw LRS as having two roles: provide access to justice for those in the community who could not otherwise afford an attorney, as well as help me meet clients and grow my business and reputation as an attorney.  Through joining LRS, I was able to achieve both of these roles, and now have a thriving practice that allows me to continue to meet with low-income clients, and sometimes be able to continue to assist pro bono.

What would you say are the top 3 benefits to you and your business since joining the LRS?

My business is based almost entirely on referrals.  While LRS helped get my foot in the door with meeting clients, it also was the basis for those clients then to spread the word and refer me to their friends, family members, etc., and allow my practice to grow.

LRS also helped me become more experienced as an attorney.  Every case is a little different, and LRS allows me to explore niche issues that I may not have otherwise experienced.

Finally, I firmly believe in access to justice in our community.  I cannot assist everyone free of charge, as I have a practice to support and employees to pay, but LRS allows me to provide service to those who would not otherwise have anyone to turn to.

Lauren Corman Bio

Lauren T. Corman graduated from the University of California Los Angeles in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in History. She spent a semester of her junior year abroad in Limerick, Ireland, where she took her first law-related class.

Lauren obtained her Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2013. While in law school, she was the treasurer of the Tax and Estate Planning Society, and assisted low income families prepare and file their tax returns through the federal program VITA.

Lauren was admitted to the California Bar in December of 2013, and now works at The Corman Law Offices in Santa Cruz, where she is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law. She also specializes in taxation, business, and elder law. She is the current President of the Board of the Santa Cruz County Bar Association and a Director of the Women Lawyers of Santa Cruz County.