About Us
Heather Campopiano is a California Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorney. Her law practice centers on long-term care planning including: Medicare, Medi-Cal, SSI, as well as Wills, Trusts (including Special Needs Trusts), Conservatorships, Trust Administration and Probate. Moreover, she advises families and fiduciaries regarding nursing home advocacy and patients’ rights.
As a former caregiver to her aging grandparents, Ms. Campopiano acknowledges the importance of high-quality, elder-centered legal representation for others experiencing the emotional, legal and financial challenges of long term care giving.
Ms. Campopiano is a member of the following organizations:
- Sonoma County Association Bar, Probate Division
- Marin County Bar Association, Probate Division
- The Incapacity Planning Committee (a sub-committee of the State Bar Executive Committee
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorney
- She is a member of the Sonoma County Elder Abuse Prevention Council, Executive Committee
- Past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Northern California Chapter
- She is also a frequent lecturer with California’s Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) program
Lisa Poncia specializes in the areas of Elder Law, Estate Planning and Administration, and Employment Law.
In the Elder Law and Estate Planning areas, she focuses on the drafting and administration of estates of all sizes, and counseling disabled clients or those that have disabled family members. She is a skilled practitioner of Special Needs Trusts, Conservatorships, and long-term care planning including Medicare, Medi-Cal, VA (Veteran’s Administration) benefits, and SSI. Ms. Poncia is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and is accredited by the VA to advise veterans about VA benefits.
On the Employment Law front, Ms. Poncia brings employment litigation and counseling, general business litigation and business management experience to The Campopiano Law Offices, PC. She has represented small and medium sized businesses in general business and employment-centered matters including contract negotiation, wage and hour law, leaves of absence, harassment, employee counseling, discipline and termination, and discrimination issues. She has extensive experience drafting employment handbooks and employment, independent contractor, severance, and confidentiality agreements. Ms. Poncia has performed all aspects of civil litigation including research, writing, motion practice, discovery, and trial preparation, and has appeared regularly in state and federal court and administrative proceedings.
Ms. Poncia has also taught Legal Writing and Research at UC Hastings College of the Law, Legal Writing at UC Davis College of Law (King Hall), and Human Resource Laws and Regulations at California State University Sacramento.
Ms. Poncia earned her J.D. from UC Hastings College of Law and her B.A. cum laude in Political Science with a minor in Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She is also a licensed Real Estate Broker.
Patricia Tobin is a graduate of Cornell Law School and is a member of both the New York and California State Bars. She specializes in Estate Planning, Elder Law, and legal planning for families who need to provide for a disabled family member. She is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, and Probate and Trust law by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation.
She currently serves as a member of the Marin County Commission on Aging, and as a consultant on Elder Abuse issues. Previously, she served as the Director of the Mental Health Advocacy Project, Chief Patients' Rights Advocate for the Monterey County Health Department, and a Deputy Public Guardian for the County of Santa Cruz. She is also a former member of the Dominican-Santa Cruz Hospital Bioethics Committee, the Santa Cruz Women's Commission and a former advisor to two geriatric care management agencies.
Ms. Tobin’s extensive honors and achievements include:
- In 2006 and 2007, Ms. Tobin was selected by her peers as a “San Francisco Bay Area “ SuperLawyer.”
- In 1994, she was elected to the Board of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and was later honored as one of 100 nationally selected Fellows of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
- Ms. Tobin was appointed to the California Senate legislative work group on conservatorships and has served on the long-range planning committees for county mental health agencies in Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara.
- Geriatric Research and Education Center at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
- San Francisco Childrens' Hospital
- Alzheimers Association
- California Alliance for the Mentally Ill
- Northern California Head Injury Association
- National Association of Geriatric Care Managers
- Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program
- Women's Lawyers Association
- Santa Clara University Law School
- University of Nevada
Harriet Prensky has practiced elder law in Marin County since 1986. She specializes in planning for long term care and care of disabled persons, eligibility planning for Medi-Cal and other government benefit programs, estate planning and probate. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and past member of its Board of Directors, past Co-Chair of the State Bar Legal Services Section, Standing Committee on Legal Problems of Aging and former Elder Law editor for the CEB Estate Planning and California Probate Reporter. She is a frequent lecturer on legal problems of the elderly.
Ms. Prensky received her juris doctorate from the UCLA School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Upon graduating from law school, she received a grant from the Berkeley Law Foundation to found and direct the Nursing Home Advocacy Project in Los Angeles. Ms. Prensky has written several articles for legal publications on legal issues affecting the elderly and is a frequent speaker for community organizations working with the elderly on Medi-Cal, nursing home and estate planning issues.
From 1992-2008, Ms. Prensky was a founding partner at Prensky and Tobin, an eminent Elder Law firm in the Bay Area, and then practiced as Of Counsel to The Campopiano Law Offices. Ms. Prensky retired in 2009.