Steven P. Braccini

Partner•Office Managing Partner, Silicon Valley
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Steven Braccini

Overview

Steve Braccini is a litigator and trial lawyer who focuses his practice on high-stakes and high-profile trust, estate, and conservatorship litigation. He is the managing partner of the Silicon Valley office.

A fellow of the American College of Trusts & Estates Counsel, he is recognized nationally for his expertise in fiduciary litigation and trial work.

With a practice based in California, Steve serves clients nationally, addressing a full range of disputes involving relationships of trust and responsibility, including:

  • Will contests
  • Financial elder abuse actions
  • Trust contests
  • Reformation or modification actions
  • Removal and surcharge actions
  • Tax controversy
  • Contested conservatorships
  • Related civil claims
  • Accounting disputes

Clients value Steve’s mastery of the California probate code, strategic approach and long track record of key victories involving multimillion-dollar trusts.

In his free time, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife and son, observing and participating in politics, and immersing himself in Italian culture.

Experience
  • During the defense of a will contest at trial, prevailed on a motion for judgment. Affirmed on appeal.
  • Following a trial on financial elder abuse claims, obtained a judgment in excess of $25 Million. Defendant settled after judgment and filed for bankruptcy.
  • During post-trial proceedings involving breach of fiduciary duty claims, successfully persuading the Court that the opposing party violated a trust’s no contest clause and forfeited any interest in the trust. Affirmed on appeal. 
  • Following trial, obtained a judgment modifying a trust.
  • Prevailed on an “anti-SLAPP” motion, resulting in the trial court’s striking of a petition. Affirmed on appeal. 
  • During a jury trial, obtained a judgment of nonsuit in favor of his client, the trustee of a family trust, who was accused of engaging in financial elder abuse causing damages in excess of $50 million. 
  • Obtained a judgment cancelling a 98‑year lease on behalf of his clients following a two-week bench trial. 
  • Obtained judgment in favor of client involving a dispute over who was the intended beneficiary of an ambiguous residuary clause in a Trust, valued in excess of $5 million, following a multiple-day bench trial.
  • Obtained summary judgment, which was later affirmed on appeal, on behalf of clients in a case involving the voiding of a marriage after death. 
  • In an action spanning two different counties and seven petitions, obtained a very favorable “global settlement” increasing his client’s share in a $24 million apartment complex by $3 million while simultaneously extricating client from all potential liability.
Credentials
Clerkships

Judicial extern for Magistrate Judge Edward A. Infante of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

Education

J.D., Santa Clara University, 2003

B.S., Psychology, Santa Clara University, 1999

Admissions

California

Honors

Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers, 2024-2026

Northern California Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2019-2021, 2023-2025

Memberships

American College of Trusts & Estates Counsel (ACTEC), Fellow

San Mateo County Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Section, Chair (2016-2017)

REACH Youth Scholarships, Board Member

State Bar of California Trusts & Estates Section Executive Committee, Bench/Bar Subcommittee Member

Silicon Valley Bar Association

San Francisco Estate Planning Council

St. Christopher Catholic Church, Lector

Thought Leadership

"Anticipating and Resolving Trust and Estates Disputes," San Francisco Estate Planning Council and Golden Gate University, May 31, 2019

"Daddy Lost His Marbles, Now What? — A Primer on Financial Elder Abuse and Capacity," Peninsula Estate Planning Council, January 2018

"Dispute Resolution, Communication, Mediation, Litigation," Kasner Symposium, Panelist September 2017

"The Only Constant is Change: Giraldin, Drake v. Pinkham and an Aging Population," State Bar of California (Webinar), Lecturer May 2016

Funky Credit Day, Ethics and Probate, San Mateo County Bar Association, Co‑presenter January 2016

Ethics and Probate "The Old Man and the Three," San Mateo County Bar Association, Co‑presenter January 2015

"Strategies in Commencing an Elder Abuse Case"; "Successfully Mediating an Elder Abuse Case"; "Trying an Elder Abuse Case," 34th Annual Southern California Estate & Tax Planning Forum, Co‑presenter October 2014

"Beyond the Four Corners: Extrinsic Evidence and Will Construction in Light of Estate of Duke," Silicon Valley Bar Association, Co‑presenter September 2014

"Fiduciaries Gone Wild: Breach of Trust and Financial Elder Abuse," Palo Alto Area Bar Association, August 2014

"Attorneys’ Fees in Probates, Trusts and Conservatorships," State Bar of California Trusts and Estates Section, 2014 Summer Education Conference, Co‑presenter, May 2014

"A Practitioner’s Minefield: Elder Abuse and Ethical Issues Arising in the Trusts and Estates Arena," Legal Assistance for Seniors – 9th Annual Conference on Elder Abuse, UC Hastings College of the Law, Co‑presenter May 2014

"Crossover Issues Between Probate and Family Law," San Mateo County Bar Association, Co‑presenter May 2014

"The Metrics for Determining the Amount of Attorneys’ Fees in Probate," San Mateo County Bar Association, Co‑presenter April 2014

"Minimizing Litigation Risks in Trust & Estate Administration," Financial Planning Forum, Palo Alto, September 2013

"Before and After: A Trustee’s Duties to Residual Beneficiaries Before a Trustor’s Death (And After Estate of Giraldin)," San Mateo County Bar Association, Co‑presenter September 2012

"The Perils of ‘Mail Order’ Estate Plans," San Mateo County Bar Association, Estate Planning Section (Young Lawyers subsection), April 2012