James K. Leese is a partner in the law firm of Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP. He was born June 6, 1953, in Dayton, Ohio, and admitted to the California Bar in 1979. The State Bar of California recognizes him as a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law. He earned his bachelor's degree from The Defiance College in 1975, his Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1978, and a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University in 1992.

Mr. Leese is primarily responsible for the firm's estate and business succession planning departments and limits his practice to matters involving business, estate and gift tax planning, preparation of trusts and wills, and to handling probate and trust administration for individuals and owners of businesses. Mr. Leese works with both the high net worth client, using sophisticated estate planning strategies and tools, as well as with the client who has non-tax related planning goals in mind. He also works closely with trust officials, financial planners, insurance agents, accountants and appraisers in a team effort to design and implement plans that will best meet each client's needs and objectives.

Since 1994, Mr. Leese has taught the fundamentals of estate planning and advanced estate planning courses in the personal financial planning certificate program at the University of California at Irvine extension. He also has taught a layperson course on estate planning for UCI extension. He speaks frequently to such professional groups as the National Business Institute, the Orange County/Long Beach Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Easter Seals Society. He has contributed to the estate planning text "Estate Planning and Taxation" by Joan C. Bost, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company; and is a co-author of the textbook used at UCI extension entitled "Advanced Estate Planning for Financial Professionals."