Kent Burton, Attorney

Kent Burton is an expert in real estate and business law who has practiced in the state of California for more than 30 years.

Mr. Burton's extensive experience in real estate and business matters has given him the expertise to represent a wide variety of clients, from public corporations to small business owners and individual investors. He currently attempts to focus on a smaller group of clients with whom he can develop an in-depth knowledge of their businesses and valuable personal relationships.

Kent graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California in 1972 after working his way through school playing poker. He then went on to attend the University of California at Los Angeles Law School, a school consistently ranked as one of the top ten law schools in the nation, and graduated in 1975. In 1976, he and Brad Baker organized Baker and Burton. After fifteen years of handling a wide variety of matters, including extensive litigation experience, Kent began to limit his practice to transactional work. For the last fifteen years, he has concentrated entirely on business and real estate matters.

Kent's litigation background has given him a unique understanding of the needs of his business and real estate clients and he focuses extensively on limiting liability and avoiding litigation. Intent on precise drafting, Kent (a former English major) nonetheless believes that the legal process should be user-friendly. Mr. Burton believes that there is a real need for lawyers to not only deal with each other in a productive, good faith manner, but also to de-mystify the law for their clients. We should be solving problems not causing them.

As a transactional attorney, Kent's principal job description is as follows:

1) Explain in understandable terms the principal legal issues involved in the transaction, allowing the client to make informed decisions;
2) Figure out what can go wrong and how to cover it with careful negotiation and precise drafting;
3) Avoid litigation; and,
4) Whenever it can be reasonably accomplished, close the deal.

A long time Hermosa and Manhattan Beach resident, Kent continually searches for spare time to spend with family, friends and beach volleyball.