James Cilley | San Jose Estate Lawyer

James P. Cilley is certified as a Specialist in trust and estate litigation, fiduciary disputes, and elder abuse actions by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. He is also AV® PreeminentTM Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® for his legal ability and high ethical standards in the areas of trusts and estates, wills and probate, and law related to the aged and aging.

As the senior litigation partner at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP, Mr. Cilley's practice involves will and trust contests, elder abuse, fiduciary accounting, fiduciary removal and surcharge, breach of fiduciary duty, constructive and resulting trusts, interpretation of testamentary instruments, creditor's claims, conservatorships, and related appeals. Mr. Cilley handles every stage of litigation, including pre-lawsuit negotiation, discovery, law and motion, settlement negotiations, mediation, trial, and appeals. He has more than 22 years of experience serving as lead attorney in many of Northern California's largest probate and trust cases. Mr. Cilley has substantial trial experience in contested probate cases before a wide variety of California trial and appellate courts. He has participated in all forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Attorney	Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP		Present

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific	J.D.	Law School	N/A
San Jose State University	Bachelors		N/A

State / Court	Date
California	1993

• 
  Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council, Member, Present
  California Lawyers Association, Member, Present
  Santa Clara County Bar Association, Member, Present
  Silicon Valley Bar Association, Member, Present

• Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™, Martindale Hubbell

• Author, Chapter 7: “Asserting or Defending Claim Regarding Ownership of Trust Property” , Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Trust, 2001
  Author, “When is a Lis Pendens a Viable Provisional Remedy in Probate Cases” , The Scrivener, Silicon Valley Bar Association, 4th Quarter, 2005

Sun.	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.
	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm

James Patrick Cilley has been a Premium Member since August 16, 2023.
Lawyers with longer memberships tend to have more experience so we use the Membership date to help prioritize lawyer listings on search pages.

Verified Credentials	Date Verified
(1993) Licensed as Attorney in California. Verified with California Bar Association	August 17, 2023

---

Above credentials have been verified independently by Lawyer.com.

As a service to our visitors and members, Lawyer.com displays the credentials for Premium Lawyer Profiles which Lawyer.com has independently verified. These are displayed at the at the 'Verified Credentials' table. Lawyer.com independently verifies these credentials when a lawyer signs up for a Premium Lawyer Profile. Each Premium Profile lawyer also certifies that they are licensed to practice as an attorney in their state, that they are in good standing with their applicable bar, and that they will notify Lawyer.com if this changes while they have an active profile.