Irene L. Kiet is a member of the litigation department and practices in the area of real estate, business, trust and landlord/tenant law.  Ms. Kiet's practice includes all aspects of civil litigation including pre-trial negotiation, discovery, mediation, arbitration, trial and appeal as well as collection and enforcement of judgments. Ms. Kiet has been instrumental in achieving the following results for her clients: 

• Obtained a court judgment at trial for declaratory relief to appraise land resulting in a net $21 million recovery to client. The non-prevailing party did not appeal. 
• Affirmed on appeal a probate court order to compel a trustee to account to a contingent beneficiary (Esslinger v. Cummins (2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 517). Client recovered the entire attorney's fees and costs on appeal.
• Affirmed on appeal a probate court judgment to dismiss a judgment creditor's petition, with prejudice, to sell a $6 million dollar residence held in an irrevocable trust (Seay v. Ferrante (2009) Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3300)
• Obtained a voluntary dismissal of a trustee's petition for delayed income in probate court.
• Negotiated the transfer of a deceased trustor's IRA funds held by a global financial services firm resulting in no tax liability and litigation costs to the client.
• Settled and dismissed claims alleging undue influence and breaches of a trustee's fiduciary duty to a litigious beneficiary within three months of taking over the case from the client's former counsel.
• Obtained the dismissal an entire lawsuit based on contract and business tort claims, with prejudice, pursuant to the "anti-SLAPP" statute and award of attorney's fees and costs. 
• Prosecuted and recovered possession for commercial/residential landlord in over one hundred unlawful detainer trials relating to issues of non-payment of rent, rule violations, etc.
• Facilitated landlord-creditor's claims cost-effectively in bankruptcy proceedings held in California and New York.

  Ms. Kiet is well-versed in developing a litigation strategy that best suits the client’s needs. Ms. Kiet represents a wide variety of clients ranging from national drug retail chains, real estate developers, mobilehome park owners, commercial landlords/tenants, trustees/beneficiaries and small business owners. 

Admissions:

• California
• All U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in California; and Southern District of New York
• All U.S. District Courts in California

Education:

• Loyola Law School - Los Angeles, J.D., 2002; International and Comparative Law Review
• University of California - Irvine, B.A., 1998; Dean's Honors List

Affiliations:

• California State Bar Association
• Orange County Bar Association