Our Team
Heather Kirkland
Heather is our firm’s Senior Paralegal. She has 19 years of experience and began her career as a Paralegal working in litigation and transactional law. For the last 15 years she has been with our firm working exclusively in estate planning, probate, guardianships and conservatorships. Heather oversees all aspects of paralegal operations including drafting and managing our probates, conservatorships and guardianships from inception to completion and supervises estate planning preparation. She is also dedicated to training new team members and supporting our attorney in all aspects of the firm.
Heather holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Business Law from California State University, Northridge. Upon graduation she obtained her Paralegal Certificate from University of California Los Angeles, Attorney Assistant Training Program. In addition, she is a California Registered Tax Preparer and Notary Public.
Outside of the office, Heather is a devoted mother of two busy teenagers and has been married for 20 years. She and her family live in Simi Valley, and are actively involved in community service, including beach clean ups, all-serve events with their church, suicide awareness and prevention, and advocating for animals. In her free time, she enjoys camping, sporting events, concerts, hiking and fishing with her family.
Karen Gross
Karen is the Executive Assistant who supports the attorney, paralegal and legal assistant. She is responsible for office administration, the firm calendar, reception duties, client relations, new client intake and more. Karen is often the first friendly voice you hear when calling our office. Before joining the team, she worked in community relations and as a personal assistant.
She graduated from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications.
Karen was born and raised in Southern California and is very familiar with Simi Valley and the surrounding communities. She grew up in Simi Valley and still lives there.
Outside of the office, Karen enjoys travel and the arts. She has visited over 30 states and 15 countries so far. When she isn’t exploring new places, she spends her time dancing, writing, and attending live theater. She also loves staying home to catch up on her favorite streaming shows.
Faraz Ahmed
Faraz is the newest member of our team. As a paralegal, he is responsible for drafting estate plans and deeds as well as conducting research, while supporting our attorney and Senior Paralegal in complicated probate or trust administration matters.
He is a graduate from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He also received his Paralegal Certificate from UCI. He is planning on pursuing a Juris Doctor degree.
Faraz was born in the San Fernando Valley and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley and is happy to call Los Angeles his home.
Faraz’s interest outside of the office consist of traveling, watching movies, working on cars and playing basketball.
