Exciting Announcement! – Ryan F. Thomas
To learn more about Ryan, please click on his firm bio.
We are thrilled to have Ryan and his team join the AZ Family.
Samuel V. Gearing Joins AZ as 2023 Summer Intern
Sam is a native of Sonoma County and recently completed his first year at the University of San Francisco School of Law. He graduated with Honors from the University of Toronto in 2020, obtaining Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. Prior to law school, Sam worked for Rep. Mike Thompson, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, and another local Santa Rosa law firm. Sam is looking forward to exploring all of the Firm’s practice areas with an eye on Estate Planning and Trust Administration. He enjoys traveling, hiking, gardening, reading history, and watching classic movies.
Firm Spotlight: Michael J. Fish
Anderson Zeigler is pleased to announce that it has started a family law practice group headed by Michael J. Fish. Prior to joining the firm, Michael was a partner in another prominent Sonoma County law firm, and a long-time managing partner of an established law firm in Marin County. Michael is joined at AZ by three highly experienced staff members, Kerri, Alicia and Lourie.
Michael has been practicing law in Marin and Sonoma Counties for over 40 years. In addition to family law, he is well known for his broad professional background and expertise in representing individuals and businesses in civil litigation, transactional work, FINRA arbitrations and estate matters. He is also one of the foremost attorneys in California representing attorneys and clients, as well as serving as an expert witness, in attorney-client fee disputes.
Michael is an experienced and sought-after Mediator having successfully resolved over 400 family law and civil matters over the course of 25 years.
Michael has a rich humanitarian involvement in our local and international communities. He has been involved in Rotary International for over 35 years, and has also served in Rotaplast International, Inc., a program providing free cleft palate and cleft lip surgeries to indigent children around the world.
In his spare time, Michael spends time with his wife Gina. They have four children and 4 grandchildren. He loves sports, golfing, attending San Francisco Giants games, theatre, and is an enthusiastic outdoorsman. He is an avid pilot and loves to travel with his family. He also embraces his international volunteer efforts with a focus on bringing a little more humanity and dignity to those less fortunate.
For more about Michael, click here.
Firm Spotlight: Rose Zoia Is Promoted to Shareholder
We are thrilled to announce that Rose M. Zoia joined AZ as its newest Shareholder. Rose graduated with her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C. She has practiced law in Santa Rosa since she was admitted to the California Bar in 1988. Prior to joining Anderson Zeigler in 2019, Rose’s land use practice focused on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and general plan and zoning matters. She has extensive administrative and litigation experience in land use matters, having handled numerous cases throughout California from administrative hearings through the appellate courts. Rose is counsel of record in 17 published Court of Appeal cases.
Rose’s litigation experience forms a solid background for her current administrative land use and real estate and business transactional practice. Her practice includes guiding clients through the land use entitlement process with governmental agencies, including Permit Sonoma, the formation of companies, the purchase and sale of businesses and real estate, and drafting and review of leases and other contracts. She is part of a panel of CEQA practitioners who present semi-annual seminars on recent land use cases through the Sonoma County Bar Association.
Rose fervently believes it is important to be an active and participating member in one’s community and, as such, has served on more than a dozen nonprofit boards and committees, currently serving as the Chair of the Sonoma County Archive Committee and the Secretary of the Board of TLC Child and Family Services. While serving on the board of the Sonoma County Bar Association, Rose researched and authored an article about the first woman lawyer in Sonoma County, Luda Barham Fulkerson, who began practicing law in Santa Rosa in 1896.
Rose is available as a mediator through the Arbitration and Mediation Center, located in Santa Rosa. In her personal life, she enjoys running, instructing fitness classes at the Sonoma County YMCA, and boating with her husband and their two beautiful children.
For more about Rose, click here.