Referrals

We receive regular inquiries as to recommended names of other attorneys handling different types of law in the Ukiah area.

It is always difficult to recommend attorneys without being thoroughly familiar with the quality of their work. The best source of locating competent counsel is Martindale Hubbell who often rates qualifying attorneys. Possible ratings are CV, BV, and AV. C means good to high legal ability based on peer review; B means high to very high; A means very high to preeminent. V means very high ethical standards. Even a rating of "C" (contrary to traditional school grades) is considered very good and the majority of attorneys do not achieve this grade or any rating at all!

Martindale Hubbell has a web site but unfortunately only shows attorneys who have paid for advertising unless you enter a specific attorney's name. If you type the specific name, it will give you the rating, if any, but not address and telephone number unless they have paid for advertising. Consulting Martindale Hubbell's printed materials is best because you can quickly locate all local attorneys as well as determine who is rated and who is not. The Mendocino County Law Library (located in the Mendocino County Courthouse in Ukiah) like most public law libraries contains a recent edition of Martindale Hubbell for public use.

As far as general real estate, unlawful detainers, and wills/trusts/probate are concerned, the names below are the ones I would call first. But as stated on our home page you should evaluate each one carefully before making a decision to hire a particular attorney.

Wills, Trust, and Estate Attorneys

(alphabetical sequence by last name)

Jeanne DeJong
Attorney at Law
390 W. Standley Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-8518
Newer attorney. Not a lot of experience in this area but very eager and trying hard. (Married to long time attorney, Phillip DeJong so she does have some back up experience available to her.)
Thomas F. Johnson
Attorney at Law
8121 Vineyard Oaks Dr.
P.O. Box 828
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
(707) 485-1196
Long time attorney. I have worked with him on many cases and been happy with results. However, he is not accepting new results. However, he is not accepting new litigation cases and can be very slow to respond.
Meredith J. Lintott
Attorney at Law Attorney.
216 W. Perkins Street, Suite 107
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 391-1113
Former elected Mendocino County District Trying to build practice in wills/trusts. Seems to have reasonable prices and trying to do a good job.
Mannon, King & Johnson
200 North School St., Suite 304 
P.O. Box 419
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-9151
Law firm with multiple attorneys. Not inexpensive.
James R. Mayo
Attorney at Law
327 North State Street, Suite 206
P.O. Box 915
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-1465
Quite competent State Bar certified specialist and can be very expensive. Does not generally handle contested cases.
Myrna L. Oglesby
Attorney at Law
533 South Main Street
P.O. Box 720
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 462-0141
Long time, well known attorney but does not generally handle litigation matters. State Bar certified specialist; May charge more accordingly.
Madeline D. Sager
Mason & Morrison
104 North School St.
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-9140
Long time attorney. Very knowledgeable, conscientious, and straight forward. Does not work full time, however.

General Real Estate Transactions

Thomas F. Johnson
Attorney at Law
8121 Vineyard Oaks Dr.
P.O. Box 828
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
(707) 485-1196
Very experienced. I have worked with him on many occasions with good results.Not accepting new litigation cases and can be slow to respond.

Real Estate Evictions

(alphabetical sequence by last name)

Jeanne DeJong
Attorney at Law
390 W. Standley Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-8518
Newer attorney. Not a lot of experience in this area but very eager and trying hard. (Married to long time attorney, Phillip DeJong so she does have some back up experience available to her.)
Anthony Farrington
Attorney at Law
208 A South Oak Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-3885
Former Lake County Supervisor; Attempting to establish a practice in Mendocino County; willing to take on Unlawful Detainer matters.
Stephen F. Johnson
Mannon, King & Johnson
200 North School St., Suite 304
P.O. Box 419
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-9151
Larger law firm. Not inexpensive but quite capable
Lloyd M. Kelsey
Attorney at Law
369 South Main St.
Willits, CA 95490
(707) 459-6341
Willits attorney who prefers to handle North county cases; may be sympathetic to tenant problems but tries to do a good job.
Mark Ranft
Attorney at Law
597 South. Main Street, Suite B
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 462-1169
Experienced eviction attorney but does sometimes represent tenant instead of landlord. Some clients have not been satisfied. (May be communication issues with clients.)
John Rarick
Attorney at Law
(415) 606-1689
New attorney in this area so unknown results but seems like he would be very good.
A. Gregory Wonderwheel
Attorney at Law
131 A Stony Circle, Suite 500
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
(707) 696-7253
Santa Rosa attorney but often appears in court in Lake County and Mendocino County. I have used him to appear for me in several Unlawful Detainer trials when I was unavailable.

Real Estate Litigation

Thomas S. Brigham
Attorney at Law
169 Mason Street, Suite 100
P.O. Box 358
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 462-9292
Best general litigator still practicing in Ukiah. (Also has an attorney daughter, Brooke Brigham, whom he works with on some matters.)
Donald J. McMullen
Law Office of Duncan M. James
445 North State St.
Ukiah, CA 95482
(707) 468-9271
Seems competent, fair, and reasonable. I have been told that his associate, Jonah Walsh is good although I am not personally acquainted with him.