Terrence M. Franklin is a seasoned attorney with nearly three decades of experience handling trust and estates and probate litigation, disputes and appeals. His breadth of experience underscores the firm’s long-standing reputation and the reason clients turn to the firm for complex cases involving significant dollar amounts.
Mr. Franklin has extensive trial and appellate experience, including successful published appeals and the landmark Moeller case, which was brought before the California Supreme Court. 16 Cal. 4th 1124.
An active member of the trusts and estates legal community, Mr. Franklin has served as Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Committee of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), where he is committed to improving the level of membership and engagement among diverse and minority lawyers. He is working with ACTEC to develop strategies to make the trusts and estates practice area more attractive to minority law students and young attorneys, and was instrumental in developing a diversity and inclusivity mission statement for ACTEC, a fellowship to support potential future fellows in the college, and a statement condemning racism on behalf of the organization. Mr. Franklin serves as the host of ACTEC’s video series Planning for a Diverse and Equitable Future which explores the role of trusts and estates in addressing issues of diversity and inequality in America. In addition, he serves on the ACTEC California Membership Committee, and previously served on the Fiduciary Litigation Committee and on the Board of Regents.
Mr. Franklin is a member of the Estate Planning Advisory Panel for American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education; has served as a member of the Diversity Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property, Trust and Estate Section; is a former Council Member and Supervisory Council Member for the Litigation, Ethics and Malpractice Group; is the former Vice Chair of the Practice Group Management and former Chair of the Ethics and Malpractice Committee.
Mr. Franklin has been recognized by numerous industry awards, including: receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award by Chambers and Partners Diversity & Inclusion in 2021; ranked by Chambers and Partners High Net Worth guide in Private Wealth Disputes; named to the list of “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” and “Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers” by Los Angeles Business Journal; featured in LA Times’ Business of Law: Visionaries; ranked a Top 100 attorney by The National Black Lawyers; named to the list of Southern California Super Lawyers every year since 2005; included on the list of the Best Lawyers in America every year since 2011. Mr. Franklin was also named Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in 2016 for Trusts & Estates Litigation – Los Angeles which is awarded to individual attorneys with the highest overall peer feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. Only one attorney is recognized as the “Lawyer of the Year” for each specialty and location.
Admitted to practice in California, Mr. Franklin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and obtained his Bachelors of Science from Northwestern University. Prior to Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise, he practiced with the Los Angeles office of Morrison & Foerster and as a partner at Ross, Sacks & Glazier, LLP.
Honors and Awards
• Leader in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility – LA Times, 2021
• LA Times Business of Law: Visionaries 2021
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Chambers and Partners Diversity & Inclusion, 2021
• The National Black Lawyers – Top 100
• “Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers,” Los Angeles Business Journal, 2021 and 2020
• “Most Influential Minority Attorneys,” 2021, 2020 and 2019 Los Angeles Business Journal
• “Notable Practitioner” – Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Private Wealth Disputes
• “Highly Commended” in the category of “Outstanding Contribution to Furthering the Advancement of Diversity in the Legal Profession” (USA) Private Practice, Individual – Chambers and Partners Diversity & Inclusion Awards: North America 2020
• Shortlisted, “Outstanding Contribution to Furthering the Advancement of Diversity in the Legal Profession” –Chambers and Partners Diversity & Inclusion Awards: North America 2019
• “Lawyer of the Year” Litigation – Trust & Estates, Los Angeles – Best Lawyers 2016
• The Best Lawyers in America®, 2011 – present
• Southern California Super Lawyers, 2005 – present
Past Employment Positions
• Morrison & Foerster, Los Angeles, CA
• Ross, Sacks & Glazier, Partner
Published Works
• Black Deaths Should Matter, Too! Estate Planning as a Tool for Antiracists, ALI CLE’s Estate Planning Course Materials Journal, April 2022
• Black Deaths Should Matter, Too! Estate Planning as a Tool for Antiracists , ACTEC Law Journal, Fall 2021
• Host, Planning for a Diverse and Equitable Future, ACTEC Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Video Series
• Bending the Arc of History Toward Justice—What a Trusts and Estates Lawyer Can Do, The Practical Lawyer, February 2021
• The 1846 Last Will of John Sutton—What’s Not So New in Will Drafting and Contests, Wealth Strategies Journal, September 2018
• LAST WILL, NEW TESTAMENT: The search for the story behind the will that set Terry Franklin’s ancestors free, Southern California Super Lawyers magazine, February 2018
• Co-author, Hot Topics in Estate, Trust & Conservatorship Litigation: Contests After Death, Pre-Death Contests, and Intentional Interference with Expected Inheritance (Among Other Things), American Law Institute – CLE Estate Planning Course Materials Journal, 2017
• Will Power: A 19th-century document leads Terry Franklin on a journey of self-discovery, Harvard Law Today, October, 2016
• Minority Powerbrokers Q&A: Sacks Glazier’s Terrence Franklin, Law360, January, 2015
• Author, Tracing One Family’s Path to Freedom, Through Love, 15 ASIA-PACIFIC LAW & POLICY JOURNAL 1 (with Eric K. Yamamoto and Sara Lee), September/October, 2014
• Co-author, What is a Care Custodian Under Probate Code 21350, California Trust & Estates Quarterly, Volume 11, Issue 4, Winter, 2005
Classes/Seminars
• How to Discuss, Address and Promote DE&I in Your Trusts and Estates Practice and With Clients, 56th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, March 2022
• Effective Speaking and Presenting in Trusts and Estates Law, ABA RPTE Special Committee on Career Development & Wellness Program Series, May 2022
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Regions Bank Legal Department, February 2022
• “Bending the Arc of History Toward Justice,” Orange County Estate Planning Council, January 2022
• “Probate Law and Generational Discoveries,” ALI-CLE Representing Estate and Trust Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries, October 2021
• Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice: Lucy Sutton Leads Her Family to Freedom, Association for the Study of African American Life and History’s 106th Annual Meeting and Virtual Conference, September 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice in the Probate Court,” East Bay Trusts and Estates Lawyers Annual Luncheon, November 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice in the Probate Court,” Knoxville Estate Planning Council, November 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Harvard – Radcliffe Circle ’90 Alumni Group, June 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Beverly Hills Bar Association Trusts & Estates Section, June 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Fiduciary Trust International’s Young Lawyers Program, May 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Los Angeles Paralegal Association, April 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Harvard Law Society of Illinois, April 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Probate Attorneys of San Diego, March 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice,” Harvard Club of Southern California’s Anti-Racism Committee & Harvard Black Alumni Society LA Chapter, February 2021
• “The Last Will of Lucy Sutton,” BNY Mellon Wealth Management, February 2021
• “Bending the Arc of History Towards Justice in the Probate Court,” USC Gould’s 46th Annual Trust and Estate Conference, November 2020
• “The 1846 Last Will of John Sutton: What’s New and Not So New in the World of Drafting Wills and Contest Litigation,” Washington, D.C. Estate Planning Council Winter Meeting, February 2021
• Leadership Academy Presentation, Texas State Bar Real Estate Probate and Trust Law, October 2020
• “The 1846 Last Will of John Sutton: What’s New and Not So New in the World of Drafting Wills and Contest Litigation,” 65th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, October 2020
• “Better Practices: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession,” American Bar Association’s Real Property Trusts & Estates Section Fall Leadership Meeting, October 2020
• “The Last Will of Lucy Sutton: An Antebellum Interracial Love Story,” Harvard Club of Southern California and Harvard Black Alumni Society of Los Angeles, February 2020
• “Speaker, Diversity and Elimination of Bias”, USC Gould School of Law’s 40th Anniversary Trust and Estate Conference
• Presenter, ”Planning for Flexibility,” ACTEC Continuing Legal Education Program: The Anatomy and Life Cycle of a Trust, Philadelphia, June 2013
• Presenter, ”The Trustee’s Exercise of Discretion,” ACTEC Continuing Legal Education Program: The Anatomy and Life Cycle of a Trust, Philadelphia, June 2016
• Moderator, ”Is Your Spouse a Trust Beneficiary? State Law Holds the Key for Same Sex Spouses,” ABA Real Property Trust and Estates Symposium, Washington, D.C., May 2013
• Coordinator, ”Thy Will Be Done, By Will or By Deed: Discrimination in Real Property Trust and Estate Law,” ABA Real Property Trust and Estates Symposium, Washington, D.C., May 2013
• Lecturer, ABA-RPTE Paralegal eLearning Program
• Lecturer, USC Probate and Trust Conference
• Lecturer, Southern California Tax & Estate Planning Forum
• Lecturer, Matthew Bender & Co.
• Lecturer, Practicing Law Institute, New York & California
• Lecturer, American Colleges of Trust and Estate Counsel
• Lecturer, American Bar Association, Real Property & Trust Law Section
• Lecturer, California Continuing Education of the Bar
• “Testamentary Intent and Social Change. The Story of How a Last Will Allowed the Sutton Family to Be Free,” ABA RPTE Spring Symposium, Boston, MA, May 2016
• “Hot Topics in Estate, Trust and Conservatorship Litigation; Contests after Death, Pre-Death Contests, and Intentional Interference with Expected Inheritance (Among Other Things),” ALI-CLE Educational Session, Estate Planning in Depth, Madison, WI, June 2016
• “The Will Contest of John Sutton,” Texas Bar CLE 22nd Annual Course, Advanced Estate Planning Strategies, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 2016
• “What’s New and Not So New In Will Contests,” Estate Planning Council of New York City, April 2016
• “A Family History of Wills in the Antebellum South” USC Gould School of Law 41st Annual Trust and Estate Conference, Los Angeles, California, November 2015
Professional Associations and Memberships
• American Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Former Council Member
• American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Former Chair, Attorneys Partnering with Nonlawyers Committee
• American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Former Chair, Ethics and Malpractice Committee
• American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Former Member, National Conference of Lawyers and Corporate Fiduciaries
• American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Former Vice Chair, Practice Group Management
• American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Supervisory Council Member, Litigation, Ethics and Malpractice Group
• American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Former Member
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Diversity Task Force
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Former Member, Program Committee
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation, Member, Board of Directors
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Member, California Membership Committee
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Member, Diversity and Inclusivity Committee
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Member, Fiduciary Litigation Committee
• American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education, Estate Planning Advisory Panel
• California Board of Legal Specialization, Former Member, Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Advisory Committee
• National Organizing Coalition On Virus Information Distribution (“NOCOVID”), Member
• Outfest, Co-President, Board of Directors
• State Bar of California, Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section, Former Member, Litigation Sub-Committee
• University of Southern California Gould School of Law’s Trust & Estate Conference, Chair
• University of Southern California Probate & Trust Conference, Member, Planning Committee
