Adam F. Streisand

Century City & San Francisco

Litigation

Adam F. has handled battles over the estates of Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Michael Crichton, Anna Nicole Smith and many more. He represents clients in family law disputes, including battles over inheritance, fiduciary conduct and business succession, as well as sports franchises, players and executives in a variety of disputes.

Streisand started his legal career in entertainment litigation, where he won the landmark digital sampling case, Newton v. Diamond, representing the Beastie Boys and Capitol Records. He began to transition into trust and estate law when a partner at a former firm asked him to work on an estate case.

"I was absolutely riveted with that first case because, as a trial lawyer, I'm a storyteller, that's what I do," Streisand said. "There are no more compelling stories to tell than stories of relationships, especially family relationships."

One high-profile family dynamic that sparked a movement and eventually a new law was the legal feud between pop star Britney Spears and her father over her 13-year conservatorship. Early in the controversy, Streisand was retained by Spears to represent her in a bid to fire her father as conservator of her estate. However, the judge refused to recognize Streisand as her counsel, instead appointing another attorney. In response, the California Legislature enacted a new law in 2021 aimed at giving conservatees the right to choose their own counsel.

Streisand also was involved in the first "Britney's Law" decision by a California Court of Appeal interpreting the statute. He persuaded the court that the new law also had important limits. In a case at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Spears matter, the court agreed with Streisand that the new statute still permits courts to prevent lawyers with conflicted motives from representing a conservatee. White v. Davis, et al., E077320 (Cal. App, filed Jan. 5, 2023).

--Jennifer Chung Klam