James A. Bush joined Keystone Law Group, P.C., as a partner in 2021. After graduating law school in 1981 and serving a one-year clerkship with a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Jim became a litigator in private practice, first in Arizona and, since 1998, in California, based in North San Diego County but with matters throughout the state. Originally starting as a commercial litigator, Jim has evolved his practice over the last 15 years to focus on the litigation of trusts, estates, and probate matters from consulting about the initial dispute through trial and appeal, when necessary.
Matters on which he has worked include powers of appointment issues; challenges to trusts and wills based upon claims of undue influence, fraud, lack of capacity, mistake, and due execution; claims of breach of fiduciary duty and/or requests to change a trustee or personal representative; demands for accountings, requests to approve accountings, and objections to accountings; other matters of trust or estate administration; conservatorship issues; requests to modify estate planning documents; distributions where there is no will or trust; and other issues.
Jim’s breadth of experience from decades of litigating and settling matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts in California and Arizona allows him to have informed discussions about what is realistically obtainable in the then-known circumstances in a probate or trust dispute. He endeavors to move a dispute through the litigation process in an efficient, economical way, reevaluating the client’s goals and the plausible outcomes as the case progresses.
Jim received his undergraduate degree, with distinction and a double major in astronomy and physics, and his law degree, with high distinction, from the University of Arizona. While in law school, Jim served as a writer, executive editor, and editor-in chief of the Arizona Law Review and as a student member of the College of Law Executive Committee, and he was awarded the Order of the Coif and the Law College Association Award for Scholarship and Service.
In addition to following the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates teams from his native Pittsburgh, PA, Jim loves to cook, read, be active, and take in live music, art, theater, and movies and enjoys the activities of his adult children