John A. Hartog

John A. Hartog is a partner in Nutter’s Private Client Department. He focuses his practice on estate planning, trust and probate administration, including dispute resolution, and taxation matters. He has particular expertise in counseling trustees administering living trusts and in resolving disputes among beneficiaries and fiduciaries. He is regularly engaged as an expert consultant and testifying expert in high stakes fiduciary disputes. John is a California certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, as well as a California certified specialist in Taxation Law.

John is a recognized leader in numerous professional organizations, including:

• American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, Fellow, and past Chair of the Membership Selection Committee
• Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association, past chair of the Executive Committee
• State Bar of California, past chair of the Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Advisory Commission to the Board of Legal Specialization
• University of California, Berkeley Law School, lecturer
• American Bar Association, member, Taxation Section and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
• California Lawyers Association, member, Taxation Section and Trusts & Estates Law Section
• Alameda County Bar Association, member
• Contra Costa County Bar Association, member

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Honors

• The Inaugural Lawdragon 100 Leading Global Wealth Lawyers, 2026
• Daily Journal, "Top Estate and Wealth Management Lawyer," 2025
• Super Lawyers Northern California Top 10, 2019-2026
• Super Lawyers Northern California Top 100, 2004-2026
• Northern California Super Lawyers, 2005-2026
• Worth Magazine, “America’s Top 100 Lawyers,” 2016-2019
• The Best Lawyers in America, 2009-2020, 2026
• National Law Journal, “Elite Boutique Trailblazer,” 2020

Education

Golden Gate University of Law, LL.M. (Taxation)
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, J.D.
Pomona College, B.A., cum laude

Admissions

• California Supreme Court
• District of Columbia Court of Appeals
• New York State Court of Appeals
• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. Tax Court