Professional Profiles

The attorneys of Madden, Jones, Cole & Johnson, A.P.C., have been recognized for providing personalized, intelligent legal representation in the most sophisticated areas of the law. In business law, civil litigation, and estate planning law we have earned a reputation for our distinction among the most prestigious business and family names in Southern California. We invite you to discuss your legal representation needs with one of our attorneys to discover why Madden, Jones, Cole & Johnson, A.P.C., is considered a landmark of the Southern California legal community.

SHAREHOLDER PROFILES

Paralegal Profiles:

Elizabeth K. Holihan Tina Carey

Shareholders

Steve Jones prides himself in being a deal maker. Whether his services involve the representation of his corporate, healthcare or real estate clients, the mark he leaves on every transaction is that he gets the deal done quickly, efficiently and expertly.

Mr. Jones maintains a diverse business practice in his areas of specialty. His corporate practice includes extensive experience in the formation and maintenance of corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, private placements, financing and other commercial transactions. A subspecialty of his corporate practice is healthcare law, in which he represents hospitals, physicians and related health care businesses.

Mr. Jones’ real estate practice includes the representation of clients in a variety of sophisticated real estate matters, including the purchase and sale of real property, the formation of real estate partnerships and limited liability companies, financing, and the preparation of construction agreements, leases and other real estate related contracts.

The ability to handle complex transactions has provided Mr. Jones with an excellent reputation among peers and clients and he has been awarded the highest rating given to attorneys by the Martindale Hubbell peer review process. He received his undergraduate degree in finance from California State University Long Beach and his juris doctorate degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. During his time away from the office he participates in numerous outdoor activities, but cherishes most spending time with his wife and three children.

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Mr. Cole has been a litigator with the firm since 1980, with extensive experience in a wide range of business, trust, real estate, employment and personal injury matters. He has represented a variety of businesses ranging from publicly traded entities, corporations and partnerships to LLCs and sole proprietorships. Mr. Cole has also represented hundreds of individuals in litigation arising out of  business, real estate, trust and probate disputes to products liability, construction site and motor vehicle accident cases. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants and has had numerous trials, arbitrations and mediations throughout southern and central California. Mr. Cole has also served as a settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court for many years.

Mr. Cole is a member of the California, Los Angeles and Long Beach Bar Associations and has been a member of the Joseph A. Ball/Clarence S. Hunt/Vern Schooley Inn of Court of Long Beach since its inception in 1991, serving as President of the Inn for the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 terms. Mr. Cole's track record of high quality representation has been recognized by his peers with the highest A.V. rating. He has also been recognized as a Super Lawyer by Los Angeles Magazine in 2005, 2006 and 2011.

Mr. Cole is a cum laude graduate of Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 1980 and represented Loyola in state and national moot court competitions. He obtained his B.A. from California State University in Long Beach in 1977, where he was a 4 year oarsman and captain of the Long Beach crew.

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Ms. Oatey specializes in the area of estate planning, probate and trust administration as well as business transactions and business entities. Ms. Oatey has served as a tax and estate planning advisor for many high net worth individuals, families, estates, and family businesses. Ms. Oatey’s experience includes gift, estate, and tax planning; trust preparation; health care directives; family business succession planning; creating and advising family limited partnerships and limited liability companies; post-mortem planning; planning with qualified plan assets; life insurance tax planning; charitable planning; and administration of probates, trusts and estates.

Ms. Oatey represents a broad range of clients, including the complex multi-generational families and businesses to the single individuals or young families just starting to build their net worth.

Ms. Oatey holds degrees in political science and history from the University of California at San Diego, received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco and earned a Masters of Law degree in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law.

Ms. Oatey is a frequent public speaker and has given numerous presentations to various professional organizations and businesses, including the Long Beach Community Foundation, Assistance League of Long Beach, and Long Beach City Employees Federal Credit Union.

When not in the office, Ms. Oatey and her husband, Shawn Oatey, are kept busy with their 3 sons, Tyler, Kyle and Ryan.

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Ian Chuang focuses his practice on corporate, real estate, and healthcare law. His corporate law experience includes the formation of corporate entities and the negotiation and drafting of business transaction agreements. Mr. Chuang represents clients in real estate matters such as purchase and sale transactions, leases, and landlord-tenant relations. His healthcare law practice includes counseling health care providers and medical groups in corporate formation and regulatory compliance. Mr. Chuang also has experience in all aspects of civil litigation, with an emphasis on labor and employment law and business litigation.

Mr. Chuang received his juris doctorate degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. While at Loyola, he served as an editor of the Entertainment Law Review which published his article “Be Wary of Adding Your Own Soundtrack: Lenz v. Universal and How Fair Use Policy Should Be Applied To User Generated Content.” Prior to law school, Mr. Chuang attended the University of Toronto where he graduated with a degree in Political Science and History. He is a member of the Orange County Bar Association.

Mr. Chuang is fluent in Mandarin. He grew up in Vancouver, B.C. and now lives in Irvine where he enjoys spending time with his family, watching movies, and playing basketball.

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Paralegals

Elizabeth Holihan, a Paralegal, joined Madden, Jones Cole & Johnson in 1992. She primarily works in two areas, Trust and Estates, and Business Entities. Her tasks in the Trust and Estates area include all aspects of trust administration, consisting of assisting clients with the administration of an estate, preparation of asset spreadsheets, asset valuations, asset allocation, asset transfer documents, gifting documents, real property transfers, etc.

While working in the Business Entities area, Elizabeth is responsible for the preparation of formation, organization, and dissolution documents for business entities, including corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. In addition, Elizabeth prepares stock records, organizes corporate records, and prepares deeds. Elizabeth describes herself as a “people person”, and both of these areas of practice allow Elizabeth plenty of client contact, keeping her happily employed by the Firm.

Prior to joining Madden, Jones, Cole, and Johnson, Elizabeth spent several years in the real estate syndication industry serving as Vice President of both Legal and Investor Relations. In addition, Elizabeth spent many years with a major, multi-practiced, law firm in downtown Los Angeles, specializing as a corporate paralegal.

Elizabeth was born in Long Beach, one of seven children, but before long her parents moved the family to Palos Verdes where she attended Miraleste High School. Elizabeth attended both California State University at Long Beach and the University of West Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Paralegal Studies. While away from the office, Elizabeth’s life is full, keeping up with her husband and their two children, as well as their large extended family.

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Tina has more than twenty years of experience as a paralegal with a varied background from public finance to litigation. She began her career working for a large law firm in Seattle and has extensive experience working in diverse areas of civil litigation such as construction defects, mechanic’s lien, commercial disputes and business matters.  She holds a degree in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering with various veterans related organizations, hiking and attending her son’s wrestling tournaments.

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