Theodore A. Chester, Jr.

E-mail: TChester@Smilandlaw.com

Theodore A. Chester, Jr. joined Donnelly, Clark, Chase & Smiland in 1982 and currently serves as managing partner of Smiland & Khachigian.

In the area of private law, Mr. Chester handles major tax, corporate, commercial and estate cases and transactions. His litigation accomplishments include winning a fraud judgment against a prominent Los Angeles financier on behalf of a national stock brokerage firm. Representing regional manufacturing, construction and farming companies, he has successfully resolved multimillion dollar sales tax, tax shelter and water related tax audits. Mr. Chester's private transactional work also includes creating a rapidly growing joint venture in the paint industry.

Mr. Chester also handles a wide variety of transactions and litigations in the public sector, with a special emphasis on protecting the irrigation and drainage rights of farmers against the government. He played a leading role in representing a major agricultural landowner in formulating — and obtaining government approval of— the sale and transfer of large parcel of Central Valley farmland to an employee trust. This sale required integrating corporate, tax. trust and reclamation expertise.

Mr. Chester earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his law degree from Loyola Law School.