About Rosemary La
Rosemary La Puma has built a career that crosses legal education and hands-on practice. She began her academic studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning a B.A. in Sociology in 1984. She went on to receive a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1989 and later completed an LL.M. in Estate Planning, Estate Tax, and Probate at Golden Gate University School of Law in 2020.
Early in her career La Puma taught law. She served as an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law in 1994 and at the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1995. She returned to the classroom in 2005 as an adjunct at San Francisco State University. Her academic roles also included a position as Assistant Director of Academic Assistance at USC Gould School of Law in 2007.
Alongside teaching, La Puma has written for legal audiences. In 2008 she is listed as an author for Aspen Publishers, contributing to resources used by practitioners and students. Her writing experience complements practical work she later took on in the San Mateo Probate Department, where she served as a volunteer probate research lawyer in 2019.
La Puma has alternating periods in private practice and public service. In 2019 she worked as an estate planning lawyer at O Grady Law Group. The following year she was listed with Yuen & Yuen, A Professional Law Corp, handling estate planning, probate, and trust administration matters. Her experience spans drafting planning documents, advising fiduciaries, and handling probate filings.
Colleagues describe her career as one that balances classroom instruction with courtroom and office practice. She has moved between helping law students understand legal basics and advising clients on end-of-life planning and the administration of estates. That blend gives her a practical view of how doctrine plays out in real cases and in clients’ lives.
Her practice is based in California, where she has handled estate planning, probate, and trust administration work for individuals and families. She keeps teaching engagements and written work part of her professional life, maintaining ties to legal education while handling client matters. She currently focuses on estate planning, probate and trust administration.
