Althea Kippes

Althea T. Kippes is an attorney, gerontologist, and real estate broker. As an experienced plaintiff’s trial lawyer and federal court litigator, Ms. Kippes successfully litigated a number of high-profile cases in both state and federal court. Ms. Kippes presently focuses her practice on elder law, estate planning, real estate matters, and animal law. After obtaining a Master’s degree in Gerontology, Ms. Kippes focused her practice to meet the unique real estate needs of older adults and their families. As a Gerontologist, Certified Senior Advisor®, Seniors Real Estate Specialist®, and a certified Administrator for California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, Ms. Kippes understands the legal and real estate challenges facing older adults and creates comprehensive solutions. As a full-service real estate broker, she provides a higher level of service to her clients. Given Ms. Kippes’s experience with senior housing options, she is able to assist her clients in identifying appropriate retirement communities and reviews continuing care agreements, explaining complex contract provisions so that her clients can understand their options and rights. By focusing on the legal aspects of the real estate transaction, she negotiates the best terms for her clients and helps them avoid liability. Ms. Kippes helped further the area of animal law by being one of the first professors teaching Animal Law at the law school level. She also successfully litigated an early animal law case, where she obtained emotional distress damages for the loss of her client’s companion animal, a cocker spaniel named Daisy. These experiences led to Ms. Kippes’s interest in Pet Trusts, so that animals are protected when the human guardian dies or becomes incapacitated. Ms. Kippes frequently speaks before legal, real estate, and business associations. She has served as editor of Plaintiff Magazine and her articles have been published in a variety of national and state periodicals. Ms. Kippes has also been featured on local, state, national, and international media, including CNN, the BBC, Good Morning America, and All Things Considered. Community involvement is important to Ms. Kippes, and she has served on the Board of Friends of San Francisco Animal Care & Control, Hopalong Animal Rescue, the American Association for Justice, The Public Justice Foundation, and the Consumer Attorneys of California. The Consumer Attorneys of California awarded Ms. Kippes the Presidential Award of Merit for her outstanding dedication. Althea is also a professor and some of the courses she teaches include Elder Law, Animal Law, Civil Litigation, and Business Law. Ms. Kippes is also active politically. Originally appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to the Animal Commission, the Supervisors unanimously reappointed her for an additional two-year term as Commission Vice-Chair. Ms. Kippes continues to contribute to the community by performing pro bono work, for which the State Bar of California rewarded her with two Wiley W. Manuel Pro Bono Services Awards. Ms. Kippes is a graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. She earned her law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law, and she holds a Master’s degree in Gerontology from San Francisco State University.