Naomi Metz is the owner and principal attorney of the Law Office of Naomi E. Metz, a boutique firm providing a full range of estate planning, trust administration, probate, and beneficiary representation services, with a special focus on the unique and still often complex needs of the LGBT community. While at UC Berkeley School of Law, Naomi focused her studies on laws related to the recognition and protection of LGBT families and their financial assets. Naomi’s thesis examined the practical impact of SB 1827, a 2006 law requiring California Registered Domestic Partners to file their California income tax returns jointly. She also completed an externship at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, was a research assistant on a project examining the impact of the federal “ministerial exception” on LGBT employment opportunities, and worked as a law clerk for an estate planning firm with a strong focus on LGBT clients.
Naomi often leads educational seminars for other professionals and the LGBT community on estate planning, tax, and property issues for LGBT families, as well as issues of “cultural competency” for professionals working with LGBT clients. She founded and facilitates a study group for attorneys and tax professionals that examines the complex interaction between California and federal tax and property laws. Naomi is also an adjunct professor at Empire College of Law, where she teaches classes on LGBT issues in the law, and is ta founding member and the co-chair of the Sonoma County LGBTQI Giving Circle.