Richard Pershing is a partner in Reynolds Jensen & Swan LLP and the Director for the Center for Conflict Resolution, Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business, La Sierra University, Riverside, California. His law practice focuses in the areas of estate planning and business planning, operations and transactions. His practice includes clients with estates and businesses of all sizes and types, from the very small to multimillion dollar valuations, both for profit and nonprofit. His practice includes estate planning for single and married individuals with a particular interest in assisting business owners and family-owned business with their estate and business planning needs. He serves as a mediator for disputes in these areas for both the Superior Court, Riverside County, and the Riverside County Bar Association Dispute Resolution Service.

He is well versed in the estate and business planning concerns of healthcare professionals, having represented physicians, osteopaths, podiatrists, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors and various allied health professions. With respect to entities, he has represented both non-profit and for-profit hospitals, multi-hospital systems, multi-specialty medical groups, home health care agencies, clinical laboratories and independent practice associations and foundations. Other business clients include owners of construction companies of all sizes, engineering and surveying, trucking, real estate development and management and various types of high tech, churches, foster care agencies and law practices. He has litigated such cases as medical employment contract matters, physician rights, anti-trust, unlicensed practice of medicine and third party payor contracting disputes.

Prior to entering the practice of law, he worked in hospital administration and university administration in the states of California and Florida, with a wide range of experience in strategic planning, crisis and media management.

A dynamic lecturer and public speaker, he also teaches mediation and conflict resolution through the Center for Conflict Resolution, La Sierra University, Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business. He has served on the faculty of a California Southern College of Law and taught business law and other business courses for the local community college campuses. He and his wife, an elementary school teacher, are certified as bullying prevention trainers for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, Clemson University, and assist schools and youth programs throughout North America in implementing the program.

He has served in various capacities in numerous civic, religious and charitable boards and committees, including hospice, Rotary, Kiwanis, United Way and the bar associations. He has served as Chair of the Riverside County Bar Association Continuing Education Committee and Co-Chair of the Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate Section and has volunteered as a temporary judge for the Superior Court. 

Mr. Pershing received his mediation training in litigated matters from Pepperdine University, School of Law, Straus Institute and his law degree through Western State University, College of Law.