About Us

GENEVIEVE ORTA
Gigi's practice focuses on providing comprehensive, personalized estate planning counseling to couples, families, and individuals, as well as probate and trust administration. Gigi is committed to helping her clients understand that the foundation of estate planning is appreciating the value of protecting themselves and their loved ones. In 1990, Gigi received a B.S. from Syracuse University where she was on the Dean's List. In 1996, Gigi received a J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco Law School, magna cum laude, where she was a member of the Law Review and a recipient of the Queen's Bench scholarship and University of San Francisco Dean's Tuition Scholarship, and an LL.M. in taxation from Golden Gate University in 2008. She has been in private practice since 1996. She is the Chair of the Estate Planning Committee of the Trust and Probate Section of the Alameda County Bar Association, and a member of the East Bay Estate Planning Council, the Asian American Bar Association, and the California Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section. Gigi is also an adjunct professor of law at John F. Kennedy University School of Law, where she teaches Wills & Trusts and Community Property. Gigi was named a Northern California "SuperLawyer" in the area of Estate Planning & Probate in 2007 and 2008. Born and raised in San Francisco, Gigi now lives in Piedmont with her husband, John, and their two children, Sam and Lily.
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MELINDA MACDONALD OSTERLOH
Melinda has been a licensed member of the California Bar Association for the past thirteen years. She practiced employment, tort, and business litigation for three years before going in-house at Thomson Corporation and LexisNexis as Director of Business Development. In 2003 she began working as a trustee before joining Gigi and forming Osterloh & Orta. Her unique professional and educational background in business, litigation and trustee work bring a practical and big picture approach to problem solving. Melinda practices business and estate planning, with an emphasis on family wealth preservation strategies, trust administration, counseling fiduciaries, and closely held business planning. In 1993, Melinda received dual undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Psychology from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, VA. She graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1996 and was a clerk for Justice Carl W. Anderson, Ret., California Court of Appeal, Second District, and the Honorable Marshall Whitley, Alameda County Superior Court. She is admitted to practice law in front of California Superior and Supreme Courts, as well as the Northern District of California. She is a member of the Estate, Trust & Probate Sections of the Alameda County Bar Association, California Bar Association and American Bar Association, and is obtaining an LL.M. degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University. Outside of work, she is on the Board of the Burlingame Mothers Club and is an active member of the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula. Melinda was raised in Piedmont and currently lives in Burlingame with her husband, Rick, and their sons Erick and Alex.
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WENDY BLACKSHERE OVALLE
A graduate of Hayward State University, Wendy is a certified paralegal. Wendy is responsible for assisting clients with trust funding, and in her free time, can be found gardening, attending Raiders games, and at the park with 2 year old daughter, Isabel. A Bay Area native, she lives in San Leandro with her husband, Moses, and Isabel.
Wendy can be reached at .