Clayson, Mann, Yaeger & Hansen is a full service business, real property and civil trial law firm. Our eight attorneys work for clients engaged in real estate development, land use planning, construction, health care, manufacturing, higher education, non- profit organizations, employment (management), banking and finance, automobile sales, waste disposal, agriculture, water distribution and retail sales. We litigate cases in both trial and appellate courts and service client needs in probate, estate planning, and personal injury. We also represent several governmental agencies and represent clients before administrative agencies on the local, state and federal levels.

We have been in business for 91 years. Walter S. Clayson began the firm in 1910 when he left the Los Angeles firm of O'Melveny & Meyers to practice in his hometown of Corona. In the next half-century, he established a distinguished regional reputation in business, agricultural and water law, and attracted other attorneys with similar skills and reputations to the growing practice.

Our service is distinguished by client access and communication. This means we spend the time at the start to find out what the client wants and needs. We provide realistic data on possible results, alternative strategies, and expense, for informed client decision making. Our billings are descriptive and itemized. It is our policy to give the client copies of our work product and to answer all client inquiries promptly.

We are interested in doing quality legal work and not in marketing or selling our services at client expense. Our style is low-key and stresses reliability. The attorney with whom the client has contact is the attorney who does or closely supervises the work. We do not employ a cadre of law clerks and paralegals. Our attorneys engage in the hands-on practice of law.

The result is a firm of stability and excellent reputation. Martindale-Hubbell, the leading directory of attorneys in the United States, gives our firm its highest rating of A-V for legal ability and ethics based on the evaluation of our peers in the legal community. The firm has played a leadership role in the land use, real estate and business development of the region.

FIRM HISTORY

The firm began in 1910 when Walter S. Clayson left the firm of O’Melveny & Meyers in Los Angeles to practice in his hometown of Corona. Over the next half century, he established a distinguished regional reputation in business, agriculture and water law, and attracted other attorneys with similar reputations to the growing practice.

The firm was the first member of the Corona Chamber of Commerce, joining in 1914, and its founder played a major role in shaping the city’s future. Clayson’s advice regarding risks and liability contributed to the abandonment of the Corona Road Races after 1916. His expertise as a litigator secured water rights that helped citrus farmers make Corona the lemon capital of the world. He served as city attorney for more than 20 years and as the town’s Justice of the Peace.

In 1950, Don Stark, fresh from a clerkship with the California Supreme Court, joined Clayson. Stark attracted a friend and fellow Supreme Court law clerk, E. Spurgeon "Spud" Rothrock to the firm which became known as Clayson, Stark & Rothrock, a name it carried for many years.

Stark was an outstanding attorney in water rights, public agency law and antitrust litigation. Rothrock developed a business, probate and estate planning practice that made him a leading citizen of the community. Roy H. Mann joined the firm in 1955, coming from a large Los Angeles firm. His excellent skills as a business and litigation problem solver has made him the leader of the firm to the present day. In 1963, Erling Arend and Derrill Yaeger joined the firm. Arend later took over Rothrock’s probate and estate practice. Yaeger is perhaps the firm’s best known attorney due to his leadership in planning and development that made Corona one of the fastest growing cities in California.

Two of the firm’s attorneys, Bill Mortland and George Grover, became Riverside County Superior Court judges. Grover also served on the California Public Commission in between stints as a parter in the firm. He retired from the Superior Court and has rejoined the firm, working in his specialties of water law and civil litigation prior to this death.

Elisabeth Sichel, another of the firms litigators, now serves as a Family Law Commissioner for Riverside County.

"Our greatest strength is the quality and commitment of our attorneys," says Kent Hansen, a business and employment law practitioner who serves as the firm’s managing attorney.

The members of the firm come from all areas of the country, are graduates of 10 law schools, and represent a broad spectrum of religious and political affiliations. Most have backgrounds in other fields before practicing law, including industrial chemistry, accounting, business, university administration, sales and theology.

Kent Hansen serves as general counsel to Loma Linda University and Medical Center and to La Sierra University. He is also a member of the Monday Morning Group, the Regional Board of the Employer’s Group, the Corona Regional Medical Center Board of Directors and the Riverside Community College Foundation Board of Directors. He also teaches for the School of Dentistry at Loma Linda University. He was a master of the Leo A. Deegan chapter of the American Inns of Court from 1996 to 2000.

David Saunders is active in the Morning Rotary Club in Corona where he has served as president. He also is active in leadership with the American Cancer Society.

Roland Bainer served as president of the local chapter of the American Heart Association and as a master of the Leo A. Deegan chapter of the American Inns of Court. He is a mediator with the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District volunteer mediation panel.

Sallie Barnett has served on the Board of the Corona Chamber of Commerce.

"Litigation is much more of the practice now than when I joined the firm," says Roy Mann. "In 1955 people didn’t sue that much. Now it's 40 percent of our practice." Mann also notes that when he came to the firm, the major clients were in agriculture. "Now the farmer has been replaced by developers," he says.

The firm remains involved in community affairs. Roy Mann has served on the City Planning Commission.

Derrill Yaeger serves on the board of Versacare Foundation and served for many years on the board of Corona Community Hospital and Loma Linda University.

From the beginning, the firm has been located in the vicinity of Sixth and Main Streets in the Center of Corona. In 1971, it built its present office building, a three story brick structure. The firm intends to grow with the community, and has recently made plans to expand its office space.

Water law is one area where the firm has made a distinct impact over the years. The rights of agricultural water users and adjudication of some of the major southern California water disputes have been influence by the advocacy of the firm. The firm continues to play a significant role through its land use practice in the transition of western Riverside County from agriculture to housing and industry.

Several of the major higher educational institutions and health care facilities in the region benefit from the firm’s representation and counsel on a daily basis.

BILLING INFORMATION

Depending on the service requested, we charge on an hourly or other agreed upon basis including contingency fee arrangements where appropriate. We use written fee agreements and normally send detailed bills monthly. We are willing to discuss our bills with the client at any time.