Kent Burton

• Real Estate Law
• Business Law

Mr. Burton’s extensive experience in real estate and business matters has given him the expertise to negotiate transactions for a wide variety of clients, from public corporations to small business owners and individual investors. He currently focuses on a smaller group of clients, which allows him to develop an in-depth knowledge of their businesses and build valuable personal relationships.

Kent graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California in 1972 after working his way through school playing poker. After attending the University of California at Los Angeles Law School, he and Brad Baker organized Baker and Burton in 1976. After fifteen years of handling a wide variety of matters, including extensive litigation experience, Kent began to limit his practice to transactional work. Since 1995, he has concentrated entirely on business and real estate matters and is included in the Super Lawyer list since 2022 for his work in these areas.

Kent’s litigation background has been invaluable in negotiating and drafting transactional documents to best protect his clients’ interests and avoid litigation.

Intent on precise drafting, Kent (a reformed English major) nonetheless believes that the legal process should be user-friendly. He believes that there is a real need for lawyers to not only deal with each other in a productive, good faith manner, but also to de-mystify the law for their clients. A lawyer’s role should be solving problems not causing them. As a transactional attorney, Kent’s principal job description is as follows:

• Explain in understandable terms the principal legal issues involved in the transaction, allowing the client to make informed decisions;
• Figure out what can go wrong and how to cover it with careful negotiation and precise drafting;
• Avoid litigation; and,
• Whenever it can be reasonably accomplished, close the deal.