Experienced Counsel. Thoughtful Guidance.

Derek M. Wagley is a California attorney and certified mediator whose practice focuses on estate planning and mediation. Based in Lafayette and serving clients throughout Northern California, including Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, and San Francisco Counties, Derek brings well over a decade of legal experience together with over 20 years of experience as a California real estate broker. While his legal background includes civil litigation and criminal defense, his practice today is concentrated on estate planning and mediation.

Derek works with individuals and families at different stages of life, from creating an initial estate plan to addressing more complex matters involving substantial real estate holdings, blended families, special needs planning, aging parents, trust administration, and the transfer of assets from one generation to the next. His approach is practical and individualized, with careful attention to how an estate plan will actually function when it is needed.

His extensive real estate background adds a practical dimension to his legal practice. For more than two decades, Derek has represented buyers, sellers, investors, trustees, executors, financial institutions acting in a fiduciary capacity, and families in California real estate transactions. He was previously recognized among the Top 1% of the Northern California and Hawaii Region at his current affiliated national brokerage.

Because real property often represents a substantial portion of a family's wealth, Derek's experience provides additional insight into property ownership, title, valuation, and the practical considerations involved when real estate is held, transferred, sold, or inherited. He has also served on his local REALTOR® association's Grievance and Professional Standards Committees and as both a panel member and presiding officer in arbitration and ethics hearings throughout California.

Derek's litigation and real estate experience also strengthens his mediation practice. He has worked with hundreds of litigants, including many parties on the day of bench and jury trials, helping parties and counsel evaluate risk, identify the issues that matter most, and pursue practical resolutions while retaining control over the outcome.

Derek is a graduate of the University of California, Davis and JFK School of Law. He has been recognized by the State Bar of California, U.S. Representative Barbara Lee, and the Contra Costa Superior Court for his pro bono legal work.