Mary Korkodian is an associate with Baker, Burton & Lundy who focuses her practice on trust, probate, and real estate matters. Prior to joining the firm, Mary worked as a Contract Administration Director (and later In-House Counsel) at a commercial real estate management company. There, she evaluated overall risk profiles for office, retail, and industrial leases and tenants, negotiated and drafted various real estate contracts on behalf of high-net-worth real estate investors, resolved contractual disputes, and worked with outside counsel on numerous breach of contract lawsuits.
Real Estate Experience
Mary’s individual and business clients benefit from her 16 years of real estate experience in all areas of her practice, including estate planning, tax and asset protection planning, trust and probate litigation, and real estate transactions. She identifies what is meaningful to her clients and understands the importance of efficiently managing assets to minimize future estate taxes and prepare for life’s sometimes unexpected outcomes.
A Passion for the Law
Mary’s interest in the law started at an early age. Her interest turned into passion over the course of her real estate career, where she became fascinated by the mechanics of the law (and the policies behind them) in light of an array of legal issues she encountered through her work.
In following her passion, Mary attended law school and graduated magna cum laude from California Western School of Law in San Diego, where she was top 6% of her class and an associate editor of the California Western Law Review and International Law Journal, a prestigious accomplishment reserved only for the school’s top ranked students. During law school, Mary was honored with a Distinguished Advocate Award for her exceptional trial skills in a campus-wide trial competition and earned five Academic Excellence Awards for achieving the highest grade in several classes, including Contracts, Legal Skills, and Trial Practice.
During her externship for the Honorable Anthony J. Battaglia at the United States District Court, Southern District of California, Mary’s contributions were highlighted in Judge Battaglia’s 2019 Edition of Disclosure and Discovery Manual Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Mary currently serves as Co-Chair of the South Bay Bar Association’s Probate Division.
Passions Outside the Practice
While Mary is a proud Los Angeles native, her cultural appreciation and adventurous spirit has sent her solo-traveling to over 21 countries spanning 4 continents over the years.
Mary is passionate about empowering young women to elevate themselves and was a mentor with WYSE (Women and Youth Supporting Each Other), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing opportunities for the youth. She is also the co-founder of SBPW (South Bay Professional Women), a rapidly growing network of dynamic women in professional industries who gather to empower one another and promote the growth and success of each member through monthly networking events.
As an animal lover, Mary has volunteered at many animal shelters and is the proud owner of her two rescue cats, Grayson and Fiona.
