Suzanne Babb
Suzanne Babb was raised in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. She earned a BA in journalism and Spanish from American University in 1993. She had a career managing international development projects before earning a JD from UC Hastings in 2003, where she was the Senior Executive Editor of the law journal. Suzanne began practicing law in Sonoma County in 2005 at what is now Beyers Costin Simon. She started her own firm with David Berry, a fellow Sonoma County trial attorney, in 2024. Suzanne specializes in real estate, business, and probate litigation. She represents individuals, companies both large and small, land trusts, non-profits, and professional fiduciaries. Suzanne is also a skilled appellate attorney. She has a particular fondness for using the law as a tool for righting wrongs; she has brought and won consumer protection and financial elder abuse cases against brokers, large lending institutions, and insurance companies. Suzanne also provides advisory services to clients in high profile or high stakes situations to ensure they are protecting themselves while navigating choppy waters. Her community service work includes board service, often as an officer, for nonprofits like CarePathways Initiative (current President), the Sonoma County Bar Association (past President), the Richard M. Sangster Inn of Court (past President) and the CoolCap Initiative. She has been designated a Northern California Super Lawyer since 2020.
David Berry
David Berry earned a BA in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley in 1992 and a JD from UC Hastings, where he was a member of the law journal. He began practicing law in 1995 for Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison in Los Angeles. He left to become a deputy district attorney, where he thrived as a trial lawyer. He joined what is now Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery in Santa Rosa in 2001. In 2019, he started his own firm with Elizabeth Fritzinger. In 2024, he started a new firm with Suzanne Babb, a fellow Sonoma County trial attorney. David specializes in resolving real estate and business disputes, including defective construction claims on behalf of property owners. Businesses often need help navigating sales disputes, breaches of contract, and dissolutions between stakeholders. Real estate issues can include property line and easement disputes, misrepresentations during sales and adverse possession claims. Clients come to David with a problem to solve, but continue to seek his counsel as they navigate through business and life. Although many disputes can be resolved outside the courtroom, David excels in a trial setting, often winning over reluctant jurors and frequently securing judgments that include the repayment of his fees. David’s community service work has included mentoring middle schoolers, teaching adult literacy, providing legal aid to low-income clients, and serving on boards of directors, often as an officer, for nonprofits like the Sonoma County Bar Association and the Redwood Empire Food Bank. He regularly teaches legal seminars and classes to local attorneys. David is licensed to practice law in the state of California, and has been admitted to appear before the US District Courts in Northern and Southern California, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Monica Lehre
Monica Lehre has deep roots in Sonoma County, where she was raised. She has over two decades of legal experience. She earned a BA in history, with honors, from Sonoma State before earning a master’s in legal studies and later a JD from Empire College School of Law, cum laude. She began her legal career as a paralegal for trial attorneys and later led the legal department for Empire Business College, where she trained new paralegals. She went on to teach classes in legal research and property law at Empire Law School. Monica specializes in real property and business litigation. She represents individuals, homeowners' associations and organizations of all sizes. In 2021 and 2022, her peers voted her a “Lawyer of Distinction” for Sonoma Magazine. Her community service includes pro-bono legal work for Translife and the Social Justice Collaborative, and serving on various committees of practice for the Sonoma County Bar Association, Sonoma County Women in Law, and the Probate Bench Bar Committee.