Dan's Bio

Dan's Biographical Sketch

Dan's Interests:
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. . . Dan's income is primarily derived from the practice of law, which he has done for decades. Within that practice, and incidental thereto, he gives much financial advice to his clients, whether it be tax oriented, business related, or personal.

. . . . . Within that context Dan routinely gives investment advice. In many cases, he physically manages the clients' investment portfolio, generally under the auspices of a limited power of attorney, which enables him to make trades on behalf of the client.

. . . . .What distinguishes Dan's approach from most others, similarly engaged, is that he only gets paid for the advice he gives. He receives no commissions, no transaction fees and no favors or special consideration from the vendors of the investment products he either recommends or invests in on behalf of the client.

. . . . .His recommendations have consistently outperformed market norms. -back to biography directory-

Law

. . . . .Dan is uniquely qualified for this role in that he has both an educational and practical background in law, accounting and business. He has an M.B.A. degree from the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, a law degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

. . . . .His first real job (as in paying a salary) out of law school was working for a large, national public accounting firm, a practice, which has long been amalgamated into KPMG Peat Marwick.

. . . . .After that stint and shortly after passing the California Bar Exam, Dan went to work for a law firm in Concord, California, which was then known as Trembath and McCabe, later known as Trembath, McCabe & Anderson, and no doubt known by some other name today.

. . . . .Not too long after that, Dan--being the independent sort--and doing the math as to how much more he could make on his own started his own law practice in Walnut Creek, again--decades ago. He started out doing a wide variety of work, including marital dissolutions, personal injury, criminal law (mostly misdemeanors), real estate, business, tax and estate planning.

. . . . .Eventually, he moved to Danville, just to be closer to home, and over time has whittled his practice down to the items listed on the LAW home page on this web site. While Dan enjoys negotiations, is uncommonly successful at them, and actively participates in them on all subjects, he does not engage in litigation and confines his practice, mostly to things of a planning or consulting nature. In Britain, he would be known as a Solicitor, as opposed to a Barrister, although Dan remembers with fondness the days when his practice routinely took him to court. Now his trips to court are limited to things like probate, guardianships, conservatorships, and uncontested matters, such as adoptions.

. . . . Dan is a member of the State Bar of California, as well as the Hawaii State Bar Association. While living in Hawaii, during a portion of each year 1989-2001, Dan practiced law, primarily in Honolulu and Kaua'i. -back to biography directory-

Writing

. . . . . Over the years, Dan has fallen in love with publishing, starting with the Stanford Professional Publishing Course, sponsored and offered on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California, which he attended and from which he received a certificate of completion in 1996.

. . . . . Since then, he has kept in touch with such moguls in the publishing industry as the Chief Operating Officer of Random House and the editor of GQ Magazine, both of whom subscribed to The Periodic Perspective, which is a newsletter that Dan publishes on a periodic basis, hence the name. Plans are in the works to renew this publication online. It was discontinued for a time, due to the high cost of printing and mailing--even though the response to it was most encouraging.

. . . . . The Periodic Perspective covers a wide variety of topics from law to politics, from finance to business, including computer technology, marketing, negotiating and management with a touch of philosophy, a bit of poetry and an occasional short story or piece of fiction. Dan's readers have repeatedly said, "I love the Periodic Perspective!"

. . . . .From the feedback & encouragement Dan received from The Periodic Perspective, he has already gone on to publish a Periodic Investment Letter, which generally speaking comes out about monthly. If you would like to receive a free issue, click here and let us know, or check out his investment letter home page on this website by clicking here.

. . . . .In his spare time, what little there is of it, Dan has written and had published, two novels: Sugar: A Hawaiian Novel and Spice: an Island Intrigue. They are part of a four part saga about a woman who grew up in an environment of abject poverty and abuse to become the mayor of Kaua'i, only to become involved in a bribery scandal, thanks to the antics of her ne'er-do-well husband. A glowing review of Sugar appeared in Hawaii's largest newspaper, The Honolulu Advertiser. You may access the online version by clicking on "reviews" in the books-inventory section of this website.

. . . . .The next two books in the series are Everything Nice: A Plantation Era Novel and That's What Little Girls are Made of, which is a sequel to Spice, which was a sequel to Sugar. In Spice, the heroine must go to Barbados to track down the source of the bribe money, which was at the core of the plot in Sugar. While there she gets involved in murder, romance and intrigue--not necessarily in that order. That's What Little Girls are Made of is about the challenges of raising her daughter.

. . . . .If and when the last two books in that series get finished and/or published, depends on sales and reader feedback. Please express your opinion in "here's my opinion," below.

. . . . .In addition to the two novels mentioned above, Dan also has three more novels at various stages of completion:
. . . . . . . .a. Philips Park, set in Ohio, which is a combination coming of age novel and a novel of redemption. While it heralds the echoes of Dan's growing up years in the Midwest, it also chronicles the difficulties and challenges that face children of dysfunctional parents, while sharing the stage with incidence of murder, abortion and racism.
. . . . . . . .Part of the novel tracks the migration of runaway slaves via the underground railroad, which was used extensively in the area portrayed, in the mid-1800's.
. . . . . . . .b. Wake is the story of an eminently successful San Francisco personal injury attorney, who goes to a lawyer's convention in New York and puts his wife on a plane bound for Paris, which explodes shortly after takeoff. At first he gets involved in the investigation, but it isn't very long until he discovers he's a suspect.
. . . . . . . People who've read excerpts say it reminds them a lot of Presumed Innocent by Scott Thurow. What varies from Scott Thurow's work, however, is that Wake is also a psychodrama in which Dan draws upon his intimate experience with mental illness to develop his characters in ways in which one who's not writing what he knows would find impossible to do.
. . . . . . .In Presumed Innocent, the authorities and readers wonder whether or not the main character committed the murder. In Wake, everyone, including the hero himself wonder whether or not he had a hand in mass murder.
.. . . . . . c. In The Cock Crowed Twice a Sacramento housewife is living the American dream to the fullest with every visible indication of success--a husband who's a multi-million dollar real estate developer, a son who's the captain of the football team and probably the most popular kid at school at the start of his senior year. This dream world is turned upside down in seconds and she must come to grips not only with the transient nature of her family's success in the past, but also with the tough choices and realities she must face to create a brighter future for them all.
. . . . . . .Please, please, please, please, please . . . take the time to let me know which of these five novels you prefer and why. (It takes two to five years for Dan to write a novel at his current pace, so choosing the right one is of utmost importance.)
. . . . . . .Dan, here's my pick.

. . . . . . .Dan has also written and had published The Kauai Golf & Restaurant Guide, expressing his love for the game of golf.

. . . . . . .Finally, we call your attention to another book, which Dan expects to complete in the Fall of 2005, namely The Truth About Investing, including the Twenty-Five Basic Rules, Which Almost No One Ever Follows. Click here for details.

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