Selwyn Whitehead

Selwyn Deenice Whitehead is a bankruptcy, tax, and estate planning attorney and principal of the Law Offices of Selwyn D. Whitehead in Oakland, California. She was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2005 and is certified as a specialist in bankruptcy law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.^[1][2]

Whitehead's practice focuses on helping clients manage their wealth through estate and tax planning and manage their debt through debt restructuring or bankruptcy. She represents clients in matters before the California Franchise Tax Board, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Tax Court, and assists clients facing foreclosure, vehicle repossession, and unsecured debt. She also handles financial elder abuse matters.^[2]

Before entering private practice, Whitehead managed a group of attorneys and paraprofessionals in the claims department of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, where she audited the case handling practices, performance, fees, and expenses of outside defense counsel. She previously spent 17 years as a financial services industry consumer advocate, holding leadership positions at the Law Offices of Public Advocates and The Greenlining Coalition, serving as a consumer representative to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan, and founding the nonprofit Economic Empowerment Foundation. From 1993 through 1998 she served as one of 12 national Consumer Representatives to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.^[2]

Whitehead earned her J.D. from New College of California School of Law and two legal master's degrees from Golden Gate University School of Law: an LL.M. in Taxation Law, with honors, and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law. From 2010 she produced and hosted a weekly radio talk show on bankruptcy, taxation, trusts and estates, and real estate law, airing on Bay Area stations KDIA, KDYA, and later KFAX. In 2011 she was named Pro Bono Bankruptcy and Tax Volunteer of the Year by the Alameda County Bar Association.^[2][3]

Recognition

• Pro Bono Bankruptcy and Tax Volunteer of the Year — Alameda County Bar Association (2011) ^[3]