About Sunny
A practice built from lived experience.
I came to the United States from China in 1998, and like so many of the families I work with today, I had to learn how to navigate a new country in a language that wasn’t yet my own. New culture, new banks, new people, new everything... When I got to law school, reading the cases written two hundred years ago, where every nuance mattered, the hardest part wasn’t learning the law, but to think, analyze and reason in English. I still remember the night, somewhere in the middle of that long crossing, when I dreamed in English for the first time. That was when I knew I might just be able to make it.
What stayed with me, even now, were the friends, parents and grandparents trying to handle inheritance, immigration petitions, and estate matters in English they couldn’t read; signing documents they didn’t fully understand, getting lost in the communications with the attorneys, the judges who couldn’t fully understand them.
That gap — between what the law allows and what bilingual immigrant families can actually access — is the gap I built my practice to close. It’s deeply personal work for me. I know the anxiety and frustrations when you try to explain your family in a language that isn’t yours. My clients don’t have to feel that way with me.
The work
I’m one of California’s first Mandarin-speaking attorneys to specialize in estate planning, with over a decade of practice across estate planning, trusts and wills, probate, conservatorship, and immigration. My practice covers:
• Revocable and irrevocable trusts
• Probate and trust administration
• Asset protection planning
• Cross-border and pre-immigration estate and tax planning
• Medi-Cal planning
• Conservatorship and guardianship
• Prenuptial, postnuptial agreements and dissolution,
• Family-based, employment and investment-based immigration
I serve as Court-Appointed Attorney and Guardian ad Litem in complex proceedings involving capacity, fiduciary duties, and due process — work that requires both technical depth and genuine care for the people involved.
Integrity and clarity guide my practice. Every plan I draft is tailor-made — never templates, never packages — because every family is different, and the law should fit the people, not the other way around.
Background
Education
• Juris Doctor, Northwestern California University School of Law (2005–2009)
• Master of Management in Industrial Management, Dalian University of Technology
• Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology
Bar Admissions
• State Bar of California
Professional Experience
• Principal Attorney, Rickard Law APC (2018–Present)
• Associate Attorney, Hone Maxwell LLP (2016–2018)
• Attorney, Law Offices of Chenyang Rickard (2011–2015)
Before law, I worked as a journalist and television reporter — first at Dalian Television Station in China, and later at World Journal in Los Angeles after I came to the United States. Journalism taught me how to listen carefully, ask the right questions, and translate complicated information into language people can actually use. Those skills are still the foundation of how I practice law today.
Community
I’m actively involved in both the Chinese-American legal community and the broader San Diego community I call home:
• Founding Member, Past President, and Member of Board of Directors, Alliance of Chinese Americans San Diego (ACA)
• Member of Board of Directors, San Diego Chinese Attorneys Association
• Member of Board of Directors, Rancho Peñasquitos Town Council
• Member, Probate Attorneys of San Diego
• Member, San Diego United Lion Club
• Volunteer, Meals on Wheels San Diego County (over 7 years)
I’m also a frequent speaker and panelist on estate planning, conservatorship, and bilingual planning topics for community workshops, professional associations, and continuing legal education programs. If your group would benefit from a session on these subjects, I’m always glad to be invited.
Outside the office
I’m a mother of two wonderful children, both now professionals. My husband is a professor at UC San Diego. We’ve called San Diego home for more than two decades, and when I’m not at the office, I’m usually outdoors — gardening, camping, hiking, on the tennis court, or off-roading somewhere in the desert – where you can always find serenity, beauty and wonder.
Let’s talk
Whether you're planning ahead, navigating a move, building a family, or handling what comes after a loved one passes — I'd be glad to talk with you about how I can help.
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