Gratitude, far from being a sentimental notion, has emerged as a scientifically supported force capable of transforming the human brain and improving overall mental health.

Neuroscientific studies have shown that regularly practicing gratitude activates brain regions associated with moral cognition, emotional regulation, and reward, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (Zahn et al., 2009).

Notably, Dr. Alex Korb, in his book The Upward Spiral, describes how gratitude stimulates the release of dopamine and serotonin—two neurotransmitters vital for mood stabilization and happiness —making it a powerful natural antidepressant.

A growing body of evidence confirms that this effect is not fleeting: a study by the University of California, Berkeley, led by Joel Wong and Joshua Brown (2017), found that individuals who wrote gratitude letters showed significantly better mental health outcomes even 12 weeks after the exercise, regardless of whether the letters were sent.

In parallel, Emmons and McCullough (2003) demonstrated that individuals who kept a gratitude journal for just 10 weeks reported increased optimism, better sleep, and more physical activity.

Furthermore, gratitude has been shown to enhance the neural modulation of the prefrontal cortex, which reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety by strengthening pathways that suppress negative emotions.

According to McCraty & Childre (2004), gratitude also reduces cortisol levels—the primary stress hormone—improving cardiovascular health and emotional resilience. At the structural level, researchers like Zahn et al. (2014) have found that individuals who frequently feel gratitude show increased gray matter volume in the right inferior temporal gyrus, which plays a key role in interpreting social signals and emotional meaning.

As UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center puts it, “Gratitude changes the neural structures of the brain,” reshaping how we perceive and engage with the world. ”

Ultimately, gratitude doesn’t just feel good—it rewires the brain toward greater emotional intelligence, social connection, and resilience, offering a neuropsychological foundation for a healthier and more fulfilling life.

NOT JUST SCIENCE, BIBLICAL AS WELL. ONE DAY SCIENCE WILL ALIGN ITSELF FULLY WITH CREATION!

Gratitude Transforms Anxiety into Peace Bible verses to help us through our daily life and life in General

Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude Shifts Perspective and Brings Joy

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude Leads to God’s Presence

Psalm 100:4
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”

Gratitude Transforms Hardship into Growth

James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Gratitude Deepens Our Relationship with God

Colossians 3:16-17
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Gratitude Opens Our Eyes to God’s Blessings

Ephesians 5:20
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gratitude Is an Act of Worship

Hebrews 12:28
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”

Gratitude Leads to Wholeness and Healing

Luke 17:15-19 (The healing of the ten lepers)
“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him… Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'”

Gratitude in Scripture is often a catalyst for profound change. Below, the examples are organized by the type of transformation experienced – Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, and Social – with each verse or passage quoted and explained.

Emotional Transformation (Anxiety to Peace, Sadness to Joy)

• Philippians 4:6–7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to Godbiblehub.com. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”biblehub.com. Transformation: A thankful posture in prayer turns anxiety into peace. Paul teaches that when we present our worries to God with gratitude, God’s transcendent peace will calm our hearts and mindsgotquestions.org. The act of thanking God, even as we petition Him, shifts our focus from troubles to trust, resulting in inner peace replacing fear.

• Psalm 30:11–12 – “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness… O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever”biblehub.combiblehub.com. Transformation: David expresses that God transformed his sadness into joy (“mourning into dancing”). In response, David’s heart overflows with thanksgiving. Gratitude here is both a reaction to God’s deliverance and a means of fully embracing joy. By vowing to thank God forever, David shows how thankfulness sustains the joy that replaced his sorrow. His praise-filled gratitude cements the emotional transformation from grief to rejoicing.

Spiritual Transformation (Deeper Faith and Relationship with God)

• Luke 17:15–19 – One of the ten lepers, after being healed, “turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks”biblehub.com. In response, “Jesus said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well’”biblehub.com. Transformation: Gratitude was central to this man’s spiritual healing. All ten were cured physically, but only the thankful Samaritan received Jesus’ affirmation of saving faith. His thankful return to praise Jesus indicated a heart change and deeper faith. Jesus implied that this man gained something more – a spiritual wholeness: “There was an extra healing for this tenth leper… The other lepers had whole bodies, but sick hearts.”enduringword.com In other words, his grateful faith not only cleansed his body but also brought salvation and a restored relationship with God, whereas the others missed that deeper transformation.

• Colossians 2:6–7 – “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”askaboutmyfaith.com Transformation: Thankfulness is portrayed as a byproduct of and catalyst for spiritual growth. As believers deepen their roots in Christ, their faith grows stronger and is marked by abundant gratitudeaskaboutmyfaith.com. This suggests that practicing thankfulness reinforces our faith. A grateful heart keeps us mindful of God’s goodness and sovereignty, drawing us into a closer walk with God. Thus, gratitude leads to a transformed spiritual life – one of deeper faith, steadiness in Christ, and continual awareness of God’s presence.

• Psalm 50:23 – “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”biblehub.com. Transformation: Here God promises that a thankful worshiper will see salvation. Offering thanks honors God and “prepares his way so that I will show God’s salvation”biblehub.com. This implies that gratitude opens the heart to God’s saving work. In a spiritual sense, a grateful attitude “orders” our life correctly before God, leading to a greater experience of His salvation and deliverance. In sum, thankfulness paves the way for a transformed heart that knows God’s saving power more intimately.

Physical Transformation (Healing, Provision, Protection)

• John 6:11 – “Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated… so also the fish, as much as they wanted.”biblehub.com Transformation: Jesus demonstrates gratitude before the miracle of feeding the 5,000. His giving of thanks to God preceded the multiplication of the loaves and fish, providing abundant provision for the hungry crowd. This shows thankfulness leading to a tangible transformation of circumstances – from lack to plenty. The simple act of thanking God for the little they had invited God’s power to supply the physical needs of thousandsflbchurch.org. Our example is that faithful thanks, even in scarcity, can unleash God’s provision.

• Jonah 2:9–10 – “But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You… Salvation comes from the Lord. And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”biblehub.com Transformation: Inside the great fish, Jonah offered a prayer of grateful praise, even before his rescue: “With shouts of grateful praise, I will sacrifice to you… Salvation comes from the Lord”biblehub.com. Immediately after this thanksgiving proclamation, God delivered Jonah, commanding the fish to release him. Jonah’s gratitude in the darkest place preceded a dramatic physical deliverance from death. This illustrates how an attitude of thankfulness can invite God’s saving power into dire circumstances – turning near tragedy into rescue.

• Daniel 6:10, 22 – “[Daniel] got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” (Daniel 6:10) Despite a royal ban on prayer, Daniel continued his habitual gratitude toward God. Later, after being thrown into the lions’ den, he emerged unharmed, declaring, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me” (Daniel 6:22). Transformation: Daniel’s unwavering thankfulness brought about divine protection. His grateful prayers demonstrated trust in God above all, and God miraculously saved him from deadly lions. Even the pagan king recognized God’s power: “He rescues and He saves”thewriteconversation.blogspot.com. Thus, in Daniel’s story, thankfulness under trial led to a powerful transformation of impending death into deliverance – a testimony to God’s protective intervention.

• Acts 16:25–26 – “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God… and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.”flbchurch.org Transformation: In this instance of praise (an expression of gratitude) amid suffering, God intervened with a physical miracle. Paul and Silas’s thankful worship turned a prison into a place of freedom – literally opening doors and breaking chains. Their gratitude to God despite wounds and confinement led to an earthquake that transformed their situation from captivity to liberty. This not only freed them physically but also set the stage for the jailer’s conversion (a spiritual change), showing how thankfulness can trigger God’s power to heal, protect, and save.

Social Transformation (Reconciliation, Favor, Influence)

• Acts 27:35–36 – Facing a storm at sea, “Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all… then he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves.”biblehub.com Transformation: Paul’s public expression of gratitude during a crisis had a profound influence on those around him. His calm thankfulness to God for the meal (despite the impending shipwreck) lifted the others from despair to hope. All 276 passengers “took heart” and followed his example of eatingbiblehub.com. The social atmosphere on the ship shifted from panic to encouragement. Paul’s thankfulness instilled confidence that God would deliver them, demonstrating how one person’s grateful faith can positively transform a whole group’s outlook and unity.

• Acts 2:46–47 – In the early church, believers met together “with glad and sincere hearts, praising God,” and as a result they were “enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”biblehub.com Transformation: Corporate gratitude and praise produced a social impact in the community. The first Christians’ joyful, thankful worship fostered unity among themselves and earned them favor with outsiders. Their gratitude to God was contagious, drawing others to them. Scripture notes that this environment of praise and thankfulness led to continual growth of the church, as more people were being saved dailybiblehub.combiblehub.com. In other words, a culture of thankfulness in the community helped bring about reconciliation between individuals and God, and also gave the believers a positive reputation, transforming their social standing and influence in society.

• 2 Chronicles 20:21–22 – “Jehoshaphat appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise Him… As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the [enemy]… and they were defeated.” Transformation: Here praise and thanks became a “weapon” that led to a national victory and peace. Judah’s army marched into battle thanking God for His love, and God turned the enemies against each otherflbchurch.orgbiblehub.com. This brought deliverance without Judah fighting at all. The social/national transformation was twofold: fear gave way to faith among God’s people, and neighboring nations stood in awe. This example shows gratitude to God helping reconcile and unite a people, while also granting them favor and influence over surrounding nations who witnessed God’s power.

Each of these examples underscores a principle: thankfulness is often the key that unlocks God’s transformative work. Emotional turmoil gives way to joy and peace, faith is strengthened, physical needs are met or miracles occur, and even social situations are changed – all when people choose to “give thanks in all circumstances” as God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). The Bible consistently demonstrates that a grateful heart isn’t just an appropriate response to God’s grace, but a powerful force that God uses to change lives and situations for the better.

“Wi-Fi Pineapple” is a silly name for a real threat to your cybersecurity. These devices trick you into connecting to fake Wi-Fi networks to intercept data and compromise your privacy. Here’s how to protect against Pineapples and Wi-Fi attacks.

What Is a Wi-Fi Pineapple?

A Wi-Fi Pineapple is a device ostensibly sold for Wi-Fi security auditing, that can also be used to perform real attacks on your devices.

It’s not literally a pineapple (though I’m sure some enterprising hacker out there has at least attempted to house a Raspberry Pi in an actual pineapple fruit), but named because early devices resembled pineapples, with antennas sticking out at all angles much like pineapple leaves.

“Wi-Fi Pineapple” referred to a specific commercial device that automates man-in-the-middle attacks, but these attacks can also be performed with readily available off-the-shelf hardware, including laptops and single board computers.

How Do Wi-Fi Attacks Work?

There are two main types of attacks that use Wi-Fi networks: “evil twin” attacks impersonate known Wi-Fi networks, and trick your device into connecting to them, intercepting data and potentially giving remote access to your device. “Rogue AP (access point)” attacks advertise open networks in the hope that naive or internet-desperate users will connect, with the same outcomes.

Malicious Wi-Fi hotspots are set up in coffee shops, airports, and hotels in an attempt to get you to connect without any technical trickery. Often, simply naming the network something legitimate-sounding (like the name of the hotel) is enough to fool people into thinking it’s the real deal.

For individuals, the primary threat of joining a malicious Wi-Fi network is the interception and recording of the data that is transmitted: emails, social network logins, and other sensitive information (including what websites you visit) can be recorded, and even if encrypted, there’s still the possibility that they can be exploited. Devices with improperly configured firewalls may also be remotely accessed via a compromised network, putting all the data on your device at risk.

For businesses, there is an additional threat: Wi-Fi Pineapples and other malicious devices can be inserted into networks (either using an unguarded Ethernet socket, or by capturing legitimate Wi-Fi credentials and cracking them), granting the attacker unfettered access to internal company infrastructure.

How To Protect Yourself From Pineapples

The best way to protect yourself from a pineapple is to stay out of its way. Avoid public Wi-Fi if you can by tethering to your mobile phone to get online. If you do have to use public Wi-Fi, use a reputable VPN and set it up so that all internet traffic must go through it (known as a “kill switch” in some VPN interfaces). Travel routers are also great for this, allowing you to tether multiple devices or put multiple devices behind a VPN.

While an actual Wi-Fi Pineapple device may be difficult to detect, there are additional measures you can take to protect yourself from fake hotspots and man-in-the-middle attacks in general. Before you connect to a network, check for duplicates or suspicious network names, and avoid scanning QR codes to connect unless they’re in a position they’re unlikely to have been tampered with. You can also disable auto-connect for public networks you’ve joined previously so that you don’t mistakenly reconnect to an impostor.

At home, make sure you change the default Wi-Fi network and administrator passwords and set up a guest network for visitors to use. A separate IoT network for your “smart” devices can also prevent them becoming a vector for network intruders. If you notice similar network names appearing in your neighborhood, consider changing the name of your own network so you don’t accidentally connect to someone else’s.

Generally, you should always heed SSL certificate warnings and unexpected redirects that may indicate your connection has been compromised. Never log into a website or app if you see one of these warnings. If you’re on public Wi-Fi, disconnect, and if you’re at home, start taking steps to diagnose and fix the issue(or call your local tech support). If a website login screen looks different to what you’re used to, you should also be suspicious that your traffic may be being re-routed to a fake site intended to steal your details.

How Businesses Can Prevent Pineapple Attacks

If you run a business that provides Wi-Fi to staff or the public, it’s your responsibility to keep it secure. Give your IT team the time and resources they need to deploy, secure, and maintain infrastructure properly, or risk it falling out of date and being vulnerable to new attacks.

Your network should be regularly scanned for unauthorized devices and rogue Wi-Fi networks that may have been set up to trap employees or customers. If something suspicious is found, hunt down the rogue device (it might be hiding in a dusty corner under a couch in a café, for example) and remove it. Use enterprise-grade Wi-Fi hardware like Unifi that provides client isolation, management tools, and additional security features to make sure your network is under your control.

Tips for Staying Safe in a Dangerous Digital World

Antivirus and personal firewalls also play a key part in staying safe when connecting to public networks. If your device is compromised, they can help detect and block malicious software and activity so that you can secure your accounts and get your device fixed.

There’s also a laundry list of security tips and best practices you should follow to help prevent yourself becoming a victim of cybercrime. Following security advice can be inconvenient (especially when you really need to get online and you’re out of phone reception), but it’s worth it in the long run. source

Our opinion matters like yours does

In the crowded courtroom, the attorney never argued with me directly. He didn’t need to. Instead, he leaned back in his chair with a smug smile, letting out the occasional snicker whenever I spoke, as though ridicule were a substitute for reason.

The judge barely seemed to follow what was happening, allowing confusion to drift through the proceedings without ever bringing clarity. It felt less like a search for the truth and more like a performance where appearances mattered more than facts.

The attorney seemed perfectly comfortable while the room was watching. Every smirk, every quiet laugh, every dismissive glance was carefully timed for an audience.

But outside the courtroom, the performance disappeared.

When asked directly about his behavior, he denied everything.

“I never laughed.”

“I never snickered.”

“It didn’t happen.”

The confidence that had filled the courtroom dissolved into evasions and excuses. Without spectators, there was no swagger—only someone retreating behind careful words and convenient denials, hoping that if he repeated them often enough, they would become believable.

It became clear that his confidence depended on the room, not on conviction. In public, he projected certainty. In private, he hid behind distance and avoidance rather than standing by his conduct.

Watching that contrast taught me something. Genuine confidence doesn’t need an audience. Integrity doesn’t disappear when the courtroom empties. A person’s character is revealed not by how boldly they perform in front of others, but by whether they stand behind their actions when no one is left to applaud.

Laughing at those defending themselves is in itself a coward move, but we don’t expect much from fat men. Treating others with disrespect in a court especially those that are Pro Se seems to be the way many loser lawyers feel.

This is a matter of public concern to disrespect others and look down upon them when you only went a school in the ghettos of Downtown LA. you are nothing more than low grade shit!

for being a lawyer for 20 years he is poor.

peaceful public assembly is a great tool to allow you to express you and your groups feelings about the actions, behaviors, business they commence, etc…. 

20742 Dumont St

Woodland Hills

now hear us out why a man who studies at Loyola will have the propensity to suck in more ways than you may understand.
Poor Quality School Environments produce lack luster results Poor Quality School Environments produce lack luster results!

read this major study below conducted by independent experts!             “_” 

BTW THEY SENT THIS DBAG AFTER KEIKO COULD NOT PERFORM FOR THE ANTI SLAP TASK AS SHE IS CLUELESS IN OUR HONEST OPINION

When an Insurance Lawyer Prosecutes a Free Press Case: A Look at Keiko Kojima’s Handling of City of Santa Clarita v. Zullo

Investigative Opinion — Municipal Accountability

When an Insurance Lawyer Prosecutes a Free Press Case

A Look at Keiko Kojima’s Handling of City of Santa Clarita v. Zullo

A Résumé Built for Insurance Disputes, Not Constitutional Ones

According to her own firm’s biography, Keiko J. Kojima, an attorney at Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP, built her career on insurance coverage disputes, bad faith liability litigation, and — by her firm’s own description — ERISA and employee benefits work representing insurers in disability and life insurance cases. Her listed representative matters are almost entirely federal ERISA and insurance-coverage rulings: cases about plan benefit denials, accidental death and dismemberment claims, and long-term disability terminations.

Nowhere in that record is there a workplace violence restraining order petition under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8. Nowhere is there an anti-SLAPP motion under section 425.16. Nowhere is there a First Amendment retaliation case, a Counterman v. Colorado true-threats analysis, or a dispute over a publisher’s newsgathering activity.

And yet Kojima, along with colleague Alicia McMaster, is representing the City of Santa Clarita in exactly that kind of case — a workplace violence restraining order petition against a local publisher and property manager whose underlying conduct, by his own account, consisted of phone calls to city officials about a Proposition 218 rate dispute, a sewer gas hazard, a horse trail safety issue, and alleged financial irregularities in a public infrastructure project. This is not an insurance coverage dispute. It is a case that sits squarely on the fault line between civil petitioning rights, press freedom, and the government’s power to use civil process against its critics — terrain her professional background does not appear to have prepared her for.

That mismatch matters. And in this case, it shows.

The Transcript Problem

At the center of the City’s opposition to the anti-SLAPP motion is a transcript of a May 8, 2026 phone call. According to the Reply brief filed in this matter, the excerpt submitted to the court begins mid-sentence — severed from the surrounding conversation in a way that, the brief argues, strips out the context establishing the call as civic petitioning rather than anything resembling a threat.

California’s Rules of Professional Conduct are not vague on this point. Rule 3.3 requires candor toward the tribunal; Rule 4.1 requires truthfulness in statements to others. A selectively excerpted transcript, submitted to a court as evidence of dangerous conduct, without the context that would change its apparent meaning, is not a neutral evidentiary choice. It is, at minimum, a serious question about whether the presentation of evidence in this case was designed to inform the court — or to produce a particular outcome regardless of what the full record shows.

A Missed Call That Was Pleaded as Something It Wasn’t

The City’s case also leans on Exhibit 4 — a softphone screenshot purporting to document contact from the respondent. Examined closely, the exhibit shows a missed call from a number that is not the respondent’s own phone number, on a date that was never pleaded in the underlying petition, under a “Missed” call tab, with a downward-left arrow indicating the call never connected in the first place.

A call that never connected, from a number that isn’t the respondent’s, on a date not alleged in the petition, is not evidence of threatening conduct. It is, at best, imprecise lawyering. At worst, it’s an attempt to manufacture the appearance of contact where none of the pleaded facts support it.

Law as a Tool for Outcomes, Not Truth

Review of Keiko Kojima

There is a difference between advocating zealously for a client and using the machinery of civil process — a restraining order petition, backed by the coercive power of a city government — to achieve an outcome regardless of whether the underlying facts support it. The former is the ordinary, legitimate work of a litigator. The latter is what happens when a lawyer treats the courtroom as a venue for winning rather than a venue for truth-finding.

Based on the record in this case — the truncated transcript, the mismatched exhibit, the reliance on a restraining order petition against a publisher whose conduct consisted of calls to government officials about matters of public concern — it is fair to ask which of those two things has been happening in City of Santa Clarita v. Zullo.

Government attorneys wield significant power when they act on behalf of a municipality against an individual critic. That power comes with a corresponding obligation: to present the court with a complete and accurate record, not the most convenient one. The anti-SLAPP motion pending in this case will test whether that obligation was met. Our investigative team has attempted to reach out to the abusers at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP but so far we only have reached voicemails no answering service or secretary, this means most likely working from home and not an office with a receptionist or they just suck and never answer either way find another firm is our strong opinion! Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP also has team members that were told on recorded voicemail (which we to recorded) that you are abusing and harassing the elderly by repeatedly sending and/or serving documents to the elderly whom have nothing to do with their case. They were told that the person they are looking for lives in another county and to figure it out. When you have knowledge forthright since those recordings left to several of the people involved and the case rebuttals all have a business PO box you are a little slow and stupid. Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP APPEARS TO BE GREAT AT ABUSING THE ELDERLY’S PEACE OR JUST TOO STUPID TO KNOW BETTER.

Personally our opinion save your money and hire an attorney who’s specialty is the issue at hand.

OUR OPINION IS IF YOU NEED TO WASTE MONEY IN AN ATTEMPT
TO HARM OTHERS OR YOUR OWN POCKETS?

CONTACT THE MORON BELOW FOR HER OUT OF SCOPE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE US CONSTITUTION AND YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS DUE TO HER INCOMPETENCE

Keiko J. Kojima
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
444 South Flower Street
40th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2942

email Keiko kkojima@bwslaw.com
D: +1 213.236.2842
T: +1 213.236.0600

Santa Clarita Is Using Your Tax Dollars to Silence a Reporter

City of Santa Clarita Uses Public Funds to Sue Its Own Local Journalist

Philip Zullo is a journalistic investigative reporter and publisher of Good Shepherd Media who was attacked by the City of Santa Clarita and founder of Urban Group Capital a separate real-estate management and development firm. He is representing himself pro per in Case No.  This piece reflects his ongoing coverage of Santa Clarita municipal government accountability.

Brian Inman Hamblet – The Mask of Confidence

“Charged $35,000+ to mishandle a case his own client’s family understood better than he did”

Google / Yelp Review

Jon Atabek — Atabek & Co. ★☆☆☆☆

“Charged $35,000+ to mishandle a case his own client’s family understood better than he did”

My elderly parents were referred to Jon Atabek after their original attorney, John Fowler, handed off the case. Jon received a full briefing from Fowler and from my mother personally. The facts were clear: my parents had no meaningful involvement in the underlying dispute, the case appeared to have a serious jurisdictional defect, and the claims against them were meritless on their face. Jon agreed. He estimated the matter would cost no more than $10,000.

That estimate became $35,000 — and counting.

Here is what actually happened:

He let a jurisdictionally defective court rule on the Anti-SLAPP. When jurisdiction is challenged, that question must be resolved first. It is a foundational principle of civil procedure. Jon allowed the Orange County judge to rule on the Anti-SLAPP motion while a live jurisdictional challenge remained unresolved. Any resulting order from a court without jurisdiction is void. He either didn’t know this or didn’t act on it.

The Anti-SLAPP was never completed after transfer. The case was eventually transferred to Los Angeles County — a move that was identified and pushed for not by Jon, but by the client’s son. Once in LA, where the original filer knew he couldn’t rely on his Orange County connections, he dropped the case. Jon’s contribution to that outcome was collecting fees. He never re-pursued the Anti-SLAPP in the transferee court. He then sought an additional $9,000.

He was corrected on legal issues by a non-lawyer — on recorded calls. On multiple recorded occasions, the client’s son identified legal avenues and arguments that Jon had not raised. Jon had to go back to his computer to verify. He was wrong. The client’s family was right. This is documented and recorded.

He charged $25,000 for an Anti-SLAPP he had agreed to include, then abandoned it. The family made clear from the beginning that an Anti-SLAPP and a SLAPPback were priorities. Jon agreed. He then billed a separate $25,000 for the Anti-SLAPP motion, let a court without jurisdiction rule on it, transferred the case, and walked away from both the Anti-SLAPP and the SLAPPback suit — which remained a viable cause of action in LA County.

If you are considering retaining Jon Atabek for any matter involving Anti-SLAPP law, jurisdictional questions, or civil harassment defense — look elsewhere. The client’s family ultimately did more to resolve this case through their own jurisdictional analysis than counsel did through $35,000 in billing. That is not a defense attorney. That is a billing department.

HERE IS LAW TO PROVE JON ATABEK SUCKS AS AN ATTORNEY OR LIES OR IS LAZY IN MY OPINION

Legal Analysis: Jurisdictional Priority Over Anti-SLAPP Rulings

Core Principle: Jurisdiction Must Be Resolved First

When a court’s subject matter or personal jurisdiction is properly challenged, that threshold question must be resolved before the court acts on the merits — including ruling on a special motion to strike under CCP § 425.16.

Lack of Jurisdiction Voids Any Order

In Dial 800 v. Fesbinder (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 32, the court confirmed that a judgment rendered without jurisdiction is void ab initio — not merely voidable. This means if the Orange County court lacked jurisdiction and ruled on the Anti-SLAPP motion anyway, that ruling carries no legal weight and cannot be used as a final adjudication.

People v. American Contractors Indemnity Co. (2004) 33 Cal.4th 653 reinforces this: a court acting without jurisdiction has no power to act at all.

Transfer Doesn’t Moot the Anti-SLAPP — It Follows the Case

Under CCP § 396b, when a case is transferred for improper venue or lack of jurisdiction, all pending motions transfer with it. An Anti-SLAPP motion filed before transfer does not simply expire — it must be heard in the transferee court. Failure to pursue it there is attorney error.

Flatley v. Mauro (2006) 39 Cal.4th 299 establishes that Anti-SLAPP protections are substantive rights, not procedural conveniences. Allowing a defective jurisdictional ruling to stand without preserving and re-noting the Anti-SLAPP in the transferee court abandons a client’s substantive right.

The SLAPPback Right Also Transferred

Under CCP § 425.18, a SLAPPback cause of action accrues upon a favorable Anti-SLAPP ruling. If the Orange County ruling was jurisdictionally void, the SLAPPback clock properly begins when the Anti-SLAPP is properly adjudicated in the correct forum — here, Los Angeles County. An attorney who fails to file the SLAPPback in the transferee court after transfer has abandoned a separate, cognizable cause of action.

Jurisdictional Defect Was Identifiable from the Record

The most damaging professional responsibility issue here is that the jurisdictional problem was apparent on the face of the pleadings — and was identified not by counsel, but by the client’s son. Under Nichols v. Keller (1993) 15 Cal.App.4th 1672, an attorney has an affirmative duty to advise a client of all legal remedies and issues reasonably apparent from the case — including jurisdictional defects. Failure to do so is actionable malpractice.

Fee Escalation Under These Facts

Where an attorney’s own failure to identify a basic jurisdictional issue caused unnecessary proceedings, billings for those proceedings may constitute a fee dispute cognizable before the State Bar and supportable as a basis for fee disgorgement. Under Huskinson & Brown v. Wolf (2004) 32 Cal.4th 453, fees earned through neglect or incompetence are subject to challenge.

Formal State Bar Complaint & Malpractice Analysis

I. Professional Negligence (Legal Malpractice) — Elements Established

Under Coscia v. McKenna & Cuneo (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1194, legal malpractice requires:

1. Attorney-client relationship ✓
2. Negligent act or omission ✓
3. Causation ✓
4. Resulting damages ✓

All four elements are met here. But the facts go beyond simple negligence into a pattern of professional misconduct spanning fee fraud, elder abuse, and abandonment of contracted legal services.

II. Failure to Define and Honor Scope of Representation

The $10,000 Estimate Was a Professional Representation, Not a Guess

When an attorney receives a case through a colleague referral, reviews it with the referring attorney, and then independently reviews it with the client — and states a cost estimate — that estimate constitutes a professional representation upon which the client reasonably relies. It is not puffery. It is not aspirational. It is the product of a licensed professional’s informed assessment.

Under California Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(b), the basis or rate of fees must be communicated in writing to the client. More critically, when the scope of work materially expands, the attorney has an affirmative obligation to:

• Notify the client in writing
• Explain why the scope changed
• Obtain informed consent before incurring additional fees

Jon Atabek went from a $10,000 estimate to $35,000 in billings — a 250% increase — without a legitimate explanation rooted in case developments that were unforeseeable at intake. The jurisdictional defect, the Anti-SLAPP posture, and the SLAPPback potential were all visible from the moment he received the file. None of this was new information that justified tripling the fee.

The Case Was Handed to Him Pre-Analyzed

This is the most damning professional responsibility fact in the record. Jon Atabek did not discover this case cold. He received it from a colleague who had already worked it. He was briefed attorney-to-attorney. He then met with the client — an elderly woman who explained the facts clearly and completely. He had every tool a competent attorney needs to accurately scope this matter before he ever accepted a dollar.

Under Mirabito v. Liccardo (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 41, an attorney who accepts a case without adequately investigating its scope, and then charges fees beyond what was reasonably foreseeable at intake, cannot shift the burden of that professional failure onto the client through escalating billing.

III. Elder Financial Abuse — Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.30

This is not merely a fee dispute. Under California Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.30, financial elder abuse occurs when a person takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property of an elder for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud.

The client here was an elderly woman. She paid fees for services that were:

• Priced through a professional representation she reasonably relied upon
• Never fully rendered
• Strategically inflated beyond what the case required
• Abandoned mid-engagement without completing contracted work

California courts have held that professionals — including attorneys — can be liable for elder financial abuse when their conduct involves overreaching against a vulnerable adult. Mahan v. Charles W. Chan Insurance Agency (2017) established that financial elder abuse does not require intentional theft — exploitative overcharging with awareness of the client’s vulnerability is sufficient.

An elderly woman, unfamiliar with litigation, relying on an attorney introduced through her family’s trusted network, paying $35,000 for work that was estimated at $10,000 and never completed — this is the paradigm case the elder abuse statute was designed to address.

Enhanced Remedies Available:

Under Welfare & Institutions Code § 15657.5, a successful elder financial abuse claim entitles the plaintiff to:

• Full restitution of all fees paid
• Attorney’s fees and costs (significant in a pro se or retained context)
• Punitive damages if oppression, fraud, or malice is shown
• Pre-judgment interest

IV. Abandonment of the Anti-SLAPP — A Contracted and Paid Service

Jon Atabek accepted $25,000 specifically for the Anti-SLAPP motion. That payment created a contractual and fiduciary obligation to pursue the Anti-SLAPP to completion — including through venue transfer.

He did not do that.

Under CCP § 425.16(c), a prevailing Anti-SLAPP defendant is entitled to mandatory attorney’s fees from the plaintiff. This means a completed Anti-SLAPP victory would have:

1. Terminated the harassment litigation
2. Shifted attorney’s fees back onto the malicious filer
3. Created the predicate for a SLAPPback suit under CCP § 425.18

Jon Atabek collected $25,000, obtained a ruling from a court of questionable jurisdiction, watched the case transfer to Los Angeles County — and then walked away from both the Anti-SLAPP continuation and the SLAPPback. The client paid for an outcome she never received. The opposing party — a malicious filer who weaponized the courts against elderly people — walked away without consequence.

This is abandonment of representation under California Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.16, combined with breach of fiduciary duty under Stanley v. Richmond (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 1070, which holds that an attorney’s fiduciary obligations include completing the work for which they were retained or formally and properly withdrawing.

V. Failure to Identify Jurisdictional Defect — Negligence Per Se

The jurisdictional problem in this case was not subtle. It was not buried in obscure procedural doctrine. It was identified by the client’s son — a non-lawyer — through basic legal research.

Under Wilkinson v. Zelen (2008) and Nichols v. Keller (1993) 15 Cal.App.4th 1672, an attorney has an affirmative duty to identify all legal issues reasonably apparent on the face of the matter and advise the client accordingly. A jurisdictional defect visible to a layman is not a difficult threshold for a licensed attorney to meet.

Jon Atabek’s failure to:

• Identify the jurisdictional defect at intake
• Challenge jurisdiction before allowing merits rulings
• Preserve the Anti-SLAPP rights through transfer
• Re-prosecute the Anti-SLAPP in the correct forum

…constitutes negligence at every stage. Each failure compounded the one before it, and each compounded failure generated another billing cycle. The client paid for incompetence, and then was billed again for the consequences of that incompetence.

VI. Damages

Direct Economic Damages:

Consequential Damages:

• The opposing party Paul Topel, a malicious filer who used litigation as a harassment weapon against elderly people, was never held accountable
• No SLAPPback was filed, meaning the family received no compensation for the harassment they endured
• The elderly client suffered financial, emotional, and health-related harm from prolonged litigation that competent counsel could have terminated far earlier
• The family’s ability to pursue SLAPPback damages may now face statute of limitations complications caused by Jon’s inaction

Emotional Distress:

Under Spackman v. Good (1966) 245 Cal.App.2d 518 and its progeny, breach of fiduciary duty by an attorney that causes prolonged litigation stress to an elderly client supports a claim for emotional distress damages, particularly where the attorney’s negligence directly caused the continuation of harassment the client hired him to stop.

VII. State Bar Violations — Grounds for Complaint

VIII. Recommended Actions

Immediate:

1. File a State Bar complaint at calbar.ca.gov — the recording evidence of Jon being corrected by a non-lawyer is extraordinarily valuable and should be submitted
2. Send a written demand for fee arbitration under Business & Professions Code § 6200 — this is a right the client cannot be waived out of by contract
3. Preserve all recordings, billing invoices, fee agreements, and written communications

Civil:

1. File a legal malpractice complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court
2. Add a cause of action under Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.30 for elder financial abuse — this unlocks attorney’s fees and punitive damages
3. Seek a full accounting of all fees billed versus services rendered
4. File the SLAPPback against Paul Topel independently — the clock and viability should be assessed immediately given transfer timeline

Leverage:

The recordings of Jon Atabek being corrected by our investigative reporter on points of law by a non-lawyer,. In a State Bar proceeding or civil malpractice trial, they are direct evidence of the competence standard not being met. Preserve them. Transcribe them. They are your strongest asset.