The Salinas Valley has been the center of California’s agricultural production for generations, and the legal needs of that economy are specific: farmland transactions, agricultural business formation, water rights, regulatory compliance for growers, and estate succession planning for family operations that span multiple generations. Ottone Leach & Ray LLP, operating from 1418 South Main Street in Salinas, has provided legal services to that community with roots going back to 1938.
Overview
Ottone Leach & Ray LLP is a law firm based in Salinas, California, serving clients in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties and beyond. The firm traces its institutional history to 1938 under the name Abramson Church & Stave LLP, and its attorneys have developed deep knowledge of the agricultural, business, and land use legal landscape of the Salinas Valley over those decades.
The firm serves a client base that includes major regional businesses, small family-owned enterprises, public districts, nonprofit organizations, and individual families. This range reflects the breadth of the Salinas Valley’s economy and the varied legal needs of the organizations and people who operate within it.
The firm’s phone number is (831) 758-2401. The fax is (831) 758-2028. The email is [email protected]. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The website is https://ottoneleach.com
Practice Areas
Agricultural Business
Agriculture is the economic foundation of the Salinas Valley, and the firm’s agricultural business practice reflects that reality. The attorneys advise growers, farming operations, and agricultural businesses on entity formation, contracts, regulatory compliance, and the legal issues specific to farming operations. This includes matters unique to California’s agricultural sector such as water rights, land use restrictions affecting farm operations, and labor compliance.
Business Transactions
The firm handles business formation, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, partnership agreements, and general business counseling for companies ranging from small family-owned operations to larger regional enterprises. Business transaction work at a firm with an 80-plus year history in the Salinas Valley means deep institutional knowledge of the regional business community and the legal frameworks that govern commerce in California.
Estate Planning and Succession Planning
For family-owned businesses, farms, and individuals, the firm handles estate planning including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives. Succession planning for agricultural operations is a distinct need in the Salinas Valley, where family farms must plan for the transition of land and operations across generations while managing federal and California estate tax considerations.
Nonprofit Organizations
The firm provides legal services to nonprofit organizations, including formation, governance matters, and compliance with the legal requirements that apply to tax-exempt entities operating in California.
Public Entities
The firm advises public districts and governmental entities on their legal matters. This practice area reflects the firm’s longstanding role in the legal infrastructure of the Salinas Valley, where public districts for water, fire protection, and other services are significant institutional actors.
Real Property and Land Use
Land use law in California is complex, with local zoning, state environmental review requirements, and agricultural land preservation rules creating a layered regulatory environment. The firm handles real property transactions, title matters, land use entitlements, and disputes related to real property in Monterey and surrounding counties.
Taxation
The firm handles tax planning and tax-related legal matters for businesses and individuals, including structuring transactions to minimize tax consequences and addressing tax disputes.
Attorney Profiles
Matthew W. Ottone
Matthew Ottone is a partner at the firm. Born and raised in Salinas, he completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles and earned his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law. He is licensed with the State Bar of California. His practice focuses on business law, real estate transactions, and estate planning, with particular experience in counseling multi-generational family businesses on succession planning and advising on large-scale commercial real estate developments. He has served on the Monterey County Planning Commission and the City of Salinas Planning Commission, and currently serves as president of the Palma School Foundation.
Anne C. Leach
Anne C. Leach is a partner at the firm and a fifth-generation Californian born and raised in Salinas. She graduated from Salinas High School in 1985, studied in Ancona, Italy for one year as an AFS Americans Abroad exchange student, and then completed her B.A. in English and History at the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. She earned her Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1993. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the Monterey County Bar Association.
Leach’s practice focuses on family-owned businesses, real estate transactions, estate planning, probate and trust administration, and nonprofit organizations. Her civic involvement has been extensive: she has served as president of the Salinas Rotary Club, Sun Street Centers, SPCA for Monterey County, and the National Steinbeck Center. She received the Salinas Jaycees Outstanding Young Citizen award in 1996, the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce Athena Award in 2008, and was inducted into the Monterey Bay Business Hall of Fame in 2010. She was elected to the 1st Capital Bank Board of Directors in 2022.
Hanna Hitchcock
Hanna Hitchcock is an associate attorney at the firm. She was born and raised in Salinas, graduated from Salinas High School in 2017, and completed her undergraduate degree in Political Science with high honors at the University of California, Berkeley in 2020. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California Davis School of Law (King Hall) in 2024. During law school she served as a teaching assistant for first-year students and completed summer internships at Ottone Leach & Ray LLP. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the Monterey County Bar Association.
Location and Service Area
Address: 1418 South Main Street, Salinas, CA 93908
Phone: (831) 758-2401
Fax: (831) 758-2028
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://ottoneleach.com
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
The firm serves clients in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. Given its focus on agricultural business, many of its clients are located throughout the agricultural areas of the Salinas Valley and surrounding regions.
Client Focus
Ottone Leach & Ray represents a cross-section of the Salinas Valley’s economy. Agricultural businesses and family farms represent a core client population given the firm’s deep roots in the region’s farming economy. Family-owned businesses at various stages of the business lifecycle, from formation to succession planning, are another significant client group. Public entities and nonprofit organizations round out a practice that reflects the legal needs of the full Salinas Valley community.
The firm’s institutional history dating to 1938 means that some client relationships span multiple generations, particularly in estate planning and business succession matters where the firm may have worked with the same family across decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long has Ottone Leach & Ray been practicing in the Salinas Valley?
The firm traces its history to 1938 under the name Abramson Church & Stave LLP, giving the practice over 85 years of institutional presence in the Salinas Valley and Monterey County region.
Does the firm handle agricultural legal matters?
Yes. Agricultural business is a named practice area, reflecting the firm’s deep roots in the Salinas Valley’s farming economy. This includes grower representation, agricultural contracts, and regulatory compliance.
What counties does the firm serve?
The firm serves clients in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties and beyond.
Does the firm handle estate planning for farm families?
Yes. Estate planning and succession planning are named practice areas. For family farms and agricultural operations, succession planning involves both estate planning tools and business structuring considerations unique to operating agricultural enterprises.
How can I contact the firm?
The firm can be reached at (831) 758-2401 or by email at [email protected]. The website is https://ottoneleach.com
Closing
Few law firms in the Central Coast of California carry the institutional depth that comes from more than eight decades of continuous practice in a region’s legal community. Ottone Leach & Ray LLP has grown out of a firm that has served the Salinas Valley since the late 1930s, accumulating specific knowledge of the agricultural, business, land use, and estate planning legal needs of a community whose economy and character are unlike those of any other region in California. The firm can be reached at (831) 758-2401 or through https://ottoneleach.com