Three attorneys, four paralegals, and a combined legal experience count that crosses 195 years: Johnson and Black, LLP operates with a staffing depth that is unusual for a firm serving Visalia, California, a Central Valley city of roughly 140,000. That depth is largely explained by the caliber and longevity of its support staff. The four paralegals at the firm bring over 130 years of combined experience, with individual tenures ranging from 20 to 44 years in legal practice.
The firm focuses on estate planning, probate, trust administration, business planning, and real estate law. It operates from a single office at 1007 North Demaree Street in Visalia, within Tulare County.
https://johnsonblacklaw.com/
Note: Public sources indicate the firm may have rebranded to Rauber Johnson and Black (rjbcounsel.com) as of at least October 2025, operating from the same address. The website at johnsonblacklaw.com remained active and presented the firm as Johnson and Black, LLP at the time of research.
Practice Areas
Estate and Tax Planning
This is the firm’s primary practice area and the one that receives the most detailed treatment in the firm’s public materials. Services include revocable and living trusts, wills, irrevocable trusts, advance health care directives, general durable financial powers of attorney, and special needs trusts. The firm also handles family and small business succession planning, probate avoidance strategies, trust administration, and counsel to fiduciaries and trustees.
On the tax side, the attorneys work with estate and gift tax planning, family limited partnerships, generation-skipping transfers, and gift programs. This range reflects the fact that two of the three attorneys, James C. Johnson and Kyle J. Johnson, have backgrounds that cross into tax law and accounting, making the firm’s estate planning practice unusually grounded in the tax consequences of the plans it drafts.
Probate and Trust Administration
When an estate passes through probate or when a trust requires administration after a grantor’s death, the firm provides guidance and representation through that process. California probate can be time-consuming and court-supervised, and the firm’s experience across hundreds of combined practice years covers the procedural and legal requirements at each stage.
Business Planning
The firm handles entity selection and the document drafting required to form a business, including liability protection structures and management frameworks. It also handles contract review, negotiation, and drafting, as well as business transitions including management restructuring, acquisitions, mergers, and sales and liquidations.
Real Estate
Real estate services span purchase and sale agreement drafting, review, and negotiation; commercial and office lease drafting and negotiation; HOA restrictive covenants and bylaws; 1031 tax exchanges; easements; and title issue resolution. The inclusion of 1031 exchange work connects the real estate practice back to the tax planning expertise carried by multiple attorneys.
Attorney Profiles
James C. Johnson, Partner
Johnson holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University and a J.D. with honors from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. Before practicing law, he worked as a certified public accountant at Arthur Young and Company and Ernst and Young, giving him more than 35 years of combined legal and accounting experience. He is a member of the State Bar of California and the Tulare County Bar Association.
His practice covers estate planning, probate, contract, real property, and tax law. He has served as a past director and past President of the Tulare-Kings Counties Estate Planning Council, past director of the Visalia Jaycees, serves on the Tucoemas Federal Credit Union Supervisory Committee, and sits on the board of the Kaweah Health Hospice Foundation.
Paula A. Black, Partner
Black holds a B.S. in Law and a J.D. from Northwestern California University School of Law and is a licensed real estate broker in addition to being an attorney. She carries 30 years of legal experience and is admitted to the State Bar of California (Bar #213374), the Trust and Estates section of the California State Bar, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the Tulare County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
Her practice focuses on trust and estate planning and administration, probate, business planning and formation, contract, and real property law. She serves as the current President of the Boys and Girls Club of the Sequoias.
Kyle J. Johnson, Associate Attorney
Kyle Johnson received his B.S. in Business Administration, graduating cum laude, from San Diego State University, and his J.D., graduating magna cum laude, from Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the Tulare County Bar Association, and the Tulare-Kings Counties Estate Planning Council.
His practice covers estate planning, business planning and formation, contract, real property, and tax law, which mirrors the firm’s core practice focus while bringing a newer perspective alongside the partners’ decades of experience.
Paralegal Staff
The firm’s four paralegals account for a significant portion of the institutional knowledge that supports day-to-day legal work.
Debra Theis completed the College of the Sequoias Paralegal Program in 1999 and joined the firm in 2017. She brings more than 20 years of legal experience across family law and estate, trust, and real property matters.
Peggy S. Scofield has more than 34 years of legal experience and specializes in conservatorships, trust, and estate matters.
Marsha Childs brings 44 years of legal experience. She holds an A.A. from West Hills Community College and a B.S. from Chapman University.
Acia Locey attended UC Irvine and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an Administrative Separations Clerk and Court Reporter before completing paralegal training at College of the Sequoias in 2016. She earned a B.S. in Human Resource Management from Western Governors University in 2021.
Location and Service Area
Office address: 1007 North Demaree Street, Visalia, CA 93291
Phone: (559) 741-1800
Website: https://johnsonblacklaw.com/
The firm is rooted in Tulare County and serves clients in Visalia and the surrounding area, including Kings County. The attorneys’ professional affiliations, particularly with the Tulare County Bar Association and the Tulare-Kings Counties Estate Planning Council, reflect a practice focused on the Central Valley.
Client Contact
Prospective clients can reach the firm by phone at (559) 741-1800 or by email through the website. No information on consultation fees is publicly available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What distinguishes the estate planning work at Johnson and Black from a general practice firm?
Two of the three attorneys carry tax backgrounds. James C. Johnson is a former CPA who worked at Arthur Young and Company and Ernst and Young. Kyle J. Johnson’s practice specifically includes tax law alongside estate planning. This means the estate plans drafted at the firm are built with direct attention to gift and estate tax consequences, 1031 exchange opportunities, family limited partnership structures, and generation-skipping transfers, not just document preparation.
Paula Black is listed as a licensed real estate broker as well as an attorney. How does that affect the firm’s real estate work?
A real estate broker’s license reflects a layer of transactional and market knowledge that sits alongside the legal analysis an attorney provides. In practice, this background can be relevant when reviewing purchase agreements, negotiating commercial leases, or advising on HOA covenant issues, particularly where the legal question intersects with market or transaction mechanics.
The research notes mention a possible rebrand to Rauber Johnson and Black. Should prospective clients be concerned?
As of the time of research, the website at https://johnsonblacklaw.com/ remained active and presented the firm as Johnson and Black, LLP. Prospective clients who want to confirm the current firm name and structure should contact the office directly at (559) 741-1800 before engaging.
Does the firm handle business succession planning as a distinct service?
Yes. Family and small business succession planning is listed as part of the estate planning practice area. This covers planning for how business interests will pass, be managed, or be sold following an owner’s death or retirement, a distinct planning task from a personal estate plan.
The firm appears to have rebranded to Rauber Johnson and Black. What does that mean for existing clients?
As of late 2025, references to the firm have begun appearing under the name Rauber Johnson and Black, indicating a partnership change. The website at johnsonblacklaw.com continues to operate. Clients with existing matters should contact the firm directly to confirm current attorney assignments and any procedural changes. This is noted here as a material fact for prospective clients researching the firm.