Last updated: October 2026
Jessica Saeedian is a California real estate attorney with Bay Legal, P.C. Jessica handles residential and commercial purchase agreements, leases, and real estate contract disputes for buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and real estate professionals. From 2015 to 2025, Jessica worked in-house at the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), most recently as Associate Counsel. In that role, Jessica advised real estate licensees and attorneys statewide and helped draft and revise the C.A.R. standard forms used in California transactions. Jessica has been a member of the State Bar of California since 2015.
Practice snapshot: Jessica Saeedian handles California real estate transactions, purchase and lease agreements, and real estate contract disputes for buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and brokers.
What does Jessica handle at Bay Legal?
Jessica works on three connected areas of California law: California real estate law, real estate disputes, and contract law. The common thread is the document. A purchase agreement, a counteroffer, a lease, an addendum, a vendor contract. Most real estate problems trace back to what one of those documents says, what it leaves out, or what California statute supplies when it is silent.
Contracts to buy or sell real property, and leases longer than one year, generally must be in writing and signed to be enforceable. That rule is the statute of frauds at Civil Code § 1624. It is one reason the exact wording of a signed form matters so much in California real estate.
Real estate transactions and contracts
Jessica’s background is the standard form itself. At C.A.R., Jessica drafted, reviewed, and revised purchase agreements, lease agreements, and related documents licensed to real estate professionals, and advised on residential and commercial transactions across the state. That work means reading a form the way a court will read it: the contingencies, the deadlines, the remedies, and the clauses most buyers and sellers initial without reading.
- Residential and commercial purchase agreement review before you sign, including contingency, deposit, and remedy terms. See the firm’s California real estate transaction attorney page.
- Counteroffers, addenda, and amendments to C.A.R. standard forms.
- Commercial property acquisitions. See buying commercial real estate in California.
- Commercial and residential lease drafting and review. See leasing commercial property.
- Seller disclosure obligations under Civil Code § 1102 et seq. Many residential purchase agreements include a liquidated damages clause. Liquidated damages are an amount the parties agree in advance a seller may keep if the buyer defaults. For a buyer who intends to live in a one-to-four unit home, Civil Code § 1675 generally caps that amount at 3% of the purchase price. Whether the clause applies at all depends on how the contract was signed.
How does Jessica approach a real estate dispute?
Most real estate disputes start well before anyone files a lawsuit. A buyer finds a defect the seller did not disclose. A seller refuses to close. A deposit is stuck in escrow. A party claims an agent or broker missed something. Jessica starts with the contract and the disclosure record, then moves to a written demand where the facts support one.
At C.A.R., Jessica advised on real property, contract, and business tort questions, including brokerage practice and liability. That work covers the duties real estate licensees owe. For example, a listing broker on most residential one-to-four unit sales must conduct a reasonably competent visual inspection of accessible areas and disclose what it reveals (Civil Code § 2079).
When a dispute moves into litigation, Jessica works alongside Bay Legal’s litigation attorneys. Real property disputes are filed in the superior court of the county where the property sits, for example Los Angeles County Superior Court for property in Los Angeles County. See the firm’s pages on real estate disclosure disputes and real estate contract disputes.
Does Jessica handle contracts outside real estate?
Yes. Earlier in Jessica’s time at C.A.R., the work included drafting licensing, service, and vendor agreements, website terms and conditions, privacy policies, and cease-and-desist letters. At Bay Legal, Jessica applies that experience to contract drafting and review and commercial contracts for businesses. That includes businesses that need an outside lawyer to fill an in-house role through fractional general counsel services.
Who does Jessica represent?
Jessica represents buyers and sellers of residential and commercial property, landlords and tenants on lease drafting and review, real estate brokers and agents on contract and liability questions, and businesses on commercial contracts. Bay Legal runs a conflicts screen at intake before any substantive discussion. Clients come from across California, served from the firm’s Palo Alto and Los Angeles offices.
Should a purchase agreement dispute go to mediation, arbitration, or court?
It depends on what the contract says. Many residential purchase agreements on the C.A.R. form require the parties to try mediation before filing suit or starting arbitration. A party who refuses can lose the right to recover attorney fees. Arbitration applies only if both sides agreed to it, which on that form usually means both initialed the arbitration clause. Where a contract awards fees to the prevailing party, Civil Code § 1717 makes that right reciprocal.
| Mediation | Arbitration | Court (litigation) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides? | No one. A neutral mediator helps the parties reach their own agreement | A private arbitrator | A superior court judge, or a jury |
| Binding? | Only if the parties sign a written settlement | Yes. The award is generally final | Yes, subject to appeal |
| Appeal? | Not applicable | Very limited grounds for court review | Yes, through the appellate courts |
| Public or private? | Private and confidential | Private | Public record |
| Typical speed | Weeks, if both sides engage | Months | Often a year or more |
| Best suited to | Parties who want to close or unwind a deal without a fight | Parties who agreed to it in the contract (Code of Civil Procedure § 1281) | Disputes that need a court order, such as specific performance |
How does Jessica work a new matter?
- Conflicts check and intake. Bay Legal screens for conflicts before any substantive discussion.
- Document review. The contract, counteroffers, addenda, disclosures, escrow instructions, and the correspondence trail, read before any opinion is offered.
- Plain-language assessment. Where you stand under the contract and California law, the realistic options, and what each one costs.
- Action. Revised contract language, a negotiated amendment, a demand letter, or a referral to the firm’s litigation attorneys when a lawsuit is the right route.
- Close-out. Signed documents and a clear record of what was agreed, kept with your file.
What matters has Jessica handled?
Representative matter types from Jessica’s prior roles, described generically:
- Individual legal consultations with California real estate licensees and attorneys through C.A.R.’s statewide legal advisory program.
- Advice on residential and commercial real property transactions for licensees, developers, property owners, and purchasers.
- Drafting and revising C.A.R. standard purchase agreements, lease agreements, and related forms.
- Real property, contract, and business tort questions, including brokerage practice and liability.
- Licensing, service, and vendor agreements; website terms and privacy policies; cease-and-desist letters.
- Legal research, memoranda, and motion review supporting business and personal injury litigation, as a law clerk. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. Every case turns on its own facts and the applicable law.
Education, bar admissions, and professional background
- Juris Doctor, UCLA School of Law, 2014. Completed the school’s Entertainment, Media, and Intellectual Property Law curricular program; Real Estate Law Clinic; coursework in Advanced Real Estate Transactions and Real Estate Finance.
- Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2010. Summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
- Admitted to the State Bar of California, 2015. License No. 304272. Verify on the State Bar attorney search.
- California Association of REALTORS®, Los Angeles: Associate Counsel, 2021–2025; Staff Attorney, 2016–2021; Legal Fellow, 2015–2016.
- Law Clerk, Law Offices of Jason Cohen, Los Angeles, 2014–2015.
Publications and teaching
Jessica co-authored six legal publications and educational courses published by C.A.R. on contract law, probate, brokerage practice and liability, and related employment-law topics. Jessica also wrote legal articles for C.A.R.’s website and presented legal-education webinars for C.A.R. members.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of cases does Jessica Saeedian take?
Jessica takes California real estate and contract matters: purchase agreement review, counteroffers and addenda, seller disclosure questions, commercial and residential leases, pre-litigation real estate contract and disclosure disputes, broker and agent liability questions, and commercial contract drafting. Jessica does not handle criminal defense, personal injury, immigration, or family law. Bay Legal covers some of those areas through other attorneys.
Is Jessica Saeedian licensed to practice law in California?
Yes. Jessica was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2015 and holds License No. 304272, with active status. That California admission is what authorizes Jessica to advise on California real estate, contract,
and lease matters. You can confirm license status at any time on the State Bar of California attorney search, which is the official public record.
How does Jessica Saeedian’s time at the California Association of REALTORS® help clients?
Most California home sales use C.A.R. standard forms. From 2015 to 2025, Jessica worked as in-house counsel at C.A.R., where the work included drafting and revising those purchase agreements, leases, and related forms and advising licensees on how they apply. For a client, that means a reading of the contract grounded in how the form was written to work, not only in what it says.
How much does it cost to work with Jessica Saeedian?
Bay Legal uses flat-fee pricing on many matter types, so contract review and drafting often carry a quoted fee rather than an open hourly meter. Contested disputes are more commonly billed hourly because the work depends on what the other side does. Many consultations are free. Ask for the fee structure at intake, before any work begins.
Does Jessica Saeedian work with clients across California?
Yes. Bay Legal serves California statewide from two offices, Palo Alto and Los Angeles, and most contract review and drafting is handled remotely. When a real property dispute needs a court filing, it is filed in the superior court of the county where the property sits. Call whichever office number is closer to you to start.
Related Questions
Do you need a lawyer to review a California purchase agreement?
Not always. Many sales close through escrow without counsel. A review is worth it when the deal departs from the standard form: unusual contingencies, a tenant in place, a commercial property, a short deadline, or terms you do not understand before signing.
What must a California home seller disclose?
Sellers of most one-to-four unit residential properties must deliver a Transfer Disclosure Statement covering known conditions that affect value or desirability. The requirement sits at Civil Code § 1102 et seq. Some transfers, such as certain court-ordered sales, are exempt.
Can a seller keep a buyer’s deposit if the buyer backs out?
Only if the contract allows it. For a one-to-four unit home the buyer intends to occupy, Civil Code § 1675 generally caps liquidated damages at 3% of the purchase price, and the clause must be separately agreed in the contract.
Does an agent’s visual inspection replace a home inspection?
No. Civil Code § 2079 requires a listing broker on most residential one-to-four unit sales to make a reasonably competent visual inspection of accessible areas. That duty is limited. It does not replace a licensed home inspection by a professional.
Work with Jessica Saeedian
To discuss a California real estate or contract matter with Jessica Saeedian, call the office nearest you or email intake.
Bay Legal, P.C. — serving California statewide
Northern California office
667 Lytton Ave Ste 3, Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 668-8000
Southern California office
3211 Cahuenga Blvd W Ste 212, Los Angeles, CA 90068 (213) 668-8000
Intake: intake@baylegal.com Fax: (650) 963-0041 Website: https://baylegal.com
This page is general information about California law and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on your specific situation, contact a licensed California attorney.