“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first one, then the other two will kill you.”
~ Warren Buffett
- Current staff: 6.5
- Cumulative staff experience in administration of trusts & estates: 66 years
- Total yellow legal pads consumed: 1,473
A Team Approach to Fiduciary Services
Bickel Fiduciary Group is comprised of an attorney and two licensed fiduciaries who work together with our dedicated staff (all of whom have experience and skills relevant to the administration of trusts and estates). Everyone participates, according to their respective roles, in servicing each of our cases. Ours is truly a team approach rather than merely being a working group.
Our team approach works to the advantage of our beneficiaries by providing efficiencies and cost-savings:
- When a beneficiary calls, any one in the office who answers will have familiarity with the case;
- The workload can be shared for efficient and prompt handling; and
- Professional fees can be reduced by assigning appropriate tasks among team members with lower rates.
Why we are more like a basketball team than a golf team, even though we don’t play either sport…
Business consultant Patrick Lencioni explains that professional organizations often refer to themselves as “teams,” but many of them are merely “work groups” which pretend to be a team:
- A “work group” is like a golf team: The players perform independently, and each plays his/her own game, playing it their own way, and keeping their own score. Only at the end of the day do they convene as a “team” to tabulate their combined score. There was been no “group participation” in all their activity.
- In contrast, a “work team” such as Bickel Fiduciary Group, is like a basketball team, with players participating together, simultaneously, in an interactive and mutually dependent manner, so that their respective strengths can be used for maximum impact, to achieve a result that is greater than the sum of their individual capacities.
- NOTE: If you knew of Bruce’s diminutive stature and his lack of athletic prowess, you’d understand why the BFG staff finds this basketball team analogy to be hilarious.
Meet Our Fiduciaries
Bruce Bickel
Fiduciary
By the time he established the Bickel Fiduciary Group, Bruce — as a lawyer — had already:
- Drafted more than 1,000 Trust Agreements;
- Logged more than 400 Court appearances in handling trusts, probates and conservatorship; and
- Served occasionally as the Judge Pro Tem for the Probate Court of the Fresno County Superior Court.
Bruce is an active member of the California State Bar which governs his activities as a fiduciary. Modesty prevents Bruce from saying more about himself, but if you click here, you can see the list of his accomplishments that his mother keeps on display in her kitchen, with a refrigerator magnet.
Matt Bickel
Fiduciary
Matt began working in Bruce’s law office in 1994 (when Matt was 14 years old and his job was emptying the office waste baskets). After attaining his B.A. (Westmont College) and Masters (Seattle Pacific University) degrees, Matt joined startup Bellevue Healthcare, which became the largest local durable medical equipment provider in the Pacific Northwest. After compiling encyclopedic knowledge of power wheelchairs and scooters, Matt returned to Fresno and joined Bickel Fiduciary Group.
Matt is a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary and his professional activities are governed by the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau of the State of California. He is a member of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California.
Julie Ross
Fiduciary
Julie has been working with Bruce Bickel for 24 years. (Some think she is a glutton for punishment; she prefers to think of herself as loyal.) Julie served as Bruce’s chief paralegal when they maintained a law office for estate planning, probate and trust administration. When Bruce transitioned from a traditional law practice to being a professional fiduciary, Julie made the switch with him.
Julie is a a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary, and her professional activities are governed by the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau of the State of California.
Our Fiduciaries' Alma Maters
