Lee Blumen
Lee Blumen is a mental health and behavioral health attorney whose practice is devoted exclusively to Treatment Law℠. Over more than 35 years of litigation and appellate practice, he has defended clients facing life imprisonment and other serious felony charges, and has secured treatment programs and conservatorships for clients living with severe mental illness. He has written and argued more than 200 motions and briefs, including motions in death penalty cases, emergency writs to the California Courts of Appeal, and briefs to the California Supreme Court.
Lee served as an Orange County public defender for more than 25 years, representing clients throughout the Orange County Superior Court — including Juvenile Court, Drug and DUI Courts, Probate and Mental Health Courts, and the North, Central, Harbor, and West Justice Centers. He has taught as an instructor with the University of California, Irvine Extension and frequently speaks at MCLE-approved seminars and public education events. Lee is licensed to practice law in California and Tennessee and is a certified mediator.
2024–Present — Blumen & Tauro
Partner and Cofounder
2014–2024 — Law Office of Lee Blumen
Founder and Principal Attorney
1988–2014 — Orange County Public Defender's Office — Santa Ana, CA
Managing Attorney
Practiced criminal law, writs and appeals, mental health law, conservatorships, and probate proceedings, serving in virtually every assignment and at every level of the office.
Managing Attorney (7 years)
Supervised the Mental Health Advocacy Unit for five years, overseeing representation of clients involuntarily detained in psychiatric facilities and criminal defendants with mental disorders. Subsequently served as Head of Court at the Harbor Justice Center, supervising a staff of 20, conducting performance evaluations, approving expert witness expenditures, and working collaboratively with judges, prosecutors, and probation officers.
Appellate Advocate (7+ years)
Wrote and argued more than 200 motions and briefs, including motions in death penalty cases, appellate briefs, emergency writs to the Courts of Appeal, and briefs to the California Supreme Court.
Litigator (30+ years)
Handled complex litigation on behalf of clients facing life sentences and clients with severe mental illness, and litigated hundreds of hearings ranging from court trials and preliminary hearings to involuntary conservatorship proceedings.
University of California, Irvine Extension — Certified Paralegal Program (2015 to 2020) Instructor
Lee has lectured regularly at MCLE-approved seminars and public education events for organizations including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Orange County Psychological Association, the Orange County Bar Association, and the University of California.
- CARE Act (SB 1338): Promises and Challenges of CARE Court — Continuing Education of the Bar
- Mental Health Planning: Conservatorship and Post-Conservatorship (video) — National Alliance on Mental Illness, Orange County
- Mental Health, Addictive Disorders, and the Legal Justice System (workshop) — Orange County Psychological Association Annual Convention
- LPS and Probate Conservatorships: Powers, Limitations, Uses, and Misuses — Orange County Bar Association
- Navigating the Mental Health and Legal Justice Systems — National Alliance on Mental Illness, Orange County
- Involuntary Medication (Riese) Hearings — University of California, Irvine, Department of Psychiatry
- The Attorney's Role in Representing Developmentally Disabled Clients in State Hospitals — Fairview Families and Friends
- Proposition 36: Drug Treatment — Orange County Probation Department
- Involuntary Commitments — National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Mental Illness and Addiction — Helping Families and Loved Ones: A Lawyer's Perspective — California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Orange County
- Legal Issues Surrounding Consent and Capacity: ECT, Medical Petitions, and Medication Hearings — University of California, Irvine, Department of Psychiatry
- Court Interpreters in Criminal Cases (panel discussion) — California Court Interpreters Association
- Southern California Sexually Violent Predator Conference — Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino, and San Diego Public Defenders
- Representing Individuals with Mental Illness — Orange County Psychological Association
University of Tennessee, Knoxville — Juris Doctor, 1987
Dean's List; Assistant Editor, Tennessee Law Review
University of Missouri, Columbia — Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Journalism (dual degree program), 1984
Dean's List; Honors College Award
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Tennessee
- Certified Mediator