About

For over 70 years, the law firm of Fenton & Keller has offered practical solutions to complex legal challenges faced by clients in the Monterey Bay Area.

Fenton & Keller arose from the law partnership formed in 1952 by J. Hampton Hoge and Lewis L. Fenton in Monterey, California. Both men were exceptional trial attorneys committed to the legal profession and to serving their community.

In 1951, as a young lawyer defending the State of California in a lawsuit concerning a snowplowing accident, Mr. Fenton met his future mentor, the well-known trial lawyer, Mr. Hoge. In fact, Mr. Fenton later regarded Mr. Hoge as the most important influence on his career. The following year, the two attorneys moved to Monterey and founded the law firm, Hoge & Fenton, which expanded over the years to include branch offices in San Jose and San Luis Obispo.

Attorney Charles R. Keller joined Hoge & Fenton in 1965 as the sixth lawyer in the Monterey office, then located at 977 Pacific Street In 1969, the office relocated to 2801 Monterey Salinas Highway in Monterey, where it remains today. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, the firm grew and became known as Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, and focused primarily on insurance defense work. In 1993, attorneys at Hoge & Fenton’s Monterey office decided to break off from the San Jose and San Luis Obispo offices to become the independent law firm, Fenton & Keller.

Leading up to 1993, the attorneys in the Monterey office shifted their practice areas from primarily insurance defense work to a broader array of general practice, probate and general litigation. Since 1993, Fenton & Keller has further expanded its expertise in employment law, estate planning, real estate and land use, tax law, nonprofit governance, and business formation and advising.