SD METRO’s Best Attorneys 2017

Presenting Best Attorneys for 2017

 

Robert Francavilla

A CaseyGerry partner for over 30 years, Robert Francavilla has achieved numerous high-profile results over the past year, including a $7.6 million jury verdict in a product liability case, an outstanding plaintiff’s verdict for a woman injured in an auto vs. pedestrian case and resolutions for other cases ranging from $1 million to $8.5 million. He was voted the Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego for the recent work he did on a complex product liability case. The litigation arose from a 2014 incident when a defective power assist wheelchair failed, seriously injuring the plaintiff. Over the past few years, he has obtained many millions in results for clients in a complex range of cases that relate to aviation, maritime, premises liability, faculty equipment, government tort claims, complex motorcycle accidents and automobile crashes. He is a past president of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, a former board member of the HeadNorth Foundation and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Michael L. Kirby

For more than 30 years Michael Kirby has been involved in civil liigation, trying more than 50 jury trials throughout his career, and obtaining total recoveries valued in excess of $275 million as lead counsel. He has received multiple Outstanding Trial Lawyers awards from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. His experience is extensive and covers a variety of practice areas that involve business, partnerships, real estate and investor disputes. He is a founder of Kirby & Kirby, a new boutique law firm in San Diego.   He is rated as a Best Lawyer by leading national rating services and has been named a Best Attorney in San Diego by SD METRO Magazine for the past four years. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa School of Law.

Joseph Martinez

Joseph Martinez is a shareholder at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek and practices in the areas of real estate and business transactions. He represents real property and business owners, investors and managers, as well as developers, landlords, tenants, borrowers and lenders. His expertise encompasses a variety of sophisticated matters, including acquisitions, dispositions, equity investment, development, leasing and secured lending tranactions. He is a member of the San Diego Padres Hispanic Community Advisory Council, and a member of the board of directors of Sharp Chula Vista Center. He is on the board of the Southwestern College Foundation and the Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Dan Lacy

Dan Lacy is an associate at Ferdinand IP. He is a contributing writer to IP Litigator. He is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the California Western School of Law. Lacy is a member of International Licensing Industry Merchandiser’s Association and the Old Aztecs RFC. His practice includes a growing number of intellectual property and corporate practice cases. He was awarded a Justice Anthony Kennedy Scholarship for law school.

 

 

Ronson Shamoun

Ronson Shamoun is a tax controversy attorney with over 20 years of tax experience. He has received numerous awards, including being honored as a Best Attorney and Metro Mover to Watch by SD METRO Magazine in 2014, and a 40 Under 40 Award honoree by the magazine in 2015. He is a founding partner of RJS Law Firm. Shamoun has received the prestigious AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell, an award that recognizes an attorney’s excellence in legal ability and ethical practice. RJS Law has been recognized as one of the Most Admired Companies in San Diego. Shamoun has extensive experience in representing individuals and businesses before the Internal Revenue Service and the Franchise Tax Board.

Adriana Cara

Adriana Cara is one of the few Latina attorneys in San Diego who has risen to the rank of partner in an AM law firm, a list that consists of the nation’s highest grossing firms. Before accepting a position at Dinsmore & Shohl, she established her own firm, Cara & Garland. With no prior experience, she opened her law firm and built a book of business based on her reputation for excellent work product and high ethical standards. When she was approached by Dinsmore & Shohl to head its Labor and Employment Practice, she was humbled to learn she would become its first Latina partner. She spends significant time teaching and mentoring younger female attorneys as well as students in the University of San Diego Paralegal Program. She was recently named a Super Lawyer for 2017.

Ben Coughlan

Ben Coughlan, attorney with Gomez Trial Attorneys, was named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers for both 2016 and 2017 and received the Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He has been named one of San Diego’s Top Ten Personal Injury Attorneys. He is a 2016 graduate of the prestigious ABOTA Natonal Trial College held at Harvard Law School. Before pursuing a legal career, Coughlan worked in the media relations department for the San Diego Padres. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

John Gomez

John Gomez is a cum laude graduate of the University of San Diego, where he won Academic All American honors as a member of the Toreros football team. He went on to graduate from the Yale University Law School in 1993.   Following law school he was a member of Latham & Watkins’ Los Angeles litigation department. He then returned to San Diego to become an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. He is the lead attorney and president of Gomez Trial Attorneys, which he founded in 2005. He has established himself as one of California’s most recognized and accomplished trial attorneys. Gomez has been voted one of San Diego’s Best Attorneys by SD METRO Magazine for the past five years. He has recovered over $300 million in settlements and verdicts for his clients with more than 75 separate recoveries of more than $1 million or more.

Jon Singer

Jon Singer is a principal at Fish & Richardson. He is truly a renowned life sciences industry leader and acclaimed trial attorney. He is known throughout the country for his patent/IP litigation skills and is annually named one of the nation’s finest life science trial attorneys. He heads Fish & Richardson’s international life sciences litigation practice. He has done ground-breaking work in some of the country’s most notable patent cases. Singer is recognized as an expert in proceedings under the Hatch-Waxman Act that significantly altered the pharmaceutical industry by establishing government regulations for generic drugs.

 

Chris Marchese

Chris Marchese is a parner at Fish & Richardson who literally wrote the book on patent damages. His work for clients such as Microsoft, HP, ASSA, AB, VIXS and many more, including a $12.5 million jury verdict last year, has earned him a spot on the National Law Journal’s Top Defense Victories and Appellate Hot Lists and IP Law and Business List of Top 10 Litigation Wins. He is on the board of California Lawyers for the Arts.

 

 

Suzanne Varco

Suzanne Varco is managing partner at the Environmental Law Group LLP, one of Southern California’s most influential niche law firms, which she founded 20 years ago. Her influence in environmental and community issues, through her law practice and volunteerism, is extensive. She concentrates on brown fields redevelopment, hazardous waste cleanup, environmental, real estate transactions involving environmental issues, environmental permitting, underground storage tank issues, CEQA compliance and litigation, and environmental litigation. Varco is recognized as a top environmental lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell.

Sean Southard

Sean Southard is a founding partner of Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP, one of San Diego’s leading commercial real estate law firms. The firm has emerged as San Diego’s largest real estate firms, and is attracting top legal talent from across the country. In four years it has grown from seven attorneys to 21 attorneys, opened an office in Los Angeles and has been involved in some of San Diego’s most high-profile projects, including the development of the recently opened Pendry Hotel downtown. He also played a major role in the development and expansion of Liberty Station.

 

Evelyn Heidelberg

Evelyn Heidelberg is a partner in Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson. She is a seasoned land use, environmental and general litigation attorney. Her former work as a city planner laid a firm groundwork for her legal practice. Heidelberg has obtained entitlements for significant redevelopment of community shopping centers and saved clients $720,000 in development impact fees. She serves on the board of directors of the City Ballet and Home Start. She has leveraged her skills to help developers obtain city, county and California Coastal Commission entitlements.

 

Patrick E. Monroe

Patrick Monroe is of counsel in the San Diego office of Best Best & Krieger, where he serves as general counsel to more than 10 corporations with revenues ranging from $1 million to $50 million. In one of his largest transactions, he represented San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, which annually serves 3 million people throughout San Diego County, in a $100 million buy-out of leveraged lease rights, affecting a lease-to-own situation to save money for the MTS.

 

 

William Eigner

William Eigner is a partner at Procopio. He is a graduate of Stanford University and earned his law degree at the University of Virginia. He has been acknowledged as a top lawyer by Martindale Hubbell and SD METRO Magazine. He is a director of the San Diego Venture Group and a trustee of the San Diego Police Foundation. Eigner is a prolific author of many legal issues, such as how businesses can recover serious damages from website copyright infringers, and tips for issuing advisers stock options. He has also been considered as the go-to guy for emerging companies.