Best Lawyers 2021

William Eigner

William Eigner is a top mergers and acquisition attorney in San Diego often called “the go to guy” for M & A and emerging companies in San Diego.  He is an authority on forming, utilizing, showcasing and providing  compensation for boards of advisers, and is listed among the best lawyers in America for mergers and acquisitions. He is on the board of advisers for ClearWaterAir International, Encore Semi Inc., eSUB Inc., and Greenbutts LLC. He is a trustee emeritus of the San Diego Police Foundation, La Jolla Country School and the La Jolla Town Council.  He is a partner at Procopio and a graduate of Stanford University.

Ronson Shamoun

Ronson Shamoun is the founder and CEO of RLS Law, a tax law firm. His practice involves federal and state taxation, with an emphasis on criminal tax defense, tax controversy, international tax and estate planning. In 2016, he co-founded the annual USD School of Law – RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute, which brings together the entire tax community to discuss the latest changes in the law. He is a native San Diegan, a three-time graduate of the University of San Diego, receiving  a B.A. in Accountancy,  his Juris Doctor and his Master of Laws in Taxation. He has supported many charitable organizations such as Girl Scouts, Susan G Komen, United Way San Diego, American Diabetes Association, Rady’s Children Hospital Foundation, St. Theresa Academy, St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral. He has been recognized as one of USD School of Law’s Distinguished Alumni. He is also an adjunct professor at the USD School of Law and the USD School of Business. 

Zachary Myers  

Zachary Myers is the “go to” attorney for San Diego’s private and public companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, especially biotechnology and medical device companies, in complex high-value transactions. His practice allows him to work with companies ranging from startups to large public companies. He represents private companies in venture capital financings, helping companies raise millions  of dollars needed to fund, grow  and expand their businesses. He has assisted numerous  clients that have gone public, listing them on the NYSE and NASDAQ.  He often represents clients in the purchase and sale of their business. As a former CPA he appreciates clients’ business cycles and interacts seamlessly with them. He is a fixture in the San Diego entrepreneurial community and actively volunteers his time to support the local startup community.  He is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College with a B.A. in economics and holds a J.D. degree from the University of San Diego.          

Gabe Wright

Gabe Wright is a natural leader, serving as chair of the Hahn Loeser’s San Diego Litigation Practices Group, as well as the firm’s finance committee, diversity, equity and a inclusion committee, and leading the San Diego office’s recruiting effort.  His legal skills have earned him the prestigious AV preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell, an award that recognizes an attorney’s excellence in legal ability and ethical practice. His litigation practice focuses on commercial/business matters, real estate, consumer litigation and class action litigation. His skill-set and ability to effectively develop strategies to meet his clients’ objectives  has resulted In a broad client base. As a result of his successes, he is often called upon to provide legal strategy to clients across the country. He has defeated a number of class action certification cases. He volunteers and supports Promises2Kids, acting as a mentor to a Guardian Scholar. He is a graduate of the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Deborah Dixon

Deborah Dixon is the managing partner of the Complex Department at Gomez Trial Attorneys. The Complex Department litigates class actions and mass torts. The firm’s  action practice focuses on defective products, consumer claims and statutory violations. In one year she co-tried a multi-week federal class action jury trial and a state class action jury trial, a rare occurrence in class action cases. She has been approved as lead counsel by federal and state courts across California. She has been named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers every year since 2016 and was a Super Lawyer Rising Star in 2014 and 2015. She is a former 40 Under 40 award winner by SD METRO Magazine. She has also been named a Woman of Influence. She is a board member of the San Diego County Bar Foundation and San Diego Inns of Court.  She is a past president of the Lawyers Club of San Diego, and dedicates her time to raising awareness and educating about  issues affecting gender equality. She has litigated hundreds of complex cases and completed several trials and arbitrations . She is a graduate of California Western School of Law and remains active in mentoring young lawyers and law students, and serves as an adjunct professor at California Western.

Jim Heffner

Jim Heffner has a passion for learning, is hard working and is a strong and supportive mentor to the colleagues who surround him. He was recruited to work at Hahn Loeser as one of two attorneys to help establish an office in San Diego. He quickly jumped at the entrepreneurial opportunity and helped grow the office to now, including over 20 professionals who a carry on the firm’s reputation for excellence, committed to client service and dedication to the community. In  his legal practice he has gained recognition for winning case strategies. Notably, he successfully defended a major class action brought by a formidable former San Diego city attorney in both Superior Court and the Court of Appeals resulting in an award of defense fees of over $1 million. He currently serves as president of the La Jolla Bar Association. He has earned Martindale Hubbell’s top peer review rating of AV Preeminent for legal ability and professional ethics. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law, magna cum laude, 2006.

Michael Kalt

Michael Kalt, a partner at Wilson Turner Kosmo, is at the forefront of shaping California’s cutting-edge employment laws, working to ensure that the rights of employers and employees are equally covered. California is the nationwide leader in employment law.  Joining WTK in 1996, Kalt quickly  rose to the top of the field,  representing local businesses and Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes employment disputes across a myriad of state and federal courts. Today, he is one of the most highly regarded litigation and employment law practice attorneys in California. Kalt has represented businesses of all sizes ad across most industry sectors against wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination claims in state and federal courts.  He provides training to clients on employment discipline and investigations, employment policies and procedures. He holds a B.A. in political science, magna cum laude, from UCLA and his law degree is also from UCLA. 

Gayle M. Blatt

Gayle Blatt is a tenacious and dedicated attorney with a practice focused on complex and class action litigation. She is head of CaseyGerry’s complex litigation practices group.  She plays a pivotal role, handling high profile, multi-million dollar cases and earning a reputation nationwide for her expertise. She currently concentrates her practice on consumer class action, data breach cases and serious personal injury cases. She has held multiple leadership positions in data breach class action cases such as the Sony Gaming Networks and YAHOO! Data Breach class action litigation. She worked with CaseyGerry managing partner David Casey Jr. on many high-profile  cases, among them the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal litigation which settled for a historic $14.7 billion, and the Wells Fargo Collateral Protection Insurance Class Action which settled favorably. She is the outgoing president of the San Diego County Bar Foundation. Super Lawyers has named her a top 25 Women Lawyers in San Diego in 2019 and 2020. Her B.A. degree was earned at Hofstra University and her Juris Doctor at California Western School of Law.

Genevieve M. Ruch

Genevieve Ruch has a stellar track record of securing impressive victories for her clients in business, civil and major securities litigation, establishing a reputation for success in high-impact cases less than a decade into her career. She recently defended with partner James Lance CrossFit vs. NSCA case and ultimately achieved a settlement after six and a half years of contentious litigation. She was responsible for managing eDiscovery, including overseeing a team of 30 contract attorneys performing a review of over 1.2 million documents, as well as management of outside discovery vendors. In 2019 she assisted Lance and Ethan Boyer in securing the dismissal of a federal lawsuit seeking more than $30 million in damages. The suit brought in 2016 by the federal government related to the 2013 Mountain Fire in Mountain Center, California. She also represented the San Diego City Employees Retirement System in a case in which former employees  sued over SDCERS’ efforts to recoup pension overpayments. She also secured a $3 million settlement for a 90-year-old client who suffered significant injuries that required 24-hour care as the result of a car accident. She is a graduate of San Diego State University and graduated cum laude from the University of San Diego Law School.

John Gomez

As the founder of Gomez Trial Attorneys, John Gomez is one of the nation’s leading trial lawyers. Among his significant trial results are a $106 million wrongful death jury verdict arising out of San Diego’s infamous “American Beauty Murder,” a $16.5 million verdict against El Pollo Loco for a slip and fall, a $10 million jury verdict against Pizza Hut for the conduct of one of its delivery drivers, an $8.5 million verdict against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson for a defective hip implant, and a $6.5 million verdict against Omni Hotels for a coffee burn. He also represented the surviving members of CHP Officer Mark Saylor in their wrongful death case against Toyota, and the parents of San Diego legend Junior Seau in their wrongful death case against the NFL.  He is a graduate of the University of San Diego where he was an All American football player, and the  Yale University Law School.