Castro Valley Appeals & Appellate Lawyers

Certified Appellate Specialist, Board of Legal Specialization of State Bar of California

Practice Summary: Complex federal and state litigation in contracts, land use, government, administrative, constitutional property and speech, trusts and estates, product liability, land use and insurance law.

Specialties: Appeals, injunctions, writs of mandate, land use administrative proceedings, challenging local, state and federal action and enforcing local, statutory and constitutional law in federal and state courts.

Represents both plaintiffs and defendants; insurance defense; owners and contractors in construction disputes; beneficiaries and administrators

Ivan Morse has been successfully helping people accused of crimes since 1981. The main reason for his success is the fact he was an Oakland Police Officer for seven years. He understands how police think and how they operate including, but not limited to, reasons they make stops, tactics used when interviewing people, reasons they make arrests and strategies they use to write police reports.
Attorney Morse is passionate to ensure everyone's constitutional rights are not violated. He likes to help people who find themselves accused of a crime and subjected to the criminal justice system. Because of his passion and...

Konstantine "Kosta" Demiris is a partner at the law firm of Demiris & Moore, located in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek, in the center of Contra Costa County. His practice focuses on litigation involving elder abuse (financial and physical), will and trust litigation, conservatorships, guardianships, HOA's, and appeals. Kosta is actively involved in the Contra Costa County legal community. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Bar Association's Elder Law Section. He serves as court-appointed counsel in Conservatorship cases in Contra Costa County. Kosta is dedicated to helping...

Over his 18 years of practice in the Bay Area, Kevin Martin has developed a reputation as a fair- minded but tough negotiator representing client’s interests in intellectual property, business, real estate and personal injury actions. Kevin’s practice includes trademark, copyright and patent litigation, prosecution, licensing, business disputes, commercial litigation, personal injury claims, employer/employee disputes, trade secret and unfair competition claims, real estate litigation, contract disputes, and general advice and counsel. Mr. Martin maintains a regular blog on legal and other issues at www.landshark5000.wordpress.com. Mr. Martin regularly appears in both State and Federal Courts throughout California, before the Trademark...

John Runfola is a highly experienced and effective criminal defense attorney. His cases have at times drawn international attention, and he has succeeded in winning favorable results for clients both at trial and through skillful pre-trial work. He is listed in Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and has earned the highest rating from the national lawyer registry Martindale Hubbell. Prior to starting his own practice, Mr. Runfola served as a Public Defender in San Francisco, where he gained invaluable courtroom experience. He is a seasoned trial lawyer, yet is equally adept at the behind-the-scenes work that often proves critical to a...

Bryan Schwartz is an Oakland, California-based attorney dedicated to helping employees protect their rights in the workplace. He has fought prohibited discrimination, retaliation, and harassment, obtained reasonable accommodations for disabled employees, vindicated whistleblowers' rights, and ensured that corporations pay workers all wages they are owed. He has successfully litigated individual and class action complaints nationwide, helping to recover millions of dollars for thousands of employees, forcing corporations and Government agencies to change their practices and punish wrongdoers. Bryan Schwartz is also one of the few Bay Area-based attorneys with extensive experience representing Federal employees in their unique Merit Systems...

Michael Hassen's litigation practice spans over 30 years and emphasizes general business and commercial litigation, including class action defense and matters involving intellectual property and unfair competition.

Carin Johnson is a passionate defender of parents’ rights and has practiced dependency and juvenile law for over 27 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Chico State University and is a graduate of Golden Gate University, School of Law, 1993.

In September 2010, Carin presented oral argument in the California First District Court of Appeal, involving a case where the dependency court denied her client reunification services and sought to terminate her parental rights. Carin fought hard for the mother and won a rare REVERSAL, of the lower court’s ruling. This changed California law.

Again, Carin argued a wrongfully-accused...

If you are trying to obtain disability benefits because you are unable to do your job as a result of an illness or injury, my law firm can assist you. We can also help with any type of insurance claim that has been wrongfully denied whether it be medical insurance, homeowner’s claims, property damage or personal injury claims. Mr. Kalkin has practiced in the areas of Long Term Disability, ERISA Litigation, Personal Injury, Civil Appeals and Insurance Bad Faith for over thirty-five years. In 1989 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association and...

When individuals or businesses are involved in any form of litigation, they want an attorney who offers face-to-face contact and provides valuable legal services at competitive and reasonable costs. The Law Offices of Frank S. Moore, APC in San Francisco and Healdsburg, California, has attorneys on staff and "of counsel" that are committed and dedicated to clients and have extensive experience in the following areas of practice: • Business Litigation • Appeals and Writs • Federal and White Collar Criminal Defense • Wrongful Death • Personal Injury • Civil Rights • Disability...

Getting her start in the trenches as a legal aid attorney, Erika has years of experience in seeking justice for employees and consumers against unfair practices. She has fought off debt collectors, obtained justice for wrongfully terminated employees, and untangled thorny credit reporting issues. She has taken on local government for refusing proper restroom access to transgender people. In 2015, she even had a federal court declare a state's garnishment statute unconstitutional for violating the rights of low-income debtors.

Whether your case is just starting, or whether you are up on appeal, Erika has the experience and...

Paul W. Thorndal is a partner at Wald & Thorndal. He specializes in divorces of all kinds with an emphasis on gay divorce. Mr. Thorndal is a Certified Family Law Specialist (The State Bar of California Legal Specialization). Wald & Thorndal's practice areas include: Divorce, Dissolution & Contested Parentage Actions for all families; Custody Disputes; Mediation; Marvin Actions. Legal services provided at both the TRIAL and APPELLATE level. Assisted Reproduction; Adoptions of All Kinds; Family Contracts; Parenting Law including Surrogacy; Donor Contracts for Egg and/or Sperm Donations; Pre-Nupital Agreements; Co-Parenting Agreements; Domestic Partnership Agreements; Name Changes.

Boris has devoted himself to a career in criminal defense and fighting for the rights of the accused—a passion that grew from his experience being erroneously arrested at age thirteen due to a misidentification. This experience left him intimately aware of the kind of anxiety and fear a criminal accusation causes in one's life. Bringing this memory to the courtroom and negotiating table alike, Boris quickly gained a reputation as a fearless and zealous advocate for his clients who fights with integrity and compassion every step of the way.

Smart & Aggressive Criminal Defense. Experienced in representing individuals accused of crimes...

California Civil Appeals, State & Federal

Myron Moskovitz served as law clerk to Justice Raymond E. Peters of the California Supreme Court. He is the author of Winning An Appeal (Carolina Academic Press, 4th ed.) and Moskovitz On Appeal (LexisNexis, 2015). He has handled and consulted on many appeals, both in state and federal courts. Although appellate courts reverse in civil cases only about 20% of the time, he has won reversals in more than 70% of his civil cases in which he represented appellants.

He is Professor of Law Emeritus...

Erik Christensen litigates, and provides counsel on, corporate and employment issues in California and the District of Columbia. His experience includes working as a senior associate at top-ranked global law firms, including Littler Mendelson and Greenberg Traurig. Before this, Erik externed at the California Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal, two of the most prestigious opportunities provided to law students in California. Erik also served as a law clerk for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Victim Impact Program (sometimes referred to as the “Special Victims Unit.”) His experience includes years of service with the 101st Airborne’s...

Phyllis Voisenat, Esq. is an attorney and counselor at law. You can retain her as your attorney to handle your case from start to finish, or you can hire her for limited matters. She can be retained for matters from Sacramento to San Jose, pertaining to fraud, real estate, contracts, business formation, operations.

Latika Malkani joined Siegel LeWitter Malkani in 1996, and since then has fought to preserve and enforce the rights of women and men working in a variety of professions. Latika's advocacy has included tireless representation of employees seeking justice and improved conditions in the workplace. Latika has a proven record of successful results, and has helped hundreds of employees establish better working conditions, negotiate severance and post-separation packages, as well as obtain fair and just compensation through enforcement of state and federal laws. Latika believes that no employee should be made to suffer inequality or humiliation in order to earn...

"I am dedicated to my clients and work hard to achieve the results needed in every case" I have represented clients and continue to to serve the counties of San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Napa, San Joaquin and all other Northern California Counties. No case is to big, and no case is to small. Each one has a certain value to the client and each deserves 110% effort. This is what I do! We Handle everything from: Traffic stop signs; to DMV suspensions; to DUI cases; to serious felonies.

Attorney, private practice. I handle civil litigation and also advise and counsel primarily in the areas below. Litigation * I represent clients (both defendants and corporate plaintiffs) in antitrust litigation. On the defense side, I have represented clients in private suits, class action litigation, class action opt-out litigation, and government actions. * I routinely work on claims involving pricing, price fixing, below-cost pricing, information exchanges, monopolization, attempted monopolization, and unfair competition. * I often work on cases at the intersection of antitrust and competition law and intellectual property (“IP”) law -- particularly on cases involving patents. * I have worked on the responses to numerous...

Kate Reder is an associate attorney at Wald & Thorndal. She specializes in family formation, divorce, and dissolution for both traditional and non-traditional families. Firm practice areas include: Divorce, Dissolution & Contested Parentage Actions for all families; Custody Disputes; Mediation; Marvin Actions. Legal services provided at both the TRIAL and APPELLATE level. Assisted Reproduction; Adoptions of All Kinds; Family Contracts; Parenting Law including Surrogacy; Donor Contracts for Egg and/or Sperm Donations; Pre-Nupital Agreements; Co-Parenting Agreements; Domestic Partnership Agreements; Name Changes.

Terrance J. Evans is a partner in the Trial Practice Group of Duane Morris in San Francisco. He concentrates his practice in representing the financial services industry, which includes international, national and community banks; loan service companies; and insurance companies.

With respect to the insurance industry, Mr. Evans concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation and policy interpretation and analysis. He has represented commercial primary, excess and umbrella insurers in a wide range of multimillion-dollar cases, including declaratory relief, bad faith, rescission, subrogation, indemnity, additional insurance, interpleader and reformation actions.

In relation to the banking industry, Mr. Evans has represented international,...

Also known as Bo Links, I have practiced in San Francisco since 1974. My firm is Slote, Links & Boreman, LLP. I represent school administrators, educational institutions, students, parents and teachers. I also specialize in construction and employment-related litigation. I also serve as a mediator in a variety of cases.An extensive list of matters that I have handled is available on our website - www.slotelaw.com. I am also a published golf writer (four books - Follow the Wind; Riverbank Tweed & Roadmap Jenkins: Tales from the Caddie Yard; Golf Poems; Alister MacKenzie's Legacy of Public...

Autumn HajMohammad is a California native. She completed her B.A. in Public Policy at California State University, Bakersfield, while working for a State Senator. She went on to earn her Juris Doctor at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. She graduated with honors and was granted membership into the prestigious Traynor Honor Society. Prior to opening her own firm, Ms. HajMohammad worked for the Kern County Public Defender's Office where she defended clients charged with misdemeanors and felonies. She also successfully represented clients convicted of homicide and sex offenses seeking habeas relief. Now accepting...

Amanda J. List is an associate at the Wald Law Group. She specializes in divorces of all kinds with an emphasis on gay divorce. The Wald Law Group practice areas include: Divorce, Dissolution & Contested Parentage Actions for all families; Custody Disputes. Legal services provided at both the TRIAL and APPELLATE level. Assisted Reproduction; Adoptions of All Kinds; Family Contracts; Parenting Law including Surrogacy; Donor Contracts for Egg and/or Sperm Donations; Pre-Nupital Agreements; Co-Parenting Agreements; Domestic Partnership Agreements; Name Changes.

Deborah H. Wald is the founder and managing partner at The Wald Law Group. A Certified Family Law Specialist*, her work has evolved over the past 27 years from a part-time home-based family formation law practice to a multi-disciplinary full service family law firm. Ms. Wald's goal is to ensure that all individuals, families and children coming to The Wald Law Group receive the highest quality legal protections available. (*Certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.) In addition to a strong general knowledge of family law, Ms. Wald has three specific areas of...

Dylan graduated from Cornell University (1986) and magna cum laude from UC Hastings College of the Law (1990). He clerked for Judge Melvin Brunetti in the Ninth Circuit and then spent a year teaching legal methods at Stanford Law School. From 1991-2001 Dylan practiced appellate law with Dennis Riordan until going out on his own in 2001. Thereafter he worked with lawyers around California on complex trials and appeals in both the civil and criminal arenas. Dylan joined Edward Kerley’s practice in 2014 and has since focused on the rights of California policyholders. He obtained two key victories on behalf...

Karen Landau is a specialist in civil and criminal appeals who practices in all federal circuit courts and in the California appellate courts. Ms. Landau is very experienced in federal sentencing matters and provides consulting services and representation at sentencing.

Administrative Law
Social Security Disability Practice

Social Security Disability Affiliations
National Association of Disability Representatives. (NADR) ...

For the past eight years at Losch & Ehrlich, Mark Meyer has handled civil litigation for businesses and individuals in state and federal courts on a wide range of issues, including contracts, real property, torts, successor liability, class actions, employment, construction, administrative and writ proceedings, anti-trust, and public contract bidding.

He has been responsible for all aspects of civil litigation, including motions, mediation, trials, and appeals. Able to successfully take matters through trial, Mark understands that efficiently resolving disputes is often in the parties’ best interest.

Mark also reviews contracts and other business transactions, with an eye towards avoiding issues that...