Vista Insurance Defense Lawyers

Michael Tam is an associate in the Riverside office of Fernandez & Lauby. Mr. Tam graduated from University of California, San Diego in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science. In 2008 he received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. While in law school Mr. Tam received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Professional Responsibility. Additionally, during his time in law school, Mr. Tam was a research assistant for a renowned corporate law professor and participated in the Tax Clinic for low income tax payers. He also...

Raeet (Rita) D. Taddesse is a Partner with Fernandez & Lauby LLP. She has handled a wide variety of complex matters, including quasi class actions, professional liability, securities fraud, intellectual property, trade secrets, unfair competition, slip & fall, construction accidents, construction defect, antitrust, banking, real estate, community association, and insurance litigation. Ms. Taddesse has experience in mediation, arbitration, trial, and appellate practice. Ms. Taddesse graduated with honors from California State University at Long Beach in 1994 and obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Whittier College School of Law in 1996, where she was on the Dean's Honor List. Ms. Taddesse is admitted...

Graham J. Baldwin is an associate attorney with Fernandez & Lauby LLP. He has a wide variety of experience in civil litigation encompassing the fields of personal injury, wrongful termination, professional liability, construction accidents, construction defect, and general business, at both the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Baldwin has been a past civil litigation arbitrator and is a current member on the Riverside County Fee Arbitration panel. Mr. Baldwin graduated from California State University (Long Beach) with a B.A. in 1971 and obtained his J.D. from Western State University in 1976. He is admitted to practice before the Federal...

Cyndie M. Chang is the Managing Partner of the firm's Los Angeles office and a member of the firm's governing Partners Board. Ms. Chang manages risks and resolves business challenges. She advises and partners with clients to defend them in commercial disputes, enforce their rights, mitigate exposure, and litigate their commercial disputes. She has often handled corporate litigation involving mergers & acquisitions, asset or stock sales, fraud, securities, purchase and sale agreements, business or partner break-ups. She also has handle many other complex or class action disputes involving contracts, trademarks, licensing, products liability, product safety and recall, construction defect, trade...

Ms. McGuinness has extensive experience in all phases of litigation, including pleading, pre-trial discovery, depositions, motion practice, mediation, and trial practice, in both state and federal court. Ms. McGuinness also has experience litigating in other state jurisdictions. Ms. McGuinness’s primary areas of practice include labor & employment law (including wage and hour, retaliation and discrimination), civil and business litigation, construction, breach of contract, tort law and entertainment related litigation. Ms. McGuinness has represented Fortune 500 companies both prosecuting and defending against major construction defect claims and cross-claims. Prior to working at McGuinness & Associates, Ms. McGuinness practiced at a plaintiffs’ class...

Tim Owen is a senior attorney on Varner & Brandt's Riverside office Business Litigation Team. Tim has over 25 years of experience as a trial attorney in state and federal courts in California and New York. His practice and expertise covers employment, labor, complex business disputes, complex litigation, products liability, and professional negligence, as well as appellate matters.

C. Tracy Kayser is an associate attorney who is experienced in civil defense litigation. Ms. Kayser joined Fernandez and Lauby LLP as an associate attorney in 2007. She completed her undergraduate degree from California State University at Pomona. Before attending law school, Ms. Kayser was a real estate agent selling single family residential commercial real estate. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law in 2001. Since being admitted to the bar, Ms Kayser has defended a wide variety of cases in personal injury, products/premises liability, construction defect, general business law, civil rights cases and has...

Experienced Managing Attorney with a demonstrated history of working in the Civil Litigation industry. Skilled in Trials, Management, Employee Recruiting, Employee Training, Insurance Defense Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Property & Casualty Insurance.

Andrew Jay Waxler is a partner with Waxler Carner Weinreb Brodsky LLP. Mr. Waxler specializes in defending professionals in malpractice actions and represents insurers in professional liability coverage disputes. Mr. Waxler has written numerous professional liability policies. Mr. Waxler has contributed to various publications, including the California Practice Guide for Insurance Litigation published by the Rutter Group. Mr. Waxler also frequently lectures on loss prevention issues for California lawyers. Mr. Waxler previously was a partner at a large San Diego firm where he served as Co-General Counsel of the firm. Mr. Waxler has also...

Karyne T. Ghantous is a California licensed attorney with over 25 years of litigation and insurance defense experience successfully trying cases and serving as independent/ Civil Code section 2860 “Cumis” independent counsel in all Northern California counties. Ghantous Law Corporation represents contractors, property owners, and insureds facing liability claims and litigation. We prioritize the best interests of the insureds over the carrier’s while making every effort to end rather than prolong litigation disputes.

Andrew is a senior counsel in the Oakland/East Bay office of Ericksen Arbuthnot and co-chair of the firm's Appellate Practice Group. He is AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected as a Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Star by Thomson Reuters. Andrew has extensive litigation experience representing individual and institutional clients in state and federal court. His areas of practice include insurance coverage and defense, intellectual property, personal injury, professional liability, real estate, and other commercial issues.

Andrew has B.A. degrees in Cognitive Science and History, and a minor in Philosophy, from the...

Ziyad is a partner and co-founder of Carmel & Naccasha LLP. He counsels domestic and international companies, their shareholders and officers in a variety of matters relating to their formation, business structure, employment litigation and insurance needs. Ziyad also serves as outside general counsel to SESLOC and a number of other companies and local businesses for their contract, real estate, employment, insurance and litigation needs. He also has represented domestic and international insurers and reinsurers in the defense of claims, on coverage disputes and in insurance policy drafting. As a complement to the representation of businesses, he also works with...

Mark is a 20-year civil litigation attorney with a practice focusing on on business, construction, real estate, and personal injury litigation. Mark’s clients include property owners, businesses, contractors, and manufacturers that he has successfully represented in trials involving contract claims, property disputes, jobsite accidents, product liability and professional liability litigation. Mark spent the year 2003 in the record eleven-month construction defect/mold trial of El Escorial v. Santa Barbara Villas. He obtained defense verdicts for his three clients in that case. Prior to joining Christman, Kelley & Clarke, PC, Mark was a founding partner of Hardin & Coffin, LLP...

I provide aggressive representation for Real Estate, Construction, and Insurance Defense law matters. I advocate for clients in all venues of California and federal courts, and in mediation, judicial reference, and arbitration cases. In addition to experience, skill and knowledge, I am dedicated to exceptional service and cost-effective representation. I am committed to achieving successful resolutions to meet my clients' needs. Born in Seoul, Korea, I was brought up primarily on the West Coast. I attended college and law school in California, and have been licensed as an attorney in good standing continuously since 2001.

Mr. Gomes was raised in Siskiyou County, California. He graduated from California State University, Chico with a degree in Political Science in 1996, and obtained his Juris Doctorate and certificates in public interest and high technology law from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1999. During law school he interned in and directed the Consumer Law Program at the East San Jose Community Law Center, worked in the legal department at Computer Curriculum Corporation, and externed for Magistrate judge Patricia V. Trumbull at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Jose. After law...

Michael Wellen earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law, where he was on Law Review. While pursuing his law degree, Mr. Wellen worked in the Orange County Distrct Attorney's Office, felony panel unit.

Mr. Wellen has been practicing for over ten years and has concentrated on civil liability with a focus on medical malpractice, personal injury, public entity liability, premises liability and general civil liability matters. He has also worked on employment law matters and public entity defense.

Mr. Wellen currently focuses...

Robyn M. McKibbin, Partner, has a broad-based litigation practice representing both corporate and individual plaintiffs and defendants with primary emphasis on employment law including wage and hour, harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. She represents clients in private mediations and arbitrations, before administrative agencies and in state and federal courts. She provides preventive personnel advice concerning hiring, firing, leaves of absence, internal investigations, and disciplinary action. Robyn prepares and evaluates client personnel manuals, policies and forms, and negotiates and drafts employment, confidentiality, separation, and severance agreements. She also provides anti-harassment, discrimination and retaliation training for supervisors and...

Kristi W. Dean, Managing Partner, is a skilled trial lawyer who represents clients in business disputes. Kristi was named a 2013 Trusted Advisor by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. She has been consistently named a "Southern California Super Lawyer" and recognized as "one of the top" lawyers in Southern California by her peers in Los Angeles Magazine, Law & Politics Media, Inc., and Super Lawyer publications. Kristi represents corporations and business organizations in various litigation disputes, including breach of contract, shareholder disputes, unfair business competition, trade secret misappropriation, tortious interference, wage & hour, shareholder derivative actions, and breach of...

Te’Reisha Graves represents individuals, businesses and public entities as both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of tort and personal injury matters in courts throughout California. Having handled litigation from both sides of the table, she has developed a unique skill set that allows her to quickly analyze claims and develop resolution strategies to meet her client’s needs. Te’Reisha was designated as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers, and in 2021, on the plaintiff’s side, she resolved her first 7-figure settlement in a wrongful death matter. Te’Reisha is a 2015 magna cum laude law school graduate from Florida A&M University....

Erica Rosasco is a partner at McKague Rosasco LLP in Rocklin, California. She has received an “AV® Preeminent™” Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating available from Martindale-Hubbell, the leading independent attorney rating entity. She also was just named this year as a Super Lawyer of Northern and last year as a Super Lawyer California Rising Star, Sacramento Magazine’s 2016 Top Lawyers in Sacramento and a Who’s Who Top Attorney for 2016. Her clients sing her praises, resulting in Ms. Rosasco receiving Avvo’s Client’s Choice award for 2015 and a “superb” attorney rating. ...

James (Jim) V. Sansone is a litigation and trial associate with CMPR. Jim has been practicing in Northern California since 2006 and holds a Martindale rating of 4.7/5.0. Jim has successfully tried a wide variety of civil and bankruptcy legal disputes over his legal career in both State and Federal Court. A persuasive and successful trial lawyer, Jim captures the respect of clients and judges alike. Jim also holds positions as an adjunct professor at Santa Rosa Junior College teaching Business Law and Introduction to Law for Paralegals in their Business Administration Department and a law professor at Empire College School of...