Allison M. Rego

Johanna Schiavoni is certified as a specialist in appellate law by the State Bar of California and has nearly two decades of appellate experience. She has argued more than 40 cases in the state and federal appellate courts, and has been the principal brief-writer in at least 100. Johanna is a leader of state and local legal associations. She was the 2020 President of the San Diego County Bar Association, which serves nearly 10,000 members of the San Diego legal community. In 2023, Johanna was...

Marnie Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Marnie, who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Marnie is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Roland Achtel is a trust and estate attorney with extensive litigation experience. In his practice, Mr. Achtel prioritizes establishing clear expectations with his clients and maintaining close contact with them throughout each case. Though his legal expertise is highly specialized – trust and probate litigation, trust and probate-related elder abuse, probate conservatorships, trust administration, and general probate matters – his cases are highly diverse. His typical clients inc...

Daniel T. Pascucci is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Intellectual Property. Daniel T., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Daniel T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Partner Alexis S. Gutierrez is the Chair of HFM's Litigation Department, in addition to serving on the firm’s Executive and Management Committees. With over 20 years of first chair experience, Mr. Gutierrez provides business and employment counseling and complex commercial litigation support to public and private entities, and non-profit organizations. He enjoys Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer rating (“AV Preeminent”) for Legal Ability and General-Ethical Standards. ...

Megan C. Winter is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Megan C., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Megan C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Laura Nichols is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Diego office, and a member of the Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning practice group. Ms. Nichols is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and is also certified as an Accredited Estate Planner® by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Only approximately five percent of California’s attorneys are certified as specialists...

Josh Franklin is a business trial lawyer who has tried nearly fifty jury trials in his career. His practice focuses on insurance coverage/bad faith litigation and business litigation. In the area of insurance coverage, Josh regularly represents policyholders in matters arising out of an array of insurance policies, including directors and officers liability (D&O), errors and omissions (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), commercial general liability (CGL), and cyber. Josh has ...

Edwin M. Boniske is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Edwin M., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Edwin M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Eric Acker is a partner and trial lawyer in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. Mr. Acker has tried more than 50 trials (including more than 47 jury trials) in courtrooms across the country. Mr. Acker’s recent trials have involved a variety of technologies and significant legal issues. In the high-profile SCO v. Novell case, following a three-week trial, the jury affirmed our client Novell’s ownership of the copyrights to the UNIX software code and rejected SCO’s c...