Amy S. Cannon

Christine De Santis is a Partner at HFM and is certified as a legal specialist in family law by the State Bar of California. Ms. De Santis specializes in handling dissolution of marriage and paternity cases, child custody and visitation, child support and spousal support, and division of assets and debts, and mediations. She also handles step-parent adoptions and child support cases through the San Diego County Department of Child Support Services. Ms. De Santis has been named a San Diego Sup...

Matthew C. Smith has extensive experience in all aspects of civil litigation, including trials, arbitrations, and mediations. Matt represents individuals and business clients on a wide variety of professional and business litigation matters. He has served as lead counsel or co-counsel in more than a dozen trials and arbitrations. Matt also handled several successful appeals and has argued before the Fourth District Court of Appeal. Matt earned his Juris Doctor from Washington & Lee Univer...

As a partner in the firm’s Corporate & Securities, Real Estate, and Employment practice groups, Kenneth Jones has more than 30 years of experience in all phases of corporate, real estate, finance, business, commercial and employment law. Mr. Jones’s broad experience, education and knowledge in real estate and business matters allows him to employ a practical, creative approach in representing his clients. Mr. Jones represents clients in business planning, entity formation, gov...

Van Allyn Goodwin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Van Allyn, who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Van Allyn is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John P. Cleary is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law. John P., 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 John P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Maggie Schroedter is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Bankruptcy. Maggie, who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Maggie is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Karen Albence is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Karen, 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 Karen is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jennifer J. Lynch is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law. Jennifer J., who practices law in La Jolla, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jennifer J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Sarah T. Schaffer, CFLS is a family law attorney and mediator, holding the prestigious Certified Family Law Specialist designation from the State Bar of California. Schaffer Family Law Group, APC is a full-service Mediation, Divorce, and Family Law firm dedicated to delivering practical & effective results to high net-worth clients. Ms. Schaffer builds her practice on a thorough knowledge of the law, excellent research skills, superior presentation to the court, and most of all calm, comp...

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...