Fran M. Layton

Adam Alper is a leading member of the intellectual property litigation group in Kirkland’s Bay Area office. Focusing primarily on patent and trade secret disputes, and predominantly representing clients in the semiconductor, telecommunications, computer hardware and pharmaceutical industries, Adam regularly litigates high-stakes competitor cases involving concurrent claims of patent, trade secret and copyright violations. These disputes often involve co-pending actions in US District Co...

Nora Sheriff is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Francisco office and a member of the Firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Practice Group. With decades of experience in the energy industry, Ms. Sheriff focuses her practice on electric and natural gas regulatory and administrative litigation, legislative efforts, and end-use contractual transactions; she works to ensure clean energy tools are available for large end-use customer use to help mitigate the impacts of the high cost of...

Doug Straus is Shareholder and Chair of Litigation for Buchalter’s San Francisco office. He focuses his practice on high-stakes commercial litigation in the areas of financial services, real estate development and lending, solid waste management and healthcare. Mr. Straus represents both private and public sector clients in dispute resolution in business, real estate, and public sector conflicts.

Thomas J. Brandi represents people in consumer class actions, injury and wrongful death including aviation, dangerous roads, defective drugs, and unsafe products. Tom has 19 verdicts from $1 million to $1 billion, has tried cases to verdict in 15 California Counties, and settled over 150 cases over one million dollars. He has been Court appointed to numerous executive committees in mass tort cases. Tom has been recognized for his trial skills named Trial Lawyer of the Year by CAOC (2004), nom...

Gretchen M. Wallacker is a Certified Family Law Specialist and has practiced family law exclusively for three decades. In that time, she has helped countless families transition out of their marriages, settling a full spectrum of complex family law matters that involve child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, and property division, including division of high net worth estates. Drawing on her geographical focus in San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Silicon Valley, Gretchen und...

Mitchell S. Griffin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Admiralty and Maritime Law. Mitchell S., who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mitchell S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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

Doris Cheng has been ranked as one of the top 10 lawyers in Northern California. She is listed among the Best Lawyers of America®, LawDragon 500 Leading Lawyers, SuperLawyers® and San Francisco Best Lawyers. She was chosen as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers of America for 2017. Specializing in complex injuries caused by third-party negligence, Ms. Cheng has obtained multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of disabled plaintiffs. She obtained a $15,000,000 verdict on...

Angel L. Garrett is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Litigation - ERISA. Angel L., who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Angel L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Steve Kostka, senior counsel with the firm's Environment, Energy & Resources practice, has represented clients in a broad range of cases involving the California Environmental Quality Act, the Planning and Zoning Law, and other state and federal environmental and land use statutes. He also has extensive experience counseling public agencies and private clients on land use, CEQA and NEPA compliance issues. Steve is a co-author of Practice Under the California Environmental Quality Act. Thi...