Joshua Jacobs

Donald Sheppard is certified as a legal specialist in immigration and nationality law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Sheppard’s typical clients are companies in the high tech and start-up industries seeking to hire the brightest and best talent which includes foreign nationals who need employment sponsorship in a variety of professional fields. He works closely with client companies’ HR professionals, talent partners, corporate legal counsels, ma...

At Withers Bergman LLP, Steven focuses his practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, charitable giving and representing tax-exempt organizations. He has designed and used computer modeling to show the economic consequences of various estate planning and charitable giving techniques. Steven is also experienced in the area of executive compensation, focusing on compensation and intermediate sanctions issues for tax-exempt organizations. Steven has represented exempt organiza...

Michael Patrick Hernandez is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Michael Patrick, who practices law in La Jolla, California, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael Patrick is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Cheryl Dunn Soto is a seasoned attorney whose practice focuses on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation on behalf of commercial policyholders. Her clients have included contractors, developers, real estate professionals, medical groups, broker-dealers, accountants, law firms, HOAs, distributors and manufacturers, and other companies throughout California. Cheryl handles a wide variety of coverage matters and has significant experience with liability policies, including directors and off...

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...

Jack Ko is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Intellectual Property. Jack, who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jack is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Melanie Gold spent more than three decades as a research attorney for California appellate courts. She primarily worked with the justices of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego, but also with those of the Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose as well as the California Supreme Court in San Francisco. During that time, Melanie analyzed thousands of briefs, motions, and petitions, advised justices on hundreds of appeals, and developed a deep understanding of how appellate court...

Agustín Ceballos is a Shareholder and Chair of Buchalter’s Latin America practice group and a member of the Corporate and Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning practice groups.

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...

David J. Noonan has amassed an impressive career over four decades, successfully representing high profile clients, receiving numerous recognitions from distinguished organizations and serving in leadership positions in San Diego’s major legal organizations. Before becoming one of the founding partners of Noonan Lance Boyer & Banach, he was a founding partner at the award-winning law firm of Kirby Noonan Lance & Hoge, where he managed a diverse client roster that included Americ...