Karin Dougan Vogel

In his law practice, HFM Partner Bruce O’Brien’s focuses on all aspects of federal and state taxation, with a particular emphasis on tax controversies, partnerships, limited liability companies, and business planning. Mr. O’Brien represents taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, and State Board of Equalization. He also represents clients before the United States Tax Court, and he is a certified specialist in Taxation Law. Additionally, Mr. O&rsqu...

Steven Cologne was elected Managing Partner of the Firm in 2016. He devotes his practice to complex Tort and Commercial litigation in State and Federal Courts. In 2020, Mr. Cologne achieved the distinction of being certified as a Fellow in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) effective May 2020. On May 4, 2020, he was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia. Mr. Cologne joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack in 1999 after previously enjoying 15 years as an associate, partner ...

David Sanford is the Chairman and co-founder of Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP. He has recovered more than one billion dollars for individual clients and the United States government since 2004. David represents C-suite executives and non-managerial hourly employees throughout the US. He has served as lead counsel in more than 50 class actions and numerous qui tam cases around the country and represented more than 100 general counsel and attorneys (in-house and outside counsel) in contract dispute...

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...

Jenny Dixon represents individuals and companies in business and employment disputes, corporate and securities fraud, and violations of antitrust and competition laws. She has represented employers in proceedings before the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Labor Commissioner’s office, Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), and the Civil Rights Department (CRD). With over 25 years of experience in both the pursuit and defense of complex claims, Jenny has the...

Regina Petty is a partner in the San Diego and Los Angeles offices. She practices in state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels and is experienced in multi-district and class action litigation. Regina advises employers and public agency boards and handles litigation for private and public employers. She successfully argued Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership (2008) 42 Cal.4th 1158 before the California Supreme Court, a case noted on Bender's California Labor & E...

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...

HFM Partner Mitch Dubick concentrates his practice in tax controversy matters, representing individuals and business entities before the IRS and all state taxing authorities, and his work also includes business, real estate, and tax planning. Mr. Dubick’s years of experience and cost-effective solutions have made him the choice of clients, accountants, and other lawyers to handle their tax disputes, including audits, overdue returns, offshore accounts, appeals, collection matters (inclu...

Samer S. Habbas is the Founder and Managing Partner of Samer Habbas & Associates , a California personal injury law firm focused on catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation. With more than 20 years of experience , Mr. Habbas represents individuals and families in complex, high-exposure cases involving commercial trucking collisions, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, and premises liability. Over the course of his career, Mr. Habba...

Scott Cummins is of counsel to Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, LLP, a California law firm. He is an experienced product liability and insurance bad faith coverage lawyer who has handled several multi-million dollar cases against aircraft and product manufacturers and insurance companies. He successfully sued the manufacturer of a water brake cylinder (a device which stops the ram used to launch aircraft on aircraft carriers) which had seen twenty years of service on the U...