Richard A. Heller

Jason Dawson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jason, who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jason is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ed Chapin is the Managing Partner in the San Diego office of Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, a national law firm with offices in the District of Columbia, New York, California, Tennessee, and Maryland. Ed received his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law and his B.S. from Southwest Missouri State University. Ed is a veteran litigator whose practice spans class actions, unfair business practices, professional negligence, insurance coverage, bad faith, toxic torts, serious personal in...

Geoffrey M. Thorne is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Geoffrey 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 Geoffrey M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Cecilia O’Connell Miller is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Diego Office. She is Co-Chair of the Insurance Law practice group and a Member of the Firm’s Board of Directors. Ms. Miller’s practice encompasses trial and appellate representation of her policyholder clients in arbitrations, state courts and federal courts across the country. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and pre-litigation counseling with an emphasis on insurance coverage recovery f...

William P. Harris III is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. William P., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2017. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which William P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David S. Casey, Jr., a senior partner in the firm, has practiced for over 30 years in the area of serious personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He has been recognized as Lawyer of the Year by the San Diego County Bar Association, listed in "Best Lawyers in America,” and named by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California. In 2003, Mr. Casey was elected by his peers to be the president of the 65,000 member Association of Trial Lawyers of America. (...

Lonny Zilberman has been practicing employment law for over 30 years and is a partner in the firm's Employment Law Practice Group. Lonny works with employers to find practical, cost-effective strategies to their workplace problems. Lonny is an expert storyteller. Every organization has a story to tell: the value created for customers; the contributions made to communities; the opportunities created for employees. If an employer is not telling their story well, then an adversary will tell a di...

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. ...

In his practice, HFM Partner James “Jim” Peterson focuses on business and employment litigation. Mr. Peterson advises and litigates disputes for a number of business clients on various aspects of the employment relationship, including misappropriation of trade secrets and proprietary information, protection of customer lists and employees, discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of contract, wage and hour laws, and wrongful termination. Mr. Peterson is an expert on employment-re...

Alreen Haeggquist is the Managing Partner at Haeggquist & Eck, LLP. Motivated by the pains of her childhood, Alreen became a lawyer and has been standing up for those who have suffered sexual assault, sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation for 20 years. Alreen is a best-selling author of Fired Up: Fueling Triumph from Trauma. She shares her deeply personal story of childhood abuse and the steps she took to overcome the long-lasting effects. Her lived experience and trauma-info...