Spencer A. "Spence" Burkholz

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.

Daniel T. Pascucci is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Intellectual Property. Daniel T., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Daniel T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jeffrey Padilla is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jeffrey, who practices law in Encinitas, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeffrey 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...

Known for being a clear thinker and articulate writer, HFM Partner John Morris uses his expertise to creatively negotiate compensation, representing plaintiffs and defendants as both appellants and respondents. Mr. Morris' practice is devoted exclusively to civil appeals, and during his nearly 38 years at HFM, he has served as lead appellate counsel in hundreds of cases in California Courts of Appeal and in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. He has also appeared before the California Supreme ...

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...

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.

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...

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...