Stewart R. Albertson

Chris Hoffman is the founding and managing partner of the San Diego office. He has represented hundreds of employers in matters ranging from class action litigation, to traditional labor matters and general employment advice. While litigation remains a significant portion of his practice, Chris also spends a significant amount of time counseling clients regarding day-to-day employment issues and assisting them to find practical and proactive solutions to their legal problems. Chris was select...

Michael J. Gleason is an AV-rated trial and appellate lawyer with over 20 years of experience handling key areas of business litigation, including consumer class action defense, California’s Proposition 65, product liability, fraud, real estate, escrow, and title insurance. He serves as Partner-in-Charge of Hahn Loeser’s San Diego office, is founder of the firm’s Proposition 65 defense group, and a member of the San Diego Litigation Team, which is ranked among the Top Tier P...

Mike Hird is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law and Venture Capital Law. Mike, who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mike is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Catherine M. McBain is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. Catherine 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 Catherine M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal pra...

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...

Kenneth M. Fitzgerald is a highly experienced trial lawyer, practicing business litigation with an emphasis on complex commercial cases and intellectual property disputes. Before joining the firm, Mr. Fitzgerald was a partner at Latham & Watkins, where he successfully tried numerous cases to verdict in state and federal courts throughout the country. Mr. Fitzgerald has handled a wide variety of commercial litigation matters involving contracts, business torts, trademarks, trade dress, cop...

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...

Michael Patrick Hernandez is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of 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.

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...

Robert Wright is a founding partner of the firm and has a long history of successfully representing corporate, governmental, and individual clients in a wide range of cases involving unfair competition, product liability, antitrust, securities, corporate, banking, fidelity bond, real estate, trust and estate, and employment, constitutional, and admiralty law. He has considerable experience with complex procedural matters, including mass tort, coordinated, and class actions. In addition to rep...