Best Lawyers Near You in Encinitas, California for Commercial Litigation
Erwin Shustak is the founder and Managing Partner of the Firm. He heads the Litigation and Arbitration Department, with over 40 years of extensive experience in a wide variety of complex disputes and transactions, across the country and overseas. Mr. Shustak specializes in litigations, trials, arbitrations and appeals of complex securities, financial and business disputes, with a particular emphasis in the areas of securities and financial services and regulation law. Few attorneys have the d...
Douglas A. Pettit has extensive trial and litigation experience in the areas of civil litigation, business litigation, and professional liability. He has tried over 50 cases in California. His extraordinary record of favorable outcomes and exemplary client service has resulted in recognition by his peers over the years. He was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2007 as the youngest member of the San Diego Chapter and has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating f...
Dan Mogin was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1980. He is also admitted in The Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth, Seventh and Second Circuits and the United States District Courts for the Southern, Central and Northern Districts of California. Mr. Mogin’s practice concentrates on antitrust, unfair competition and complex business litigation. He has been selected as lead or liaison counsel in numerous cases and has also freque...
Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr. is a founding partner of Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire. He specializes in plaintiffs' litigation with an emphasis in business disputes, condemnation, and major injury cases. A tenacious litigator, Bartolotta is recognized annually by Woodward/White as one of the Best Lawyers in America -- a recognition he's received every year since 1987. "There's really no secret about what I do," he says, "I really do care for my clients; each case gets a piece of my soul." Bartolot...
Nancy L. Stagg is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and vice chair of the Litigation Department for the San Diego office. Her practice emphasizes the defense of consumer class actions, unfair competition and false advertising litigation, as well as a wide variety of business and intellectual property litigation, including trade secret litigation. Ms. Stagg also has a background in product liability litigation. She has represented numerous publicly-held and private companies in nationwide...
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 ...
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...
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...
John D. Drdek is an associate in the Firm’s San Diego office and a member of both the Litigation and Labor & Employment Groups. His practice focuses on representing employers in complex litigation, including wage-and-hour class and representative actions, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, and multi-million dollar employment disputes. John has successfully defended clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries. John is experienced in a...
Joseph A. Gonnella is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Litigation - Labor and Employment and Transportation Law. Joseph A., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joseph A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
A creative and driven problem-solver, Janice Chase is a litigation attorney who supports clients from a variety of industries. Janice is passionate about understanding clients’ objectives and working to find efficient, dynamic, and tailored solutions. She frequently assists with many of the different stages of litigation, including research, discovery, and motion drafting Through her pro bono work, she has also gained experience in direct assistance and communication with a wide variety...
Zagros S. Bassirian is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Securities. Zagros S., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Zagros S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jacob Speckhard is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Jacob, 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 Jacob is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Gaia T. Linehan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Gaia T., 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 Gaia T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Leticia Butler (“Tia”) is a member of our business and employment litigation groups handling individual, class, representative and collective actions. Tia is a civil litigator who has been practicing in State and Federal Courts throughout California since her admission to the Bar in 2007. Tia has represented individual and entity clients in a wide array of business sectors and is experienced in all stages of litigation, including jury and bench trials, as well as arbitration. She ...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.