Best Lawyers in California, United States for Litigation - Real Estate
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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...
Jeffrey E. Essner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Real Estate. Jeffrey E., who practices law in San Jose, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeffrey E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ryan W. Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Real Estate. Ryan W., who practices law in Irvine, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ryan W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Norman H. Levine is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Real Estate. Norman H., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Norman H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Harvey Rochman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Real Estate. Harvey, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Harvey is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
David C. Palmer is a Senior Attorney with extensive litigation experience and proven record of delivering results for his clients. Mr. Palmer specializes in high-stakes business and real estate litigation as well as civil rights, environmental, and governmental tort litigation. Mr. Palmer received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara with majors in Law and Society and Cultural Anthropology. He then received his J.D. from Loyola Law School, where he was a two-year member o...
John Fairbrook is a shareholder of Trainor Fairbrook and Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. Mr. Fairbrook is a highly regarded litigator having successfully tried, arbitrated, and resolved hundreds of real estate and commercial litigation matters throughout California. His litigation practice focuses on commercial real estate, leasing, construction and real estate development. Over the course of his 35-year career, Mr. Fairbrook has tried numerous jury trials to verdict, both in...
Michael G. Balmages, Esq. is an accomplished mediator and discovery referee with extensive experience as a trial lawyer, general counsel, and transactional lawyer. As a mediator and as a neutral, he has had great success in helping litigants resolve their disputes in more than 1,500 cases. His friendly nature and ability to find common ground both contribute to his easy rapport with litigants and their attorneys, while his determination to get cases settled is evident at each hearing. He is c...
Ann S. Lee is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Real Estate. Ann S., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ann S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
For over twenty years, Mr. Gibson has represented numerous types of clients, small and large, local and international, in all types of commercial disputes. Mr. Gibson’s direct approach as a business litigator and advisor has delivered successful results in commercial, construction and real estate disputes. His balanced practice includes representation of local, national and international companies, as well as individuals. Previously, he co-chaired the San Diego County Bar Association&rs...
Jonathan B. Sokol is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Insurance and Litigation - Real Estate. Jonathan B., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jonathan B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jay Ross is Co-chair of Hopkins & Carley’s Litigation Department. He handles contract, fulfillment, and payment disputes as well as real estate disputes, including construction, purchase and sale transactions, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, easements, and land use. A wide variety of businesses associated with the real estate industry rely on Jay to apply his years of business litigation experience and practical approach to solve their problems. These include: Commercial genera...
Nathan M. Spatz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Real Estate. Nathan M., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Nathan M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
W. Allan Edmiston is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Intellectual Property and Litigation - Real Estate. W. Allan, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which W. Allan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Betty Shumener is one of the three founding partners of Shumener, Odson & Oh LLP. Ms. Shumener represents some of the nation’s elite private equity firms, opportunity funds and financial institutions. As a commercial litigator, Ms. Shumener has protected billion of dollars of real estate and corporate assets for equity and debt investors dating back to the Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980’s and evolving into the opportunity funds and investment banking firms. Ms. Shume...
Ira G. Rivin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Banking and Finance and Litigation - Real Estate. Ira G., who practices law in Irvine, California, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ira G. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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.