Murchison & Cumming Names Three New Partners and an Associate Partner

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that James Kahn, Todd Lezon, Georgiana Nikias have been elevated to Partner and Jeffrey Fishkin has been elevated to Associate Partner.

James N. Kahn is based in the Los Angeles office of focusing his practice on general liability, product defect and premises liability defense. He is experienced in handling a wide array of personal injury matters, public entity defense, business/commercial litigation, and intellectual property. Mr. Kahn has produced significant results for large companies as well as small businesses and individual proprietors.

Todd G. Lezon is based in the Los Angeles office focusing his practice on transportation liability. Mr. Lezon represents defendants in all stages of civil litigation in commercial auto, personal auto, habitability, and products liability cases. Before law school, Todd served in the U.S. Army as a non-commissioned officer and deployed to Iraq twice to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Georgiana A. Nikias is based in the Los Angeles office focusing her practice business litigation, employment law, products liability, general liability, intellectual property, art law, and commercial real estate litigation. Throughout her career, Ms. Nikias has represented clients ranging from corporations and insurance companies to business owners and artists.

Jeffrey A. Fishkin is based in the Los Angeles office focusing his practice on transportation matters. He has experience handling cases related to products liability, premises liability, trucking, complex multi-party matters, and high exposure personal injury matters.

About Murchison & Cumming

Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier “Go-To” civil litigation firm with multiple offices throughout California and Nevada. Our attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers, and high net-worth individuals, at trial and on appeal. Additionally, the firm’s attorneys handle employment matters and business transactions. Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a member of the USLAW Network and other prestigious bench and bar organizations, including the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Five M&C Attorneys Named 2023 Southern California Super Lawyers

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Senior Partners Friedrich W. Seitz, Guy R. Gruppie, Jean A. Dalmore, and Partners James O. Eiler and Gina Och have been recognized as 2023 Southern California Super Lawyer honorees in the annual vote of peers and area judiciary conducted by Thomson Reuters.

Mr. Seitz specializes in domestic and international product liability, aviation, catastrophic injuries and business litigation and is a specialist in defending Wildland Fire cases representing public utility companies. He served as Managing Partner of the firm from 1986 to 2007 and is being recognized by Super Lawyers 19th consecutive year.

Mr. Gruppie is one of California’s leading defense attorneys, specializing in complex, major injury and high-profile litigation. He is being recognized as a Super Lawyer for the 15th consecutive year. Mr. Gruppie’s diverse portfolio of clients include several of the world’s leading casualty insurance carriers, large and small businesses including entertainment and media companies, celebrities, athletes and other high net-worth individuals. He is a popular speaker and author on tort, trial and civil justice issues.

Ms. Dalmore specializes in the area of construction litigation, including breach of contract and construction defect, representing developers, general contractors, sub-contractors, design professionals, manufacturers and material suppliers in all fields of construction. She also practices in the area of professional liability representing brokers and agents in the areas of real estate, insurance, and business, as well as accountants and other professionals in malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty actions. She is being recognized as a Super Lawyer for the fourth time.

Mr. Eiler has become one of California’s most recognized hospitality law attorneys specializing in a variety of hospitality matters including general negligence, premises liability, food borne illness and foreign objects, Legionella and other toxic torts, civil rights, ADA, franchise litigation and many more. He is being recognized as a Super Lawyer for the second consecutive time.

Ms. Och focuses her practice on law & motion and appeals, as well as public utilities, class action, unfair business practices and consumer rights, intellectual property, entertainment/media companies, and business litigation. This is her first time being recognized as a Super Lawyer.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have been chosen by their peers and through independent research of Law & Politics. The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Only the top 5% of attorneys in each state or region are honored as Super Lawyers.

Murchison & Cumming Welcomes Associate to Los Angeles Office

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce Tarik J. Shoukeh has joined the Los Angeles office as an Associate focusing his practice on general liability matters.

Tarik received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Theological Studies from Loyola Marymount University before earning his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Tarik became interested in studying law. To gain footing in the legal field, he worked part-time as an office correspondent in the M&C filing and records department until he started law school. While in law school, Tarik was an associate editor for the San Diego International Law Journal and a business law society member. He received a certificate in Mediation and Arbitration from the National Conflict Resolution Center for his participation in an experimental Mediation Skills class.

Murchison & Cumming Welcomes Partner to Northern California Office

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce Laura J. Loeck has joined the Northern California office as a Partner. She has extensive experience in general liability matters, including wrongful death, premises liability, construction and design defect, fire loss, bodily injury, and landlord-tenant disputes. Laura has represented business entities, public entities, individuals, developers, contractors, homeowner associations, and property managers, among others.

Laura grew up in Nebraska and moved to the Chicago area to pursue her B.A. in psychology with a minor in legal studies at Northwestern University. She earned her law degree cum laude at the John Marshall Law School, now known as the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, before moving to California in 2015. While in law school, she received CALI Awards in Torts and Labor Law, awarded to the highest-scoring student in each law school class. She was recognized as a John Marshall Distinguished Scholar and Fred F. Herzog Scholar for her overall academic accomplishments in her legal studies.

Murchison & Cumming, LLP Named to U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2023 List

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Murchison & Cumming has received a Metropolitan Tier 2 ranking in Los Angeles for Appellate Practice and Litigation – Insurance, San Diego for Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, and Las Vegas for Commercial Litigation and a National Tier 3 ranking for our Appellate Practice in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list for 2023.

“Best Law Firms” is “based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.” Best Lawyers is “the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession.”

Founded by R. Bruce Murchison in 1930, M&C is an AV-rated AmLaw 500 “Go To” law firm for litigation in California and Nevada. We represent domestic and international businesses, insurers, professionals and individuals in litigated, non-litigated and transactional matters. With more than 85 attorneys in our six offices, we are large enough to provide clients with the resources of a large firm while ensuring the level of personalized service one would expect to receive from a small firm.

Seven Murchison & Cumming Lawyers Recognized by 2023 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

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Michael Nuñez , Anton Handal, William Snyder, Bryan Ure, and Tyler Ure have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2023. Joshua Praw and Georgiana Nikias have been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Michael J. Nuñez is a Senior Partner and the Partner-in-Charge of M&C’s Las Vegas office and is a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Mr. Nuñez focuses his practice on general and professional liability litigation, hospitality, HOA, D&O, breaches of fiduciary duties, corporate litigation, contract disputes, and employment related matters.

Anton N. Handal is a Partner in the San Diego office and heads up the firm’s Business Transactions and IP Practice Groups. His practice focuses on business transactions including M&A and corporate structures. Mr. Handal also specializes in handling complex business disputes involving the Lanham Act, patent infringement, breaches of fiduciary duty, partnership break-ups, professional liability, products liability, anti-trust, and trade secrets litigation.

William J. Snyder is a Partner in the San Diego office and is the co-chair of the firm’s Food Borne Illness Practice Group. He focuses his practice on defending civil litigation lawsuits, including cases involving foodborne illness, product liability, catastrophic injury, maritime liability, general liability, representation of public entities, environmental law/toxic torts, professional liability, and employment litigation.

Bryan J. Ure is a Partner in the Las Vegas office focusing his practice on defense litigation in the areas of construction, business, products liability, and healthcare.

Tyler N. Ure is Senior Associate in the Las Vegas office focusing his practice on insurance coverage and general liability. He also has experience in all areas of commercial litigation as well as creditor’s rights.

Joshua W. Praw is a Partner in the Los Angeles office focusing his practice on commercial general liability, products liability, toxic tort, and construction defect. Mr. Praw Co-Chair’s the firm’s Summer Associate Program and Post-Bar Law Clerk Program where he trains, mentors, and oversees the firm’s summer associates and post-bar law clerks.

Georgiana A. Nikias is an Associate Partner in the Los Angeles office. She has experience in business litigation, trademark litigation, copyright litigation, employment law, products liability, general liability, art law, and commercial real estate litigation.

Best Lawyers is “the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession. Recognition in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.”

Murchison & Cumming Welcomes Of Counsel to Northern California Office

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce Marisa L. D’Amico has joined the Northern California office as Of Counsel, focusing her practice on premises liability, professional liability and construction defect. She has more than 20 years of experience handling all aspects of litigation in products and premises liability, as well as construction and homeowner’s association disputes.

Marisa received two bachelor’s degrees in French and International Relations from the University of Southern California before attending Pepperdine Law School. She is trilingual, speaking, in addition to English, French and Italian. Traveling extensively and learning other languages and cultures has enabled her to be open-minded, communicate with, and relate to her clients from all different backgrounds. She excels at creative alternatives to traditional negotiating and strives for early resolution of cases, to alleviate stress for her clients. Her clients appreciate that they can trust her to handle their legal matters and know she will remain in the trenches with them until she achieves a positive result.

Murchison & Cumming Welcomes Of Counsel to Los Angeles Office

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce Amelia Sedano McDonald has joined the Los Angeles office Of Counsel focusing her practice on transportation, utility, land use and permitting, and cannabis matters. She has more than 20 years of experience in civil litigation and has also spent the last 10 years cultivating an urban farm in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Amelia’s clients appreciate her unique perspective as a small business owner who understands the challenges businesses face when navigating the legal landscape.

Coming from a bi-racial, bi-cultural, and progressive family interested in the arts and politics, Amelia chose to practice law to make small acts of progress and make a difference in our legal system. Her strengths are utilizing self-awareness and experience to evaluate claims better, navigating relationships with opposing Counsel, and effectively communicating with carriers and clients. She prides herself in evaluating her cases effectively with integrity, and her clients know she will always give them an honest and experienced evaluation of their cases.

Amelia graduated from the University of Arizona School of law after receiving her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. While in law school, she clerked for Judge B. Velasco, Arizona Superior Court, and was awarded the Ares Fellowship for teaching first-year law students research and writing.

Four M&C Attorneys Named to Southern California Rising Stars List

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that Partners Kelsey Maxwell, Joshua Praw, and Tina Vo and Associate Partner Georgiana Nikias have been selected to the 2022 Southern California Rising Stars list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in Southern California.

Kelsey L. Maxwell is a Partner in the Los Angeles office focusing her practice on the areas of general liability, product liability and specialty tort including habitability and discrimination claims. She is a graduate of The University of Arizona (B.A.) and Chapman University, Dale E. Fowler School of Law (J.D.).

Joshua W. Praw is a Partner in the Los Angeles office focusing his practice in the area of commercial general liability, products liability, construction defect, and toxic tort. Mr. Praw is a graduate of University of San Diego School of Law (J.D.) and University of Wisconsin – Madison (B.A. in History).

Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Praw Co-Chair the firm’s Summer Associate Program and Post-Bar Law Clerk Program where they train, mentor, and oversee the firm’s summer associates and post-bar law clerks.

Tina H. Vo is a Partner in the Los Angeles office. She has experience in products liability, business torts, commercial, and transportation litigation. Ms. Vo is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University (B.A.) and University of Miami School of Law (J.D.). Ms. Vo is a member of the California and Florida bars.

Georgiana A. Nikias is an Associate Partner in the Los Angeles office. She has experience in business litigation, employment law, products liability, general liability, art law, IP litigation, and commercial real estate litigation. Ms. Nikias is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law (B.A. and J.D.) and Oxford University (M.St.).

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

Murchison & Cumming Welcomes Of Counsel to Los Angeles Office

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce Bonni S. Mantovani has joined the Los Angeles office as Of Counsel. In her legal career, she has represented major banks, lenders and servicers in civil matters as well as in contested and adversarial bankruptcy litigation.

Bonni graduated from Adelphi University in New York with a Bachelor of Science before continuing onto the SCALE program at Southwestern University School of Law. She views practicing law as a dynamic art that is constantly evolving, and her clients appreciate her tenacity and avid problem-solving. After many years in bankruptcy litigation, the birth of her daughter’s twins changed her career trajectory. Bonni made the transition back to civil litigation defense to enjoy the balance of pursuing her legal profession while also spending time with her family.

Bonni was recognized in the January 2020 edition of DS News’s “Top 25 Women in Mortgage Legal Servicing,” and she is also a member of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association. She has volunteered as Pro Bono for Bet Tzedek Legal Services and was a Small Claims Court Judge Pro Tem.