Oakland Lawyers

Otis greatly enjoys learning languages. He speaks both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. He believes that with increasing globalization, people need to get to know one another; a good way to start is to learn each other's language. Before practicing law, Otis lived in countries as diverse as Spain, Argentina, Japan, China and Ecuador. He received two bachelor's degrees (in Philosophy and Linguistics) from Washington State University, and he later received his law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. While at Golden Gate, Otis received various honors and awards and placed among the top of...

Mr. Yoo's practice focuses on tax and bankruptcy litigation. He has represented clients in both criminal and civil cases against the California Franchise Tax Board, State Board of Equalization and Employment Development Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He has handled matters including IRS and sales tax audits, tax fraud investigations, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) and innocent spouse claims. Mr. Yoo also represents debtors and creditors in Chapter 7, 11 & 13 bankruptcy proceedings, including tax bankruptcy cases.

Leaders In Personal Injury Litigation In the aftermath of a life-altering injury caused by someone else’s negligent or reckless actions, you and the people you love face many challenges. You will face a grueling recovery process with no guarantee of living the life you once lived. In addition, you will need significant financial resources to compensate you for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages. It is important to understand that the lawyer you select in your personal injury claim matters a great deal. For many decades, individuals and families across Oakland, the Bay Area, Central Valley and...

I am licensed to practice law before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Board of Immigration Appeals, California State Courts, the Federal District Court for Northern California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

I received my undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara with honors and my Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University School of Law, including certificates of specialization with distinction in international and business law.

I formerly served as a media liaison for the Northern California Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and was a professor of immigration and criminal...

Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is a co-author of California Government Tort Liability Practice, published by California Continuing Education of the Bar. He has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Andy’s case results include many recoveries for his clients in excess of $1,000,000.

The Nieves Law Firm founder Jo-Anna Nieves takes the "criminal" out of criminal defense, and her results speak for themselves. Jo-Anna has been recognized by multiple awards agencies for her exemplary legal work, having been named the Best Criminal Defense Attorney and the Best DUI Lawyer in Oakland by Expertise.com in 2023, as well as being recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star for the past 7 years. Oakland Magazine also named her a Top 5 Attorney in their annual "Best of Oakland" awards. Her award-winning legal work extends beyond the criminal defense realm as Jo-Anna has been cited in multiple...

I believe that the Bankruptcy Court is one of the few places in out legal system where ordinary people can go for real relief. I am dedicated to helping people throughout the Bay Area access that relief. I earned my undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and I earned my law degree at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. While in law school, I was Articles Editor at the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, and I graduated in 2006. I spent my first two years practicing antitrust/consumer...

John Hill has been representing injured individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area for over fifty years. John is a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and a Board Certified Civil Pretrial Advocate by the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy. John's areas of practice include Personal Injury Law; Wrongful Death; Products Liability Law; Medical Malpractice; Premises Liability; Employment Litigation; Torts; General Civil Trial Practice; and Commercial Litigation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Hill is also a member of ABOTA (The...

I began practicing law in 1990. Prior to beginning my career, I attended UCLA from 1983-1987 with a B.A. in History. I then attended the University of California College of the Law San Francisco from 1987 to 1990. I have also been a licensed California Real Estate Broker since 1996. My main practice areas include Probate and Trust Administration, and full-service Real Estate attorney and broker services. I have brokered hundreds of real estate transactions throughout the Bay Area since 1996. Call me for a free consultation at 510.292.0193. If you prefer...

Summit Defense is the Bay Area's premiere Criminal Defense Firm. We have gathered an experienced team of attorneys with over 120 years of combined and diverse experience and background that works together to get you the best results. Call to speak with an attorney now.

Vincent Tong is an award winning, community oriented lawyer. He is the founder of TONG LAW, an employment business law firm located in beautiful downtown Oakland, California. Vincent exclusively represents employees in employment litigation and businesses in business-to-business disputes. In his business transactions practice, Vincent counsels individuals on forming and growing their social ventures. Connect with Vincent online at www.tong-law.com.

Over his 18 years of practice in the Bay Area, Kevin Martin has developed a reputation as a fair- minded but tough negotiator representing client’s interests in intellectual property, business, real estate and personal injury actions. Kevin’s practice includes trademark, copyright and patent litigation, prosecution, licensing, business disputes, commercial litigation, personal injury claims, employer/employee disputes, trade secret and unfair competition claims, real estate litigation, contract disputes, and general advice and counsel. Mr. Martin maintains a regular blog on legal and other issues at www.landshark5000.wordpress.com. Mr. Martin regularly appears in both State and Federal Courts throughout California, before the Trademark...

Jesse Lloyd is a certified specialist in immigration and nationality law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and has helped certify new specialists as a member California State Bar Immigration and Nationality Law Advisory Council. He is a past chair of the Alameda County Bar Association Immigration Section, American Immigration Lawyers Association national ICE liaison committee, and Northern California Chapter. He has appeared on numerous television, web, and radio stories regarding immigration matters.
Jesse focuses on family-based immigration, removal defense, naturalization, asylum, and the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.

Attorney Elliot Silver is a seasoned and experienced veteran criminal defense attorney. Since the age of five, Elliot always knew he wanted to be in court fighting for justice. Elliot is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. Elliot has a reputation for getting his clients the results they want, whether it’s case dismissed, a fair and reasonable plea deal, or hearing a jury say “Not Guilty". Elliot has represented thousands of clients in various criminal matters and continues to provide inimitable dedication and unparalleled tenacity for his clients.

Sally is now retired and living in Palm Springs. She is keeping her license active to allow her to do Pro Bono work with local Bar Associations.

Bryan Schwartz is an Oakland, California-based attorney dedicated to helping employees protect their rights in the workplace. He has fought prohibited discrimination, retaliation, and harassment, obtained reasonable accommodations for disabled employees, vindicated whistleblowers' rights, and ensured that corporations pay workers all wages they are owed. He has successfully litigated individual and class action complaints nationwide, helping to recover millions of dollars for thousands of employees, forcing corporations and Government agencies to change their practices and punish wrongdoers. Bryan Schwartz is also one of the few Bay Area-based attorneys with extensive experience representing Federal employees in their unique Merit Systems...

Colby Dean LaVelle II proudly manages LaVelle Law Offices with the personal attention of a boutique law firm but with the resources of larger law firms. An honored graduate of Santa Clara University of Law, Mr. LaVelle has dedicated his career to the pursuit of justice. He began his legal career working for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. Following his success litigating criminal matters, Mr. LaVelle started the LaVelle Law Offices. Now with eight locations across California, The LaVelle Law Offices is an incarnation of Mr. LaVelle's desire to serve the public, as he...

As a former Deputy District Attorney and Deputy Public Defender who has litigated thousands of cases, including misdemeanors and felonies, I know how to fight for you. My background includes adult and juvenile cases, as well as serious and violent felonies and three-strikes cases.

I am also an experienced civil litigator with a corporate and white-collar litigation background at a prestigious "big law" firm who switched sides to sue corporations and other entities (including insurance companies, police departments, governments, and others) on behalf of individuals to obtain justice for my clients.

As a result, I have seen firsthand how corporations and...

Representing injured workers exclusively since 1995.

I worked as a trucker for 20 years before I attended law school. I was motivated by a strong desire to serve the public. I graduated from a small, public-interest law school in San Francisco, where I had volunteered in the Housing Clinic that defended tenants from evictions. I am one of a very few Bay Area bankruptcy lawyers who does loan modifications through our bankruptcy court's program. I am also one of the very few who takes creditors to court when they violate bankruptcy laws and cause harm to my clients. Before bankruptcy law,...

As an attorney, Matthew Grech began his career as a civil litigator. From there Mr. Grech transitioned into estate planning and probate & estate administration. As an estate planning/administration attorney Mr. Grech has assisted numerous clients manage trust and estate administrations from inception to closing, as well as guiding and facilitating the planning process. It was during this time that Mr. Grech realized that a number of his clients’ family members and friends were facing mounting financial troubles in the wake of The Great Recession. It was this realization that motivated Mr. Grech to begin practicing bankruptcy law, which...

I am an aggressive Northern California Injury attorney. My practice areas include Personal Injury, Vehicle Accidents, Sexual Abuse and Elder Abuse matters. I am dedicated to pursuing justice and maximum compensation for injuries or wrongful death. I provide attentive and comprehensive representation focused on helping my clients get their lives back in order. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family. My interests include biking, hiking, watching Japanese Anime, and also making pop-up cards.

Known for her expert representation of California’s senior executives and their spouses, Kiana protects her clients in high asset divorces and contested custody cases. In her twenty years of legal practice, Kiana has negotiated and litigated the full spectrum of disputes that occur in financially sophisticated divorces and contested custody cases. Kiana graduated Cornell Law School with a concentration in business law. Prior to finding her passion in family law, she was a business litigator at Reed Smith LLP one of the nation’s 20 largest global law firms. She has a B.A in psychology from UC Berkeley and has taken countless negotiation trainings at...

Lynn Sherrell is in solo-practice in Berkeley California, following a dozen years in San Francisco law firms practicing personal injury, products' liability and worker's compensation law. Lynn has achieved a Specialization in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law of the State Bar of California Department of Legal Specialization. Lynn is client oriented and serves individuals, families, small businesses and small owner investors in many aspects of civil law and litigation. When you need an advocate on your side, get a woman on your case. Lynn is a graduate of Golden Gate University Law School with an emphasis in public interest...

Ms. Madueña is an expert immigration lawyer in the Bay Area handling a wide range of immigration matters, including complex cases with criminal issues. The bulk of her practice focuses on family-based immigration and removal defense. She has successfully argued for the release of clients in immigration detention, and has obtained Adjustment of Status, Asylum, and Cancellation of Removal for her clients against the government in Immigration Court. Ms. Madueña has also obtained Lawful Permanent Residency, Asylum, Naturalization, NACARA, and Waivers before the immigration office. Notably, when she was a first-year associate, Ms. Madueña presented a complex criminal and...

California Civil Appeals, State & Federal

Myron Moskovitz served as law clerk to Justice Raymond E. Peters of the California Supreme Court. He is the author of Winning An Appeal (Carolina Academic Press, 4th ed.) and Moskovitz On Appeal (LexisNexis, 2015). He has handled and consulted on many appeals, both in state and federal courts. Although appellate courts reverse in civil cases only about 20% of the time, he has won reversals in more than 70% of his civil cases in which he represented appellants.

He is Professor of Law Emeritus...

Phyllis Voisenat, Esq. is an attorney and counselor at law. You can retain her as your attorney to handle your case from start to finish, or you can hire her for limited matters. She can be retained for matters from Sacramento to San Jose, pertaining to fraud, real estate, contracts, business formation, operations.

Jonathan Siegel, the founding partner of Siegel LeWitter Malkani has spent over thirty years representing employees. His experience runs the full range of cases from individual jury trials to class actions to arbitration and administrative hearings. Jonathan has enjoyed outstanding success in all forums, while building an enviable reputation as a formidable advocate, but one whose word can be trusted.

Jonathan has successfully tried individual cases to juries, judges and arbitrators. He has received substantial six and seven figure jury awards in discrimination cases related to age (Tetzchner v. Unitank - Contra Costa), pregnancy (Byer v. Haider - San Francisco) and...

I represent employees in their disputes with their employers, and victims of personal injury. I take the time to get to know the unique story of each client, and understand how termination, injury, or other unlawful conduct has affected their life. I represent women who have been terminated because of pregnancy or because they have taken time off to care for their children. I represent older workers who have been terminated after many years of loyal service. I also help clients who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents or other incidents of negligence.

Latika Malkani joined Siegel LeWitter Malkani in 1996, and since then has fought to preserve and enforce the rights of women and men working in a variety of professions. Latika's advocacy has included tireless representation of employees seeking justice and improved conditions in the workplace. Latika has a proven record of successful results, and has helped hundreds of employees establish better working conditions, negotiate severance and post-separation packages, as well as obtain fair and just compensation through enforcement of state and federal laws. Latika believes that no employee should be made to suffer inequality or humiliation in order to earn...

Scott Cole is the founder and principal attorney at Cole & Van Note, one of California's best-known and most highly-respected employment and consumer rights class action law firms. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law (1992), and San Francisco State University (B.A., Speech Communications; 1989). He is a member of the California State Bar and the State Bar’s Labor and Employment Law Section, is admitted to practice before all California federal courts (including the 6th and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals), has prosecuted cases in numerous states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida,...

"I am dedicated to my clients and work hard to achieve the results needed in every case." I represent clients across various counties including San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Napa, San Joaquin, and all other Northern California Counties. No case is too big, and no case is too small. Each case holds particular significance to the client and deserves 110% effort. This is what I do! We handle everything from traffic stop signs, to DMV suspensions, to DUI cases, to serious felonies.

Gregory S. Hartman is an attorney, CPA, and Certified Insolvency & Restructuring Advisor (credential pending). Mr. Hartman's practice involves representing both debtors and creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. He has expertise in chapter 11 businesses reorganization. Prior to starting Hartman Bankruptcy Law, Mr. Hartman represented secured creditors and trustees in bankruptcy cases. Mr. Hartman also worked for the United States Trustee's Office where he worked in an oversight role of chapter 11 cases and trustee administration. Mr. Hartman is a long-time resident of the Bay Area, living in the East Bay with his wife...

Mr. Wood began his legal career with the view of developing a personally rewarding practice by working directly with individuals and families. He draws upon his financial background to apply creative approaches to complex Bankruptcy issues. Mr. Wood currently provides Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 services to his clients. Prior to establishing his firm, Mr. Wood worked at a prominate Bankruptcy Law Firm counseling clients in the areas of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and in Consumer Litigation. Mr. Wood has also worked as a project manager for Morgan Stanley Capital International and in portfolio management at Mellon...

Mitchell Barraza serves as a contract attorney with Lamano Law Office, bringing with him valuable experience from his time as a Volunteer Attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. There, he represented clients facing misdemeanor charges such as DUI, vandalism, firearm offenses, battery, and drug-related cases. Recognized by the National Trial Lawyers, Mr. Barraza has been honored as one of California’s Top 40 under 40 Criminal Defense Lawyers. A significant portion of his clients have been people of color, many of whom are Spanish-speaking, and he is dedicated to helping them overcome challenging periods in their lives. Driven by...

Spencer practices employment, civil rights and personal injury law. He is dedicated to representing employees in employment disputes and individuals and their families in personal injury cases.

Since 2005, Spencer has litigated discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour, retaliation, and other employment disputes, such as contract breach and commission cases. He also litigates vehicle accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, and civil rights claims. His legal experience dates back to 1996. He has appeared in Northern District Federal Courts, California State Superior Courts, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Merit...

Daniel Vaswani is the founder and principal attorney of Red Metric Law, a full-service, criminal defense law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area with central offices located in San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward, Redwood City, and San Jose. He is a business, criminal, and social security benefits lawyer.

Mr. Vaswani graduated from Loyola Law School where he studied Corporate Law. During his third year of law school, his work at a juvenile defense clinic sparked his interest in criminal law. Upon graduating, he practiced corporate law and realized there was a void in his life—criminal and DUI defense. He decided...