Portola Valley Lawyers

Representing injured workers exclusively since 1995.

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...

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...

James H. (Jim) Gulseth was born and attended high school in Devils Lake, North Dakota and graduated with an A.B. degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Jim earned his JD degree at the University of California Hastings School of Law in San Francisco and is admitted to practice in the State of California and before the Federal District Court, Northern District of California, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. He is a member of the Corporations, Business Transactions, Securities and Tax and Intellectual Property Sections of the State Bar of California. Jim’s reported cases include...

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...

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...

Former prosecutor. Experienced criminal, DUI, and juvenile defense attorney across California from North to South. Marc also represents people in Restraining Order cases.

Heidi Machen has been an attorney since 1996 when she graduated from University of California Hastings College of the Law and passed the California Bar Exam. Prior to hanging her shingle as a sole practitioner in 2008, representing clients in matters of employment and regulatory law, Ms. Machen served in various policy and executive positions in local and Bay Area government.

Among her extracurricular activities, she is an avid cyclist, a Vegan cook, an amateur oil painter, has been known to contribute to theatrical productions on or off stage, and to participate in Democratic party doings. She...

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.

Mr. Rose is dedicated to providing the best legal representation for injured victims and their families in a compassionate, efficient and effective manner. He is a passionate advocate for his clients and resolves most cases in a matter of months, rather than years. He is most widely known as one of the leading bicycle lawyers, pedestrian lawyers, and motorcycle accident lawyers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

You’ve spent your life building your wealth. And no matter how large or how modest – protecting your assets matters. Ivette Santaella understands that estate planning may seem daunting. You might feel uncomfortable talking about what happens after death. Or maybe you’re worried that you don’t understand the laws well enough. Santaella Law Group, APC is here to guide you through your concerns and make estate planning easy. Ivette has more than 30 years of experience talking her clients through their goals, translating and helping them navigate the law, and working with them to come up with a solid plan for...

For over 30 years, Mr. Sparer has successfully represented individuals and businesses in litigation involving securities, contract, insurance, real estate, probate, and trust matters. Sparer Law Group (SLG), Mr. Sparer has obtained over $200 million in settlements, judgments, and recoveries on behalf of securities investors. Mr. Sparer also leads an SLG team that has successfully defended financial professionals and investment funds under investigation by the SEC, FINRA, and the California Department of Business Oversight.

SLG regularly helps resolve sensitive and confidential family disputes involving claims of elder abuse or financial misconduct. In the process, Mr. Sparer has successfully...

Since 2007 our office has been dedicated to representing San Francisco and Sacramento area employees and victims of serious injuries in a wide range of employment, wrongful termination and injury cases. Individual approach to each client and each injury or employment case is what distinguishes us from other attorneys, as we recognize that each case is as different as each person who has been either injured or aggrieved by their employer.

Solving business problems from a legal perspective for technology companies. I have served as a trusted advisor to boards and C-suites in private and public companies for more than 15 years including more than 9 years at Actuate Corporation (NASDAQ:BIRT) as its SVP, GC, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Development until the sale of Actuate to OpenText, Inc in 2015. I have particular expertise with M&A, governance, managing litigation and operational process and policy improvement. A consistent strong performer, I was a securities litigator at Wilson Sonsini and Heller Ehrman and a law clerk at the Federal District Court for the...

Erik Christensen litigates, and provides counsel on, corporate and employment issues in California and the District of Columbia. His experience includes working as a senior associate at top-ranked global law firms, including Littler Mendelson and Greenberg Traurig. Before this, Erik externed at the California Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal, two of the most prestigious opportunities provided to law students in California. Erik also served as a law clerk for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Victim Impact Program (sometimes referred to as the “Special Victims Unit.”) His experience includes years of service with the 101st Airborne’s...

Mr. Kronenberg's practice focuses on: - Catastrophic Injury: including representing people who consumed food allergens or pathogens, as well as workers who used defectively designed or manufactured food processing equipment, victims of traumatic brain injury, spinal cord trauma, nerve damage, and severe orthopedic injuries arising from construction accidents, industrial accidents, dangerous premises, auto accidents, wrongful death, governmental or public entity liability, and professional negligence. Mr. Kronenberg has more than a decade of experience litigating personal injury and product liability cases from their inception through trial and appeal. - Consumer Protection: litigating class action claims arising from...

Gene Takagi is the managing attorney of NEO Law Group, contributing publisher of the Nonprofit Law Blog, and a part-time lecturer at Columbia University. At NEO, Gene has represented over 800 nonprofit organizations on corporate, tax, and charitable trust law matters. Gene is a popular writer on nonprofit legal topics and has been published by The New York Times, The Nonprofit Quarterly, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Nonprofit Times, Taxation of Exempts, EO Tax Journal, and ALI-ABA. He is also a popular speaker who has presented at conferences for Independent Sector, BoardSource, NAAG/National Association of State Charity Officials, CalNonprofits, the...

Ottinger Employment Lawyers specializes in protecting the rights of employees and fighting injustice in the workplace. For over a decade we have represented current and former employees in their pursuit of fair treatment and compensation. We challenge illegal labor practices in companies of all sizes. We help employees benefit from the rights guaranteed to them under state and federal law.

Our firm handles all aspects of employment law including:

Overtime Pay Recovery
Employment Discrimination
Retaliation
Sexual Harassment
Severance Package Negotiation

Ernest C. Brown, ESQ, PE is highly experienced in construction contracts, negotiation, claims preparation, construction litigation, mechanic’s liens, bid protests, public works law and insurance coverage. He has resolved more than 2,500 construction disputes, including complex mediations, arbitrations, litigation, court trials, jury trials, DRB's and other innovative ADR approaches. He is a graduate of MIT in Civil and Environmental Engineering and earned a MS Construction Management and JD from the University of California, Berkeley. He also did graduate coursework at Harvard Law School in International Law. He is a senior construction lawyer and licensed civil engineer. Mr. Brown has...

A monumental civil rights advocate, Attorney Prerna Lal pioneered a robust network of highly-organized and diverse undocumented youth with digital engagement capacity, and fought against the deportations of immigrant community members. This model of organizing spurred immigration organizations across the country to fight against deportations, and laid the groundwork for the Obama Administration’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)” program. For this, Attorney Lal received awards and recognition in the community, including the Changemaker of the Year award from the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). ABC News has listed Lal as among the “Top 20 Immigration Experts to Follow...

The Law Office of Glicel Sumagaysay handles employment matters as follows: *Federal employee, public entity employee, and private employee representation in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), federal court, Department of Fair Housing and Employment (“DFEH”), and state courts; *Claims include wrongful termination; retaliation; discrimination on the basis of disability, race, gender, and other protected statuses; *wage and hour matters with the Department of Labor Standards and Enforcement (“DLSE”) and courts; *small business employer compliance with California and federal law.

Shahrad Milanfar is a Trial Attorney and Mediator who has focused his career on serious personal injury, automotive, asbestos and other types of product liability, transportation/ trucking, and habitability cases. Since the beginning of his career, Shahrad has worked on catastrophic injury cases such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), serious orthopedic injuries, including quadriplegia and paraplegia.

Shahrad gained his trial and courtroom experience while working with the district attorney’s office and as a civil trial attorney. He has handled cases form inception to verdict as the primary trial attorney. Over the past 20+ years, Shahrad has managed serious personal injury and...

Adam McNeile is a managing partner at the law firm of Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg, LLP. Adam has experience litigating a wide variety of consumer protection actions, representing hundreds of individual consumers in their fight for justice against large corporations. His practice focuses on consumer financing and automotive issues, including door-to-door sales scams, warranty law, automotive dealership fraud, elder abuse, and civil rights violations. Adam has extensive experience with fraud related to the sale and financing of solar panels and other home solicitation issues. Adam has been appointed lead counsel in dozens of class actions in both state and federal court....

Private Practice in real estate and business law for 40 years. Court and private mediator for 25 years. AV Rated and Northern California Super Lawyer.

Stuart Tubis is a civil litigator representing clients in a wide range of matters, including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims and intellectual property disputes. Stuart regularly counsels businesses on the full spectrum of ADA compliance and represents their interests in civil litigation and Department of Justice investigations. Stuart has a background in technology, which provides a unique aptitude for web accessibility issues (a subject of increasing importance given recent regulatory action). Stuart has experience in all aspects of litigation, including negotiation, binding-arbitration, trial advocacy, settlement and alternative dispute resolution.

The Law Offices of Douglas Horngrad and Sam O’Keefe have been a preeminent criminal defense firm since 1989, trying cases in the nine Bay Area counties and beyond. Mr. Horngrad is renowned as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the San Francisco Bay Area, widely respected among judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys thanks to his forty four years of experience in state and federal court. Mr. Horngrad is on the cutting edge of criminal law, utilizing novel legal theory and thorough investigation, and is known for his responsiveness, discretion, around-the-clock availability, and total devotion to clients. Mr. Horngrad began...

A California State Bar Certified Specialist in immigration and nationality law, has over 25 years of experience counseling a wide range of corporate and individual clients in areas of employment-related, investment, and family-based visa and immigration matters. He has developed significant expertise and a strong practice focus representing alien entrepreneurs under the EB-5 visa program and counseling U.S. businesses in the development of investment opportunities designed to qualify foreign direct investors for immigrant status under the EB5 provisions. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and is the author of "Country Specific Issues and Challenges in Representing EB-5 Petitioners...

Sarah Arnott is an Attorney at Van Voorhis & Sosna LLP. Ms. Arnott was certified as a specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization in 2015, and served as the chairperson of the family law section of the San Francisco Bar Association's Barristers Club in 2013.

A native of New York and North Carolina, Ms. Arnott moved to California to attend Santa Clara University School of Law, from which she received her J.D. Ms. Arnott has exclusively practiced family law since 2008. She is well-versed in all areas of family law, including dissolutions, custody,...

For the last 27 years ago I have focused my practice on representing workers from executives to rank and file in claims against their former and current employers. I maintain a limited case load to make sure each case gets the attention it deserves. I am highly experienced, so you can be sure you have the right lawyer to take on your civil employment dispute. I try to make a real and positive difference for each client by honest advice and advocating vigorously and ethically for you. Personal: After living in several countries and several states as a child, at 18, I...

With more than 40 years of legal experience, Andrew Schwartz has handled countless cases for clients ranging from serious injuries and personal injury to product liability law at Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook. A 1975 graduate from the University of San Francisco School of Law, Mr. Schwartz has been admitted to the Federal and California Bars and the U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout his legal career, he’s achieved numerous multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for injured clients, including a $5.6 million jury verdict that was considered one of the top 100 jury verdicts in California in 2017. In addition to holding memberships...

Mr. Light firmly believes in the power of empathy and humanity. His strength of empathy and unique personal experience with tragedy has allowed him to connect with clients who’ve suffered their own profound losses. Mr. Light is honored to represent and advocate for individuals and families suffering from the universe of challenges that inherently follow a traumatic brain injury.

Nobody expects or can anticipate what follows a brain injury, even a “mild” trauma. Growing up, Mr. Light was reminded on a daily basis of the strength, determination, love, patience and understanding necessary to endure the aftermath of a life-altering event....

I am an estate planning and business law lawyer practicing in East Contra Costa County California. I take pride in providing value minded legal services to area families and businesses.

The Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. are uniquely qualified in tax. Is the IRS breathing down your neck and sending you intimidating notices and telephone calls? Are you having tax problems? Is the IRS filing liens, garnishing your wages, levying assets, and devastating your financial and personal life? IRS tax debts require immediate action. Don’t put off dealing with tax debts; inaction could be very expensive. Instead, consider professional IRS help. The Law Offices of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. are uniquely qualified in tax, probate, trust, and business law. We can provide responsive, proactive...

Mr. Luna holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Management and Marketing from San Francisco State University and went to the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he graduated with honors and was appointed a member of the Traynor Honor Society. In addition, Mr. Luna received a coveted Witkin Award for studies conducted in International Banking.

After graduating from law school, Mr. Luna worked in a boutique civil litigation and general practice firm in Fresno, CA and then went on to work with a couple of different Workers' Compensation firms in the Bay Area (doing both applicants and...

I’ve been an attorney for going on 20 years in the greater bay area of California. When you call me, you will talk to me directly. You won’t get assigned to a paralegal or another attorney. I have a passion for practicing law and helping my clients to the best of my ability. I like talking to people and getting to the heart of the matter through direct and clear talk.

Local Estate Elder Law Planning Attorney
Long term Pleasant Hill resident, Jeffrey Hall, didn’t follow the traditional path to the practice of law. Indeed, attorney Hall grew up in central Los Angeles, and in a time when there was no expectation that he would attend college; and law school was simply not an option. However, after completing his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Mary’s College, he volunteered with the Air Force in 1981 and served for 9 years, both reserve and active. Upon returning to California, he and his wife made Pleasant Hill their home and have...

Mr. Tormey has over 20 years of experience in product development, marketing and intellectual property protection. As a company startup veteran, Mr. Tormey brings a unique perspective on the value of intellectual property to a small and growing business. As such, he also speaks to entrepreneurs and business executives on how to protect and leverage IP assets. Mr. Tormey is the author of the "Startup Guide to Intellectual Property." As a patent attorney, Mr. Tormey has drafted over 100 patent applications covering software, electronics, wireless, radio, mobile applications, encryption and automation controls. Besides intellectual property law, ...

I am also a Certified Public Accountant and have been doing tax work in the Bay Area for 30 years. I specialize in helping people and businesses pay as few taxes as possible without getting audited. In the estate planning area I help people preserve their property for their families and pay as few estate taxes as possible. I also am the Probate Doctor who can help fix impossible situations when estates are stuck in the quagmire of California Probate.