Carmel-by-the-Sea Lawyers

NEIL HALLINAN is a third-generation trial attorney in the San Francisco Bay area, with offices in San Francisco and Oakland. Prior to founding the Hallinan Law Firm, Mr. Hallinan spent a decade as a public defender, mostly in Oakland, CA, during which time he represented thousands of clients in matters ranging from high-stakes felony prosecutions, including murder and white collar fraud, to low level misdemeanors, including hundreds of DUI cases, more than fifteen of which he tried to verdict. His victories include full acquittals in 3-strikes prosecutions as well as a discharge of a murder case at preliminary hearing.

In...

I have practiced immigration and naturalization law exclusively since 2003. My practice emphasizes immigration and naturalization for applicants with criminal convictions, removal defense, and working with criminal defense counsel to minimize the immigration harm from convictions. I am licensed by the State Bar of California (license #227178) and received my juris doctorate degree in 2003 from the University of California, Davis, School of Law.

We are a small law office offering family law and divorce related services to the people of the San Francisco Bay Area. We provide individuals and families with the help they need to resolve family law issues surrounding dissolution of marriages or domestic partnerships (divorce), adoption and surrogacy, prenuptial agreements, child custody, spousal support (alimony), and offer counsel and legal services to couples contemplating marriage or domestic partnership. We pride ourselves in being able to offer resposive and personalized service at affordable rates. By eliminating the crippling overhead and high management salaries that are common among larger Bay Area law firms,...

Mark A. Pearson is a founding partner at ARC Law Group (www.arclg.com), a law firm focused on counseling Creative, Talented and Entrepreneurial clients. His primary practice areas involve forming business entities, counseling on trademark & copyright issues, and drafting contracts for music, film & new media clients. His list of interesting and eclectic clients include entertainment industry tech firms, social media outlets, online content providers, film, radio & television producers, live entertainment companies, publishers and video game developers. Mark and his partner, Anne Yarovoy, have also been known to associate with various theater producers, musicians, industry execs,...

Advising and representing national insurers on coverage issues for over 35 years, handling complex,high exposure claims under standard form and broker-manuscript policies, including primary, umbrella, excess and surplus lines. Strategic evaluation and management under property policies (including builder’s risk, boiler and machinery, difference in condition), personal and commercial general liability, and professional liability and directors and officers policies. Handles multi-layer, multi-insurer insurance programs for North American, UK and Bermuda market insurers. Drafts insurance contract endorsements.

Advises and defends national insurers in state and federal court throughout the western states , and handles inter-insurer claims having secured recoveries exceeding...

Shelley M. Kennedy is a family law attorney and private mediator with Lawhon Law & Mediation, P.C.

Shelley's mediation practice includes high-asset dissolution of marriage matters including division of property, preparation of complex financial models, calculations for various settlement options, as well as determination of support. In addition to Shelley’s experience in financially complex matters, her practice also includes mediation for couples with smaller estates.

Shelley serves as a Settlement Conference Master for the San Francisco Unified Family Law Courts and as a volunteer attorney for the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Pro Bono Family Law Project.

Shelley has participated in over 200...

Stephen offers experienced business and legal counseling to individuals and corporations throughout the Bay Area, including: (1) Business litigation and dispute resolution services involving misappropriation of trade secrets, non-compete/solicitation agreements, mechanics lien and payment bond claims, commercial leases, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent misrepresentation and unfair, unlawful or fraudulent business practices (Bus. & Prof. C. sec. 17200); (2) Construction contracting; (3) Intellectual Property licensing and distribution; and (4) E-commerce, website terms of use, privacy policies and data protection and security.

With nearly 40 years of experience, I am a skilled and knowledgeable Business, Immigration and Real Estate attorney. I represent individuals and businesses in California State and U.S. Federal Government Courts

Born in Paris, France, I am myself an immigrant, giving me a unique insight into immigration law matters. I am dedicated to zealous advocacy focused on the best possible outcomes.

Outside of the office I am a dedicated sailor, most notably skippering the winning boat in the Rolex Big Boat Series in 2007. Also involved in the world of chess, the U.S. Chess Federation has given me an expert rating. Additionally,...

OLIVER GREENWOOD is the principal of the Law Offices of Oliver Greenwood in Pleasant Hill. He is the author of chapters 1, 4, 12, 16, and 17 in the CEB Guardianship Handbook. Mr. Greenwood received his B.A. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. A frequent speaker regarding probate matters and a member of the Judicial Council's Probate & Mental Health Advisory Committee. Mr. Greenwood is also a contributing author to CEB's conservatorship and powers of attorney and health care directives books. Mr. Greenwood's areas of practice include conservatorships, guardianships,...

Patrick Delahunty is a former federal prosecutor and a seasoned trial attorney with more than 15 years of experience litigating in federal and state courts. Patrick’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal investigations and litigation resulting from them, including regulatory issues and corporate litigation. He guides his clients with clear advice about their options, legal risks, and—most importantly—the full spectrum of their rights that he will vigorously protect. At each step of the way, he looks for efficient and cost-effective solutions. He has a long track record of securing successful outcomes for his clients with this approach. Prior to...

Attorney Adam M. Carlson is managing partner at Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook. While he is skilled in various areas of law, he focuses the majority of his practice handling cases related to wrongful death, civil rights, and personal injury. He believes that tailoring each case to each client’s needs is key to providing aggressive and compassionate legal representation.

Before joining the firm, Carlson served as an intake assistant for our team, where he was responsible for fielding calls from potential clients. It was at this time that Carlson decided he wanted to do more. He found that he was passionate...

We are a boutique Immigration Law Firm based in Berkeley, CA. We provide personalized and efficient U.S. Immigration legal services to Individuals, Families, Startups, Entrepreneurs, and Small Businesses throughout the United States.

Andre Khansari is an accomplished Southern California attorney. He represents individuals and businesses in Bankruptcy, Real Estate, Business, and Personal Injury matters. With nearly 20 years of experience, peers and clients alike have recognized Andre as an exceptional attorney.

Andre is committed to providing large firm advocacy with small firm prices. Call today to schedule a consultation to learn how he can help you.

Joseph A. Motta was born and raised in the East Bay. He attended St. Mary’s College and graduated in 1984. He graduated from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in 1987. Joe’s legal career started as a Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County; from 1988 to 2004. There, he handled thousands of cases. He was a trial attorney on every team including Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Homicide. He supervised the Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Assault Teams; as a supervisor, he maintained his own load of serious cases. As a deputy D.A., Joe prosecuted a number of high...

Areas of Expertise

Business advice and counseling
Contract drafting and review
Corporate structure and transactions
Licensing and regulation
Employment and labor negotiation
Insurance coverage and claims handling
Education

B.A., Colgate University, 1991
Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude
J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School, 1994

Martin is an experienced business attorney who facilitates transactions while minimizing the risks and pitfalls facing his clients. Martin takes a “can-do” approach to legal problems that focuses on crafting deals through an integrative and value creating process rather than conflict.

Mr. Poulin is experienced in the areas of real estate, business, and construction litigation. He has trial experience in both state and Federal court, and has experience in all aspects of dispute resolution. Mr. Poulin has successfully represented clients in broker disputes, foreclosures, neighbor disputes, title insurance coverage, fraud, breach of contract, breach of lease and landlord-tenant issues. Real estate issues include construction defect cases, damages on behalf of contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers in mechanic's liens, stop notice, payment and performance bond actions. Prior to joining The Williams Firm, Mr. Poulin was an associate at the law...

I help clients with their employment, business, and start-up needs. I also represent clients involved in civil litigation. Please contact me to find out how I can help you with your legal needs.

Melanie is a distinguished advocate for those who have been wronged or exploited, earning the moniker "the people's attorney." Her unwavering dedication to justice fuels her tireless representation of individuals from all walks of life—consumers, employees, business owners, private members, and homeowners. If you have suffered harm due to the dishonest or unlawful actions of others, Melanie stands ready to champion your cause to restore what you've lost. While on a different life and career path, fate stepped in and the legal profession found Melanie. After overcoming her own legal challenges, largely due to an attorney's advocacy, she felt called to...

For more than 30 years, Mike Appel has devoted his practice exclusively to personal injury and wrongful death cases. He represents clients throughout California, both in State and Federal courts. Born and raised in Redondo Beach, Mike attended St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga, California, where he majored in English. He was an editor of the college’s literary magazine, "The Phoenix." He also played rugby for the Gaels, and was a member of the team that went on the first annual rugby tour of the East Coast. Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. At graduation he also received...

Extensive experience in all aspects of family law, including divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support and property division, paternity issues and guardianships.

Jenny Tiu received her B.S. degree in Physiological Science from UCLA. During her undergraduate studies, she was a research assistant at UCLA for both spinal cord injury and atherosclerosis research. Ms. Tiu then earned her J.D. degree at Golden Gate University School of Law with an emphasis in Public Interest Law. During law school, she interned for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office in the Juvenile Dependency Unit. She then went on to intern for the Solano County Alternate Public Defender's Office in the Juvenile Dependency Unit and later in the Misdemeanor Unit. After being...

In my early years as a financial planner, I realized that estate planning was an often-overlooked area of planning not only by clients but by their financial advisors. The reason I became an attorney was to help people make sure that their wishes are carried out during incapacity and after death. I had seen too many people impacted by the lack of estate planning or poor estate planning. I did not want to see the government or the courts take control of a person's property in a way that was not consistent with the person's wishes and intent. I am passionate...

Gerry Goldsholle is a nationally known expert in insurance and insurance law who uses his decades of knowledge and industry "insider" experience to help his firm's clients stop being taken advantage of by insurance companies and others seeking to wrongfully delay or deny claims or pay pennies on the dollar.

An honors graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Columbia University School of Law, Gerry later completed the Senior Executive Program at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and the coursework for a Masters of Liberal Arts at Stanford. He also served in the Army...

For 22 years, I have devoted my career as a lawyer to helping parties resolve their conflicts efficiently, effectively and respectfully. I believe the quality of a mediated resolution, and of the mediation process, to be as important to the parties as the fact of resolution.

Attorney Stratte's passion is family law. She brings significant experience with trials, highly contested dissolutions with custody, division of high value assets, and alternative dispute resolution to assist her clients with compassionate resolution of these deeply personal legal issues. In addition, she has many recent wins at long cause trials in property division, domestic violence restraining orders, custody, contempt of court and fee awards, among other successes. Attorney Stratte received her Bachelor of the Arts from the University of California Berkeley in Women's Studies, located in Berkeley, California. Thereafter, she received her professional doctorate in law from Southwestern Law School located...

I am a former police officer and deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County. I received my Bachelor's Degree from California State University Sacramento and a Juris Doctor from John F. Kennedy University, School of Law. As principal attorney of this firm, I guide the firm’s staff and manage major cases and matters on behalf of individual and business clients. I have tried numerous cases to verdict and have appeared before the California Court of Appeal, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Our firm practices real estate, labor and employment, and business litigation. Our firm also drafts wills, trust...

My law practice focuses on representing injury and death victims and their families. Many of my cases have involved personal injury, car accidents, accidental death, wrongful death, truck accidents, big-rig accidents, motorcycle accidents, products liability, defective products, dog bites, nursing home injuries, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and dangerous property. I have been highly successful in favorably resolving my clients' cases and obtaining monetary compensation for my clients for over 22 years. My clients have suffered catastrophic injuries, death of a family member, serious injuries requiring hospitalization or surgery and many other types of injuries including coma, brain injuries, quadriplegia, triplegia, loss of...

Mr. Mastro was born in Oakland, grew up around the East Bay, and has spent his life living throughout the Bay Area, from San Francisco to San Jose. Mr. Mastro graduated from the Santa Clara University School of Law in May 2006. He then passed the California State Bar Examination in July 2006 on his first attempt. Thereafter, Mr. Mastro became a Deputy Public Defender in San Joaquin County, representing clients in all manner of criminal cases, in a high-volume capacity. In 2009, Joe decided to return home to open his own law firm. Since then...

Mr. Hyman provides patent services, licensing assistance, strategic counseling, and intellectual property portfolio reviews to biotechnology companies and academic institutions. Clients receive expertise and insight honed as a partner in a large firm, and client service informed by in-house experience, but without the fees associated with large firm overhead.

I am an associate in the Taxation, Trusts & Estates Department at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP (JMBM). My practice is centered around corporate and tax matters, including entity formation, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and tax planning. I provide guidance to individuals, closely held businesses, and corporate clients on business structuring and transactional matters, aiming to minimize tax liability and support long-term strategic growth. I am recognized for my practical, thorough, and responsive approach to client service, assisting clients in navigating complex tax rules with clarity and confidence. My professional journey began with a focus on accounting and finance, and...