Wheatland Civil Rights Lawyers

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...

"The only minority is the individual and Justice is the only measure of equality among individuals."

Izaak Schwaiger is an advocate and champion for the rights of regular people. A decorated veteran of the United States Marine Corps, a former Sonoma County prosecutor, and a respected presence in the courtroom, Mr. Schwaiger has devoted his practice to defending the criminally accused and upholding the civil rights of those who have been wronged by the police. Following ten years of service to his country in the Marine Corps, Izaak enrolled in law school at the University of Wyoming, where he did not graduate with honors, but was named "most likely to become a rockstar." Called the...

Mr. Miller is first and foremost a civil trial attorney, having tried over 60 cases to a jury verdict in a host of subjects ranging from real estate, business, dental malpractice, attorney malpractice, civil rights/excessive force and personal injury. Mr. Miller also represents clients regarding employment/labor matters, and homeowner's association disputes.

Mr. Miller worked as a police officer for nearly ten years on the San Francisco Peninsula. While attending Empire College School of Law at night, he started a successful legal research business, providing legal research to over 30 attorneys. He has practiced law in Sonoma County since 1988. He is...

Aaron Clefton is the Managing Partner of Rein & Clefton. He is dedicated to advancing the civil and economic rights of persons with disabilities and all people who are vulnerable or impoverished. Aaron is lead counsel on all ADA cases for Rein & Clefton. He has over 17 years working in the field of disability rights, 5 years of that as an attorney. He has received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer honor of “AV-Preeminent” in 2021, given to attorneys “who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers.” That same year...

John Hyland is a partner with Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP. He practices exclusively in the area of employment law. John was Of Counsel with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in the firm’s San Francisco office where he advised and represented companies in State and Federal court actions covering all areas of employment law, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, disability law, employee privacy, employee leaves, and wage and hour issues. John regularly conducts training seminars and presents on a wide array of employment law issues. Law & Politics Magazine selected John as one of its Northern California Super Lawyers...

Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law: I provide a complete range of estate planning, elder law, probate, trust administration, veterans pension and Medi-Cal eligibility services. I work with clients to create and implement an estate plan specifically designed with them in mind, including their family, their business, their property and their personal wishes. This includes preparation of Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Durable Powers of Attorney for Asset Management. Family Law: I have over 30 years of experience in family law. Besides being a highly trained, experienced and knowledgeable family lawyer, I am personally and professionally sensitive to the concerns...

David L. Axelrod began work as a teenager, selling scorecards in Dodger Stadium. After attending college, David L. Axelrod entered a career as Park Ranger and Fire Fighter, at the East Bay Regional Park District of Northern California. In 1988, David L. Axelrod graduated law school at the University of California, Berkeley, California, passed the bar, and commenced the practice of law. David L. Axelrod worked as Deputy Attorney for CALTRANS Legal Division in Los Angeles, California, and then as Deputy Tuolumne County Counsel in Sonora, California. Mr....

I was born in Latin America and grew up in San Francisco. A product of the Bay Area, I studied economics at UC Berkeley before moving to Washington, DC, where I worked at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve. In 2003, I embarked on my legal studies at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, NY. Upon graduation, I worked as a corporate associate in Manhattan at a boutique international law firm. There I had the opportunity to work on a wide array of corporate transactions, from financing the construction of a hotel in NYC, structuring investments...

Dylan graduated from Cornell University (1986) and magna cum laude from UC Hastings College of the Law (1990). He clerked for Judge Melvin Brunetti in the Ninth Circuit and then spent a year teaching legal methods at Stanford Law School. From 1991-2001 Dylan practiced appellate law with Dennis Riordan until going out on his own in 2001. Thereafter he worked with lawyers around California on complex trials and appeals in both the civil and criminal arenas. Dylan joined Edward Kerley’s practice in 2014 and has since focused on the rights of California policyholders. He obtained two key victories on behalf...

After 22 years as a trial attorney, I have decided to limit my practice to furthering the cause of disability access and ending disability discrimination in the workplace, at home and in public places. If you are disabled temporarily or permanently, you have special rights but no government agency to enforce them. If you think you have been the victim of discrimination, call us now for a free consultation.

Alden Knisbacher has represented clients in the Bay Area and across California since 1994. He has litigated hundreds of cases in various areas of law including employment, real estate, contract and business disputes, probate disputes, civil rights and other matters.

Mr. Knisbacher is a Georgetown Law graduate.

When not practicing law he can be found hiking, biking, running or cycling with his two children. Or, perhaps, playing with their pet bunny, Bobby.

Ehud Appel joined the California State Bar in 2018 after graduating with honors from U.C. Hastings College of the Law. He completed his undergraduate studies at U.C. Berkeley, majoring in Middle East Studies. Before pursuing a law career, he worked in education, healthcare, and the nonprofit world. He was a union representative, union organizer, and research analyst for United Healthcare Workers – West and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, where he represented nursing home and hospital workers throughout the Bay Area in grievances and collective bargaining.

During law school, he externed for the honorable judges Mary E. Wiss and...

I am a trial attorney. I have conducted over 75 jury trials to verdicts and 6 court trials to verdict. Included in those numbers are 4 murder trials to verdict, 1 attempted murder to verdict, 1 capital case (death penalty) to verdict, and 27 other various serious/violent felonies to verdict, as well as less serious cases.

I have direct and cross examined experts in the following fields: mental health, ballistics, fingerprints, analysis of controlled substances and alcohol, forensic pathology, forensic sexual assault examinations, possession for sale of narcotics, cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana, battered partner syndrome,...