Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has elevated 14 attorneys to partnership. Located in offices throughout the country and experienced in a broad range of legal areas, these new partners are positioned to collaborate with our national practice groups to meet the various legal needs of our clients.
"Our newest partners again represent a broad range in terms of both practice areas and geographic locations,” said Dion Cominos, Firm Managing Partner. “It is also heartening and reassuring to see that, even in these most difficult and uncertain of times, Gordon & Rees’ 2020 Partnership class is the largest it has ever been—reflecting both our continued strength and growth. We are very proud of our colleagues’ accomplishments and are delighted to have them joining the firm’s partnership ranks.”
The Gordon & Rees partnership ranks now include:
Varouj N. Arabian is a partner in the Los Angeles office and is member of the Employment practice group. He has spent his career providing comprehensive litigation services and advising clients of best practices to avoid future litigation. He defends companies of all sizes and industries in wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower and wage and hour matters. He has represented clients throughout the state of California in both state and federal court.
Kira N. Barrett is a partner in the Phoenix office and is member of the Construction, Tort & Product Liability, Professional Liability Defense, Employment and Commercial Litigation groups. Barrett maintains a diverse litigation practice with expertise in representing businesses and individuals in a variety of tort claims ranging from negligence to defamation as well as contract related claims, representing lawyers for claims related to malpractice, representing directors and officers in actions for alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and related claims, representing residential and commercial contractors in construction litigation and defending contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers in product defect litigation.
Jacqueline K. DuBois is a partner in the San Diego office and member of the Environmental/Toxic Tort and Employment practice groups. While initially practicing in California, she specialized in the areas of construction and corporate litigation, with broad expertise in representing national developers and general contractors, as well as Fortune 500 companies. She has successfully defended developers, contractors, and subcontractors in residential, commercial and mixed use projects, through trial. Additionally, she has also served as in-house and corporate counsel to prominent corporations.
Shannon L. Ernster is a partner in the Los Angeles office and member of the Insurance and Health Care practice groups. Ernster’s practice involves the litigation of group and individual life, health, and disability claims, and employee benefit disputes brought under ERISA. Her practice is focused primarily on the litigation of health care claims and disputes between health plans and health care providers. She defends managed care entities and insurance companies in disputes involving claims for breach of contract, bad faith, fraud, unfair competition, and other extra-contractual relief.
David J. Grech is a partner in the New York office and a member of the Employment Law practice group. Grech counsels private and public sector employers on labor and employment matters, including compliance with federal statutes and regulations and their New York state and local counterparts. He has prepared and implemented employee handbooks and policy manuals, drafted and negotiated collective bargaining agreements, and guided his clients through employment applications, hirings, disciplinary matters, grievances, arbitrations, terminations, and severance agreements. As a litigator, Grech defends local, national, and international employers before state and federal trial and appellate courts.
Greg S. Hearing is a partner in the Denver office and member of the firm’s Professional Liability Defense, Energy, Commercial Litigation and Product & General Liability practice groups. His practice focuses on the representation of businesses and individuals in civil litigation. He regularly handles matters concerning complex commercial claims, professional liability disputes, and product liability claims. Additionally, he represents insurers in coverage and first party bad faith actions. Hearing has experience working with a large variety of clients ranging from individual professionals and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. This includes significant experience in the representation of energy and utility companies in complex commercial and personal injury matters.
John V. Leary is a partner in the Seattle office and member of the Construction practice group. Since 2005, his practice has focused on construction law with an emphasis on claim preparation, litigation and dispute resolution for construction industry clients on public and private projects. He has substantial experience in mediation, arbitration and litigation representing owners, prime contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. His areas of expertise include contract drafting and negotiation, project performance disputes, delay and impact claims, mechanic’s liens, bond claims, stop notices, and prompt payment issues. He is experienced in public procurement matters, including competitive bidding and bid protests, requests for equitable adjustment, and pursuing contract claims and appeals before the Boards of Contract Appeals.
Elizabeth K. Morrison is a partner in the Seattle Office and member of the Construction and Professional Liability Defense practice groups. Her practice focuses on complex commercial and general litigation at both the trial and appellate court levels, with an emphasis on breach of contract, construction defect, eviction, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Claims, Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims, Washington Credit Agency Act Claims, Washington Consumer Protection Act Claims, Homeowner Association Disputes, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Claims and Clean Water Act Claims.
Anthony D. Phillips is a partner in the San Francisco office and is a member of the Commercial Litigation and the Cannabis, Hemp & CBD practice groups. He represents businesses before courts and regulators including in complex cases involving contract disputes, regulatory compliance, fraud, unfair competition and other business torts. Since 2016, his practice has focused increasingly on representing early-stage cannabis ventures and established mainstream businesses entering the rapidly evolving legal cannabis environment. He provides business advice and litigation counsel to the industry.
Diba D. Rastegar is a partner in the Los Angeles office and is a member of the Employment Law practice group. She has represented private companies and public entities in all facets of employment law litigation and counseling. Her experience ranges from handling administrative complaints and single-plaintiff claims to class and collective actions involving discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and wage-and-hour claims under federal and California laws. She is experienced in defending clients in employment tort claims, including intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, intentional interference with employment contracts, invasion of privacy, assault and battery, negligent hiring, training, and retention.
William B. Richards, Jr. is a partner in the San Diego office and is a member of the Employment Law practice group. His practice focuses primarily on employment litigation, which largely encompasses defending employers in all stages of litigation regarding a variety of claims, including, for example, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, unfair business practices, breach of contract, and other employment-related matters. He has successfully represented clients in state and federal court, binding arbitration, and administrative proceedings, with experience handling individual cases, complex class actions, and representative actions, including under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
Brian K. Walters is a partner in the Las Vegas office where he is a member of the Construction and Professional Liability Defense practice groups. He possesses more than 14 years of experience representing clients in a variety of industries in a broad range of legal matters. His experience includes complex business and commercial litigation, commercial and residential construction defect and design claims, premises liability, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, home owners association litigation, mechanics lien and bond claims and general contract and business disputes.
Seth Weisburst is a partner in the San Francisco office and is a member of the Employment Law practice group. Weisburst represents employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters, including class action and individual claims of alleged wage and hour violations, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination. He has more than 11 years of complex litigation experience in both state and federal trial courts across many practice areas, including fraud, white collar, securities/broker-dealer matters, class actions, trade secret misappropriation, contract disputes, business torts, antitrust, wrongful death, and others. He also has experience responding to regulatory inquiries and enforcement actions, and conducting internal investigations for clients across a wide range of industries.
Kimberly A. Westmoreland is a partner in the Los Angeles office and is a member of the Employment Law practice group. She defends companies of all sizes and industries in wage and hour, class action, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower, and wrongful termination matters. She is experienced in all aspects of litigation and represents clients in both state and federal court. Ms. Westmoreland also performs policy audits and provides advice and counsel to management on employment-related matters.