12 Seven Ways to Take Your

n Butterfield Schechter LLP is pleased to announce that Senior Paralegal Kristine Custodio Suero was selected as the 2020 California Paralegal of the Year, awarded by the California Alliance of Paralegal Association, and nominated by the San Diego Paralegal Association. Kristine KRISTINE CUSTODIO SUERO teaches at the University of San Diego School of Law Paralegal Program, frequently speaks at seminars and conferences on a variety of legal topics, on issues concerning the paralegal profession, and on leadership. She also coaches and mentors paralegal students and other working paralegals. Kristine writes numerous articles for various publications and focuses much of her current work on access to justice issues. She frequently volunteers for events including Wills for Heroes and the San Diego High School Mock Trial Competition and has spearheaded local conferences on combatting human trafficking.

n The 2019-2020

Higgs Fletcher & Mack (HFM) Diversity

Scholarship in honor of Craig Higgs has been awarded to Nicole Cohen and the 2019-2020 Steven J. Cologne Annual Scholarship has been awarded to Carola Murguia San Roman. Both scholarship recipients are University of San Diego School of Law graduates who have earned their law degrees and will soon take the California Bar Exam.

HFM has been granting scholarships in support of diversity and inclusion efforts to local law students for several years. The diversity scholarship is funded by contributions from HFM’s attorneys and the firm itself. The Steven J. Cologne Annual Scholarship is funded solely by HFM Managing Partner Steven Cologne.

“Our community and the legal profession flourish when we make diversity and inclusion a priority,” said Cologne. “HFM stands behind our commitment to diversity, and we are proud to support a future generation of lawyers who have already shown their commitment and support for diversity efforts.”

Have a Press Release you would like to submit for our Community News?

Email it to PR@AttorneyJournals.com n Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that California Partner Steffi Gascón Hafen has been re-elected for a second term as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Orange County Head Start, Inc. Hafen has been a board member since 2016, having served as Secretary and ViceChairman of the Board of Directors before first being elected as Chairman in 2019.

Hafen is a Certified Specialist in Estate STEFFI GASCÓN HAFEN Planning, Trust and Probate Law, California Board of Legal Specialization. She is a partner of the firm’s Private Client Services and General Federal Tax practice groups. Hafen’s practice is concentrated in tax, trust, and estate matters with emphasis in estate planning, trust and probate administration, and estate and gift taxation. She received her L.L.M. in Taxation from Loyola Law School, her J.D. from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law and her B.A. from University of California, Santa Barbara.

n Brown & Charbonneau, LLP is proud to announce that Gregory G. Brown has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2021 publications of The Best Lawyers in America® for the fourth year in a row and California Super Lawyers® magazine for the 12th year in a row.

Attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America® are recognized by their legal industry peers for their legal excellence in specific fields. GREGORY BROWN More than 9.4 million votes were analyzed, resulting in the inclusion of more than 67,000 lawyers—approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice in the U.S.

Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers.

n Jennifer Keller, a nationally prominent trial attorney at Keller/Anderle LLP in Irvine, has been named to the 2021 Benchmark Litigation “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America,” an exclusive list of the top courtroom advocates in the United States. This is the 4th year in a row that Jennifer has been selected. In addition, Ms. Keller was selected to Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 20 Trial Lawyers in California” list for the 3rd year in a JENNIFER KELLER row (every year since inception of the list).

In announcing the Top 100 list, Benchmark Litigation notes: “This elite group consists of partners who have been venerated by peers and clients as being the best in breed at the nuanced practice of trial law, with this acclaim supported by representative work (public or confidential) to exemplify this status.”

PowerDuo

Attorneys Annee Della Donna and Eric Dubin Take on Some of the Biggest Cases in America as One Team

by Dan Baldwin

Although maintaining their individual law practices, for the past four years attorneys Annee Della Donna of The Law Offices of Annee Della Donna, and Eric Dubin, of The Dubin Law Firm, have combined their strengths to fight high-profile wrongful death cases that frequently touch on critical issues facing America today.

They met when Dubin prepped Della Donna’s husband as an expert in Dubin’s recent $10.2 million jury verdict. Della Donna says, “I was really impressed with Eric’s level of knowledge of the law, of his cases, of strategies, and with him as a person. He is a very ethical and honest attorney who cares about his clients. Later, I brought him on a case, and we have partnered on numerous cases since then. Each of us has our own law firm. So, it’s not the usual partnership.”

Dubin says, “Annee and I knew each other for some time, and we waited for a perfect case to work on together. That eventually happened and then we evolved into this amazing collaboration. Our styles comfortably complement each other, and our work ethic is strong and our passion for justice is intense. It’s amazing to work with someone who feels exactly the way I feel.”

A Bulldog in High Heels

Della Donna’s aggressive advocacy for her clients earned her the nickname “Bulldog in High Heels” among her colleagues. She has traveled some distance since her early days when she was planning a career in medicine. However, during high school a judge pointed her in the direction she would eventually take.

She was living on her own with five other women her senior year when she and one of her roommates decided to move out. Although they didn’t give a formal 30 days’ notice, they informed the landlord of the move. They also removed a carpet her roommate had purchased. The landlord, the young woman whose parents owned the house, sued, and won.

“I didn’t think the court was right, so I filed an appeal to Orange County Superior Court.” The appellate judge said that he was going to rule in Della Donna’s favor, adding that he was really impressed with her presence and ability in the courtroom and that she should seriously consider a career in law. He said, “You are so good at arguing. You have a great manner in the courtroom and you’re already very analytical at this young age.”

ATTORNEYS OF THE MONTH 2020 2020

Annee Della Donna

At that time, she was signed up as a pre-med student in college. She had been a dental assistant in high school, loved medicine and was planning on becoming a dental surgeon or going to medical school. Things began changing the first couple of weeks in college. One of the students insisted that she join the debate team. She did and her team became number one nationally while she was there. She stayed with pre-med for three years and then switched over and graduated in political science with a minor in biology.

Eventually the judge’s advice took hold. She put herself through law school and began her legal career—32 years so far—and a total commitment to justice. Working at Wylie Aitken’s office she handled a major case involving nine people who had contracted cancer from exposure to electromagnetic fields. Her experience at the Aitken firm was invaluable

A case in point involves a former LA police officer who asked her to look into a case in which he believed the convicted persons were innocent. Two young men, ages 17 and 18, were accused of shooting at a house. No one was injured, but they were sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences.

“As busy as I was, I agreed. You think you don’t have time, but you always have time to do what is right. I went to the prison and met with one of the prisoners and cross examined him for two hours. I went through every fact in that case and when I was done, I told the officer that the man was innocent.”

Della Donna won in the Appellate Court and Supreme Court this year, in In Re Juan Rayford. 5 Cal.App.5th 594. “We pretty much overturned the kill zone theory, which is what these young men were prosecuted under. I was granted a writ of habeas corpus, overturning all 11 consecutive life sentences, and vacating their sentences.”

A Visit to the Courthouse Leads to a Career in the Courthouse

Dubin grew up in Detroit and one day a field trip to the courthouse set him on the path to a career representing people in such surroundings. © Christopher TODD Studios The students observed a murder trial being battled out by two aggressive lawyers. Dubin says, “Afterwards, we happened to be riding the elevator down with the two lawyers and I saw them being cool with each other. It was almost as if they were planning to go out and have a beer together. I thought that was awesome how they could play that hard and still be friendly when it was over. It reminded me of sports. As long as you play clean, everything off the field should be cool. Two people at the top of their game in battle, but once the battle was over, they could shake hands and be human beings again.”

He followed that path and became a successful trial lawyer, but a meeting with famous attorney Gerry Spence changed the entire direction of his career. “Once I met Gerry, the light came on. I was on the wrong side. I wanted to train with him, and he wouldn’t train you unless you were a plaintiff lawyer. I made a deal with Gerry that if I opened my own firm, he’d train me. My life has never been the same.”

That change of direction led to Dubin’s participation in the biggest investigation in LAPD history in which actor Robert Blake was accused of murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. Dubin says, “It was like climbing Everest without oxygen. But you learn what you’re capable of when meeting challenges like that.”

The experience reinforced what Spence said about honesty and credibility winning the day. Dubin says,

“After all the horrible things Robert Blake’s lawyers had said about Bonny Lee Bakley, winning $30 million in general damages alone was especially important to the family. There were no special or punitive damages, but I convinced the jury Bonny was a loving mom regardless of the mass media trashing of her name and life. Collecting was great, but the validation of the award was powerful for that family.”

The Blake case is just one that established Dubin as a powerhouse lawyer for the past 28 years. In 2013, OC Weekly Magazine named him the Best Lawyer in Orange County, and in 2019 Best Lawyers Magazine featured him on the cover as the Best Personal Injury Lawyer in Orange County. The Los Angeles Daily Journal named him one of the top 20 lawyers in the state of California before 40. He is known for winning big, and paying generous referral fees to many of the top attorneys in southern CA.

Fellow attorneys agree. “I have known Eric for the better part of 20 years and he has proven over and over again why he is successful; he is a tenacious litigator who never loses sight of how important the case is to his client. Eric not only gets results the old-fashioned way—he wins in court—but he delivers true client satisfaction by guiding and supporting them through the very difficult process of litigating personal injury, wrongful death, and other matters. I have recommended Eric to many people in need of an excellent personal injury or wrongful death attorney and Eric has delivered every time.” Dale Giali, Partner, Mayer Brown LLP.

Doubling Down on Hard Work

The pair often cite a phrase representing their total commitment to their clients: Justice is Mandatory; Sleep is Optional. One of the many factors that makes this team such a powerhouse is their dedication to doing whatever is necessary to prepare for victory in the courtroom or across the negotiating table. Dubin says, “We are relentless in the pursuit of justice. It starts with preparation. We obsess over details. When it comes to trials and prelitigation we just dominate. There’s no fear, we come ready to shine every single time. Annee and I play off each other’s strengths, and the flow we create is incredibly special and powerful. We have active cases involving police killing an unarmed African American, the Marine AAV tragedy off San Clemente Island, Uber and Lyft safety protocol, and other cases of national importance. We are about to start the first police killing trial of the Black Lives Matter movement, a case that exactly parallels what happened to George Floyd here in Orange County.

Dubin and Della Donna each are hands-on with every case and don’t hand them off to a young associate. They have often found victory over larger firms with more resources because those firms use multiple or inexperienced lawyers to cover important aspects of the case, such as critical depositions or discovery, he says. “Cases are won at deposition and we need to be the ones in the room asking the questions and running the show. We put our heart and soul in every single case we accept, and nobody will ever know our cases better from the defense side.”

Della Donna is sometimes called “Nancy Drew” by her clients and fellow attorneys due to her commitment to conducting her own investigations. “On every case I’ve ever handled there’s been one thing that I have discovered through my own investigation that has turned the case around,” she says.

She also says that her biggest strength going is that she knows her client far better than the other side knows their client. “I make my clients members of my team. I know what they need, want and their expectations, and all my weaknesses and strengths.”

Eric Dubin