Navigating Ethics in High Stakes Litigation

David Samani is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Professional Liability Practice. Mr. Samani has extensive experience in defending attorneys against claims of legal malpractice, malicious prosecution, and other third-party claims. Examples include:

• Defense of malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims arising from transactional matters, including complex direct and derivative claims against corporate counsel, claims relating to the negotiation of licensing agreements, the preparation of estate planning documents, and immigration matters.
• Defense of malpractice claims involving the alleged negligent handling of patent infringement, medical malpractice, construction, real estate, tax, and business litigation, as well as family law, probate, and workers’ compensation proceedings.
• Defense of malicious prosecution and fraudulent transfer actions brought by non-clients relating matters such as initiation and litigation of underlying fraud lawsuits and purportedly fraudulent asset protection efforts.

Mr. Samani is a co-author of the California Legal Malpractice and Malicious Prosecution Liability Handbook, a publication providing an overview of the issues and law governing legal malpractice and malicious prosecution litigation in California. 

Lauri Kritt Martin is an associate at Farzad & Ochoa Family Law Attorneys, LLP. Lauri works in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Lauri became a California licensed attorney in 1990.

Lauri is a Certified Family Law Specialist (CFLS), as certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She has practiced family law nearly her entire career and is highly experienced both inside and outside the courtroom.

Lauri has handled a vast range of family law matters, including child custody disputes, securing spousal support /alimony and child support, characterization and division of community property and separate property, and modifications of support orders, as well as representing victims of domestic violence.

Lauri speaks about her approach for clients.

Ms. Johns is a civil trial lawyer who has tried more than one hundred cases to verdict. She is the managing partner for Hillary Johns, Trial Lawyer which maintains offices in Beverly Hills, the Bay Area and Manhattan. She graduated from Occidental College in 1990 and Golden Gate University School of Law in 1993 where she graduated with Dean’s List and class honors. She is licensed to practice law in California, the California Southern, Central and Northern U.S. Federal District Courts, the District of Columbia, Montana, and New York. She is fluent in Spanish and trained in German and French.

Ms. Johns practices in the areas of civil litigation, business law, torts, employment law and entertainment law. She is an AV rated attorney with Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. Johns is a native Southern Californian. She writes regularly for a nationally recognized publishing company as well as individual law firms about various areas of civil law. Ms. Johns gives instruction about current employment law developments, as well as compliance assessments and training to companies to ensure their compliance with California and New York guidelines. Ms. Johns is a member of the Legal Network for Gender Equity. She works with the American Bar Association to provide legal services to military personnel. Ms. Johns has also served as a pro bono attorney and volunteer for local, statewide and national domestic violence = organizations. She is a past alumni committee chair and current student mentor with Occidental College. She is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, and the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as the Cascade County Bar Association.

Neville L. Johnson is Senior Partner at Johnson & Johnson. Neville L. Johnson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley (1971). He received his law degree from Southwestern Law School (1975), graduating near the top of his class. He has tried over 28 civil jury trials and over 70 civil trials and arbitrations without a jury. He is a member of the invitation-only American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and is on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (CAALA since 2005), the Board of Directors of the national organization Public Justice, and on the Board of Governors of the Beverly Hills Bar Association 2013-2015 and 2020-2022 (BHBA). Johnson is a long-time member of the invitation-only Los Angeles Copyright Society, and on the Board of The California Society of Entertainment Lawyers.