(Main Office)

The Firm handles only litigation matters, with an emphasis on the defense of complex commercial litigation, both civil and criminal. The practice includes the representation of professionals (particularly lawyers and accountants), government regulatory agency matters, corporate criminal investigations, banking, securities, civil RICO, product liability, insurance coverage, class action litigation, and white collar criminal matters. Each of the partners is an experienced trial attorney, each having tried in excess of 100 cases. The Firm has represented national and local corporate entities, as well as individual clients.

Statement of Practice

Civil and Criminal Litigation. Federal Court Litigation, Legal Malpractice, Accounting Malpractice, Director and Officer Representation, Securities, White Collar Crime, Class Action, Partnership Disputes, Wrongful Termination, Civil Rights, Product Liability.

Representative Clients:

Action Cleaning Corp.
Bay Decking
Blake Construction Co.
Cal Mutual Insurance Co.
CIGNA
Ernst & Young
Frankenmuth Insurance Co.
Great West Life Assurance Co.
Holland-America Line
IBP Corp.
IRT Corporation
ITT-Jabsco
Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co.
Major League Baseball Players Association
McKesson, Inc.
Motorola
National Steel & Shipbuilding Co.
Renar
San Diego National Bank
San Diego Unified School District
Shell Oil Company
Tetrahedron, Inc.
U.S. Air
UST, Inc.
U.S. Tobacco, Inc.
Waste Management, Inc.
Viejas Band of Mission Indians.

Rate Information

Fixed Hourly Rates
Fixed Fees Available

Address

501 West Broadway, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101, (San Diego Co.)

Phone

Phone: 619-232-0800
Fax: 619-232-0107

Website

http://www.csllaw.com

Office Hours

Monday: 08:30 AM - 05:30 PM
Tuesday: 08:30 AM - 05:30 PM
Wednesday: 08:30 AM - 05:30 PM
Thursday: 08:30 AM - 05:30 PM
Friday: 08:30 AM - 05:30 PM

ATTORNEYS

R. J. (Jerry) Coughlan, Jr. (Member) born Washington, D.C., February 23, 1944; admitted to bar, 1969, Virginia; 1970, Maryland; 1973, District of Columbia; 1979, California. Education: Tufts University (B.S., 1966); University of Virginia (LL.B., 1969). Law Clerk to Judge Alexander Harvey, II, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, 1969-1970. Associate, Piper & Marbury, 1970-1972. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Washington, D.C., 1973-1976. Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Aviation Tort Unit, 1977-1979. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California, 1979-1983. Master and Member of Executive Committee of Lewis Welch Inn, American Inns of Court. Board Member: Board of Directors, Defender Organizations of San Diego County, Inc.; Institute of Criminal Defense Advocacy (ICDA); San Diego Padres; Lawyers Committee Against Violence (LCAV). Fellow: American College of Trial Lawyers. Practice Areas: Trial Practice; Professional Liability; Civil Litigation; White Collar Criminal Defense; Securities Litigation.Email: R. J. (Jerry) Coughlan, Jr.

Robert F. Semmer (Member) born Chicago, Illinois, May 8, 1944; admitted to bar, 1970, Illinois; 1981, California. Education: Northwestern University (B.S/B.A., 1966); Cornell University (J.D., 1970). Author: "Attorney Client Privileges With Corporate Clients," Trial Bar News, October, 1987. Instructor, Trial Practices, John Marshall Law School of Chicago, 1978-1980. Professor, Trial Practice, California Western School of Law, San Diego, 1982-1986. Instructor, Pacific Regional National Institute of Trial Advocacy, 1990. Lecturer, CEB Programs, 1987-1990. Deputy Chief, Appellate Division, 1976-1978 and Chief, Criminal Litigation Division, 1978-1980, U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District of Illinois. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Fraud Division, Southern District of California, 1980-1983. Master, Oliver Wendell Holmes Inn, American Inns of Court, 1998 —. Member: Illinois State and American Bar Associations; State Bar of California. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Business Litigation; Civil Litigation; Legal Malpractice; Accountants Malpractice; White Collar Crime; Criminal Litigation.Email: Robert F. Semmer

Michael L. Lipman (Member) born New York, N.Y., April 25, 1946; admitted to bar, 1971, New York; 1975, California. Education: State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A., 1968); Columbia University (J.D., 1971). Lecturer, CEB Program on Money Laundering, 1991. Panelist, 1992 American Bar Association White Collar Crime Institute-Environmental Criminal Enforcement. Author, "The Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine and Environmental Criminal Enforcement," American Bar Association, 1992. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California, 1976-1983. Chief of Special Prosecutions and Fraud Unit, 1981-1983. Deputy Counsel, National Wiretap Commission, 1974-1975. Assistant District Attorney, Bronx County, New York, 1971-1974. Attorney-Delegate, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, 1991-1993. Member: San Diego County and American (Member, White Collar Crime Committee) Bar Associations; State Bar of California; San Diego Trial Lawyers Association; Association of Business Trial Lawyers (Board of Governors, 1992—). Fellow: American College of Trial Lawyers. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Criminal Litigation; White Collar Criminal Defense; Business Litigation; False Claims Act; Criminal Taxation; Healthcare Fraud; SEC Enforcement; Securities Litigation.Email: Michael L. Lipman

Cathleen Gilliland Fitch (Associate) born San Francisco, California, December 6, 1954; admitted to bar, 1980, California. Education: University of California at Davis (B.A., 1977); University of Lund, Lund, Sweden; Hastings College of the Law, University of California (J.D., 1980). Phi Beta Kappa. Member, 1978-1979, and Chief Articles Editor, 1979-1980, Hastings International and Comparative Law Review. Extern to the Hon. William Schwarzer, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1980. Member: San Diego County Bar Association (Chair, Legal Malpractice Committee, 2002); State Bar of California (Member, Committee on the Administration of Justice, 1985-1987). Languages: Swedish.Email: Cathleen Gilliland Fitch

Barbara Howe Murray (Associate) born Bronxville, New York, February 12, 1964; admitted to bar, 1992, Virginia; 1993, District of Columbia; 1995, California. Education: University of North Carolina (B.S., 1986); University of Virginia (J.D., 1992). Appointed to Criminal Justice Act Panel, 1998-2000. Member, American Inns of Court (Lewis M. Welsh Chapter, 1998-1999). Practice Areas: White Collar Criminal Defense.Email: Barbara Howe Murray

Daniel A. Kaplan (Associate) born Palo Alto, California, April 14, 1969; admitted to bar, 1995, California and U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. Education: University of California at Irvine (B.A., cum laude, 1991); Hasting College of Law, University of California (J.D., 1995). Associate Articles Editor, Hastings West Northwest Journal of Environmental Law, 1994-1995. Extern to the Hon. Stuart R. Pollak, Superior Court, City and County of San Francisco, 1995. Member: San Diego County Bar Association; State Bar of California. Practice Areas: White Collar Criminal Defense; Civil Litigation; Business Litigation; Professional Negligence.Email: Daniel A. Kaplan

Earll M. Pott (Associate) born Mt. Kisco, N.Y., June 26, 1963; admitted to bar, 1989, Minnesota; 1991, California; 1993, Colorado. Education: Carleton College (B.A., magna cum laude, 1985); Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1988). Phi Beta Kappa. Member: San Diego County Bar Association (Law and Medicine Committee); American Inn of Court (Lewis M. Welsh Chapter, 2003-2005). Practice Areas: Criminal Law; Business Litigation.Email: Earll M. Pott

Harold C. Trimmer (Associate) born Las Vegas, Nevada, February 28, 1980; admitted to bar, 2006, California. Education: Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service (B.S., Foreign Service, 2002); University of San Diego (J.D., 2006). Member: San Diego County Bar Association. Practice Areas: Professional Liability(50%); White Collar Criminal Defense(25%); Civil Litigation(15%); Business Litigation(10%).Email: Harold C. Trimmer