Since November of 2008, Heather Baker Dobbs has been a licensed and practicing attorney. For 16 years before joining Ikuta Hemesath LLP, she worked at a prestigious Los Angeles Plaintiffs’ firm handling every aspect of personal injury and employment matters from inception through trial. She now focuses on cases involving medical malpractice, elder abuse and personal injury. Through her years of litigation and hard fought wins in both trial and mediation, she has found that her true passion is in representing clients who have been wrongfully injured and obtaining large favorable results on their behalf. Heather enjoys forging a trusting working relationship with her clients and helping them through their time of injury or loss of a family member. Heather is well-versed in the ins and outs of every part of handling a case from inception to resolution. On a weekly basis she deals with the day to day of preparing complaints, discovery, depositions, hiring and conferring with experts, client contact, medical record analysis, drafting motions and briefs, attending hearings, mediation and trial. Heather is committed to the zealous representation of her clients in each of her cases, along with offering a personal side of transparent communication and compassion to clients along their litigation journey. When outside of the office, Heather enjoys spending time with her husband, two young kids, and dog, being active outdoors including hiking and going to the beach, and eating her favorite food: chips and salsa. Heather graduated magna cum laude from USC in 2005, with a double major in political science and psychology and a minor in business. Heather received her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University in May of 2008. During the fall of 2006, Heather clerked for the Honorable Kathleen Thompson, judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Central District of California. Also, while at Pepperdine University, Heather obtained her Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution in 2008 from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. Heather has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Star (reserved for top 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40) from 2012-2022.

Vanessa Raven is an experienced trial attorney who works out of the Northern California office. She is licensed in both California and Nevada. Vanessa’s practice focuses on representing injured victims in medical malpractice, personal injury, and elder abuse actions. Vanessa was formerly a partner at a prominent Sacramento medical malpractice defense firm. She spent nearly a decade representing physicians and hospitals in medical malpractice, elder abuse, and medical board licensing actions, giving her insight into how insurance companies think and how health care providers defend cases. She was named a rising star by Super Lawyers in medical malpractice in 2021 and 2022. Vanessa is a board member and current executive committee member of Women Lawyers of Sacramento (WLS). She is also a member of California Women Lawyers (CWL), the Sacramento County Bar Association (SCBA), Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), and Capital City Trial Lawyers (CCTLA). She was raised in Sacramento, California and attended California State University, Sacramento, where she received a B.A. in English literature. She then attended the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she competed coast to coast on the nationally recognized mock trial team. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing, yoga, baking, and spending time with her family.

Merritt McKeon is considered to be one of California’s preeminent experts in complex international and interstate family law litigation, mediation, and appeals, and has received numerous awards over 25 years of experience as an expert in international Hague Treaty petitions, child abduction, domestic violence, and both domestic and civil business mediation. Ms. McKeon has appeared on numerous television broadcasts such as Burden of Proof, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The 700 Club, C-NBC, and various international media outlets in both Australia and Italy. In 1999, Ms. McKeon participated on a legal team with attorney Gloria Allred which resulted in the successful release of an American-born child whose mother had been murdered in Italy. Ms. McKeon appeared in the book Fight Back And Win: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Injustice and How You Can Win Your Own Battles by Gloria Allred, which highlights Ms. McKeon’s participation in the successful appeal written in Italy for the Italian Court. Ms. McKeon is co-author of Stop Domestic Violence: An Action Planning Guide to Saving Lives and appeared with the father of Nicole Brown Simpson on Larry King Live shortly after the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Merritt is considered a preeminent attorney in her subject areas and a ‘lawyer’s -lawyer’ who enjoys participating as both case consultant and co-counsel, focusing on tactical solutions to complex legal issues which often result in successful mediation through alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In 2014 Merritt attended the renowned Pepperdine, Strauss Mediation program and maintains an active practice assisting both clients and attorneys.

Attorney Mando Macayaon has over twenty years of experience representing clients in the areas of United States Immigration and Deportation, California Family, Civil and Estate Planning Law. Attorney Macayaon started his career in 2003, with the prestigious law firm of Frank,Greenberg,Simone & Stefanski to take on the most challenging and complex of cases before starting his own firm in 2008. Mando Macayaon is a graduate of Western State College of Law in Fullerton, California and holds a degree in Nursing from Santa Ana College and a Communications degree from California State University, Fullerton. Mando Macayaon is licensed to practice law by the California State Bar and is sworn in the northern, eastern & central federal district courts.

Daniel J. Cooper is a California attorney and has been the sole shareholder of Daniel J. Cooper, a professional corporation, since 1980. Mr. Cooper’s practice emphasizes estate planning, trust administration, probate, Trust & Will controversies, and the representation of clients before the U.S. Tax Court, State Board of Equalization, Internal Revenue Service, and the California Franchise Tax Board in connection with federal, state and administrative tax disputes. He is an active member of the Orange County Bar Association and the State Bar of California and is currently Chairman of the Trust & Estate Section of the Orange County Bar Association. He is authorized by the Trust & Estate Section of the State Bar of California to make presentations on the subject of Elder Financial Abuse. Mr. Cooper is active in community affairs and has been a Parks & Recreation Commissioner for the City of Laguna Hills for more than 10 years. He is also active in with the Boys Scouts of America and is currently committee chairman of Troop 729 in Laguna Hills, California. All three of his sons are Eagle Scouts. Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Cooper was an income tax auditor for the Franchise Tax Board and a manager in the tax department of Arthur Young & Co., Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Cooper has lectured extensively on real estate taxes, state and local taxes, and federal income taxes at the graduate school level at the University of Southern California, the University of California at Irvine and Golden Gate University. Additionally, Mr. Cooper has participated as an instructor in the continuing professional education program for the California Certified Public Accountants Education Foundation and has lectured for various professional groups. Mr. Cooper is admitted to practice law in the State of California, before the United States District Court (Southern & Central Districts), United States Tax Court and the United States Supreme Court. As an undergraduate, Mr. Cooper attended California State University at Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting. He received his Juris Doctorate from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California. During the Vietnam War, Mr. Cooper served as a military policeman in the United States Army and was stationed in Hawaii and Thailand. He was honorably discharged and attended college on the GI Bill.

TORKLAW is a personal injury law firm dedicated to representing victims of negligence and serious accidents. Since 2012, our attorneys have helped individuals and families pursue justice after life-altering injuries caused by the careless or wrongful actions of others. Our lawyers represent clients in cases involving car, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents, dangerous or defective products, unsafe property conditions, animal attacks, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, and certain employment matters. When someone else’s negligence causes harm, we work to hold the responsible parties accountable and secure the compensation our clients need to recover and rebuild. Founded by attorney Reza Torkzadeh, TORKLAW was built on the belief that injured people deserve more than legal representation—they deserve guidance, compassion, and strong advocacy during one of the most difficult times in their lives. Our team is committed to helping clients navigate the legal process with clarity while standing up to insurance companies and corporations that attempt to minimize responsibility. At TORKLAW, we fight for justice for our clients and work to make our communities safer by holding negligent parties accountable.

John Vukmanovic is the co–founder and a partner of Delman Vukmanovic LLP. John is highly regarded among his peers in the legal communities of Los Angeles and Orange counties. His highly aggressive, yet sensible approach to civil litigation routinely yields successful outcomes for his new and returning clients. Top Civil Litigation Lawyer in Los Angeles and Orange County As a “bulldog” litigator and consummate trial attorney, John’s comprehensive background in civil litigation comprises a long string of successful outcomes for clients facing complex business and real estate litigation, as well as employment, professional liability and intellectual property disputes. While each case is different, John approaches all civil disputes the same way: striving for maximum effectiveness and leverage in civil litigation while maintaining efficiency. Large Firm Litigation Experience John acquired his early legal experience in the insurance industry, subsequently rising to prominence as an attorney with the large national law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, and later with the high–profile business and entertainment litigation firm of Freedman & Taitelman, LLP. His experience makes him uniquely qualified to understand his clients’ challenges, and to achieve their ultimate goals. Community Involvement John proactively dedicates a significant amount of time assisting individuals of limited means in pro bono matters and devotes energy to a range of charitable organizations in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas. Recognized for Superlative Results and Service as Business Litigation Attorney Among his achievements, John has been ranked by Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star” and named by Los Angeles Magazine as a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation. “Super Lawyers,” a peer–designated honor, is bestowed upon only the top five percent of lawyers practicing in California. In addition, John has been awarded Martindale–Hubbell’s Client Distinction Award, an honor conferred by his clients in appreciation of John’s value in quality of service, communication skills, and professional diligence.

Frances-Marie Prizzia dedicates her law practice to upholding the constitutional rights of her clients and zealously defending them. Her passion has always been in criminal defense and public service, as evidenced by her prior work and volunteer history. For the past 15 years, Frances has dedicated herself to the practice of law. Years before opening this firm, Frances worked as an Orange County Public Defender as well as in the Los Angeles County Alternate Defender's Office. While working for Orange County as a trial attorney, she obtained many dismissals, in addition to taking more cases to jury trial and winning more than any other attorney within her unit during that time. Frances is also fluent in speaking Tagalog. Prior to becoming an attorney and while in law school, Frances worked at the Public Defender's office in Santa Cruz. As a law student, she successfully argued and won a motion to suppress evidence due to the unlawful violations of the Fourth Amendment by the investigating police officers. She also researched and wrote motions asking the court to order the disclosure of information regarding confidential informants and confidential police personnel files ("Pitchess motions.") Her compassion and commitment to making a difference and defending those who needed help is what convinced her to apply for law school. She was accepted into, and chose to enroll in, Santa Clara University School of Law, where she had also received her undergraduate degree several years earlier. But some of the reasons Frances chose to return to Santa Clara University was because of its emphasis on criminal defense and public service. In addition to extensive trial advocacy training, the school is also home to the Death Penalty College, Northern California Innocence Project, and Center for Social Justice and Public Service. While in law school, she worked at the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, where she wrote two successful political asylum briefs and won a U-visa (victim of violence) application for her client, which allowed the client to obtain her permanent residency ("green card") and a work permit in the United States. Lawyer.com Member Questionnaire Please describe a case(s) in the last year or two where you made a big difference. I had a case where Filipino nurses were charged by the Attorney General’s office for criminally negligent death of a patient in a nursing home. These poor nurses did nothing but their best to take care of the patient. The doctors ruled the patient’s death as an accident and inevitable due to a heart attack since the patient was in very poor health, had recently endured surgery that he was not fully cleared for but needed to do to save his life, had a prior heart condition, and expired naturally. The AG simply was on a witch hunt because the patient’s family had a civil case and a lot of pull in this matter. The court, during the preliminary hearing, agreed with me, and refused to have these nurses held to answer. The nurses were discharged, and the court also granted a factual innocence motion I brought up in court. How did you build a successful practice? I built this practice on hard work, dedication, compassion towards my client and a lot of hustle. What should clients look for in a lawyer? Passion and heart as well as competency. Client’s should decide on a lawyer based on who they feel most comfortable with and at sync with. They should choose who they feel actually cares and will fight for their case as well as the attorney’s credentials. How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases? It is very important because different counties have different ways of running their cases and different policies that could mean a dismissal for your client or a guilty plea. What information can you provide in a free phone consultation? I provide as much information as the client would like. I do not try to make guesses. I attempt to gather as much information as I can from the client, then look the cases up in the system and attempt to give the best options I can provided with the information I have been given. What information do you need in a free phone consultation? I would need the charges that the clients are looking at, past record history, the facts of the case, what county or court the case is currently in as well as the status of the case. I also ask for what the client wants as the outcome. What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community? I have a lot of heart and compassion. I truly put myself in my client’s shoes to understand their fears and concerns so that I can obtain the best results for them. What are your other interests in addition to law? I like going to musical theatre, dancing, singing, hiking, and yoga. Are you involved in your community? Yes very much so. I am involved in my church as a Catechist for Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church. I am part of FLOC which is Filipino Lawyers of Orange County. And I have been a room mom for my children’s school for years.

Harry counsels predominately high net-worth families and closely-held businesses in a broad range of matters, including areas of taxation (state, national and international), formation, real estate, trust and estates, and business succession planning. Harry advises clients on structuring transactions in a tax-efficient manner. Harry has an acute understanding of the real estate and agricultural sector and helps clients meet their business objectives. Harry regularly advises corporations, partnerships, and individuals on a broad range of domestic offshore and cross-border transactions often focusing on complex and innovative structures to transfer wealth and business holdings. Harry’s experience includes acquisitions, dispositions (including like-kind exchanges), sophisticated financing, easements, and other asset management matters that add post-tax value to the respective client. Harry also helps individuals and families with sophisticated wealth planning and wealth preservation and multi-generational planning which minimizes income, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Understanding the desire to preserve wealth and closely held business enterprises, Harry ensures a client’s legacy is persevered while navigating potentially sensitive family dynamics. As part of legacy planning, Harry regularly counsels his clients in respect to charitable giving and has been involved with establishing private foundations, charitable lead and remainder trusts, and other not-for-profit entities. Harry remains active within the community. While not practicing law, Harry enjoys running basketball and hockey.

Following 10 years as a senior prosecutor with the Orange County District Attorney's Office, where he supervised the Homicide Panel, Paul Meyer founded his own firm in 1981. His practice includes both state and federal criminal defense, involving such matters as the successful defense of Merrill Lynch during the Orange County bankruptcy in 1996, the defense of members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and judges of both the Los Angeles and Orange County Superior Courts. His practice includes a wide variety of vehicular crimes, from manslaughter to D.U.I. along with defense of fraud, child pornography and regulatory matters involving the District Attorney and federal agencies. Mr. Meyer takes a "hands on" approach to practice. Mr. Meyer is currently designated as one of five lawyers in Southern California for legal representation of judges and justices before the Commission on Judicial Performance. He has successfully tried dozens of major felony cases before juries in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties; comprising, in all, over 200 jury trials. For nearly 40 years Mr. Meyer has been the lead lawyer in representation of the most serious criminal cases charged in Southern California. He was selected as the Criminal Defense Attorney of the Year by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, and recently as Trial Lawyer of the Year for Orange County by the Best Lawyers in America. He has consistently been named to the Top 100 and Top 50 lawyers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Mr. Meyer has been cited by the Los Angeles Times and New York Times for his work in many cases including the successful federal and state representation of Superior Court Judge Ronald Kline, County Supervisor Don Roth and other elected officials. His successful criminal defense of Princess Alayban of the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia received world-wide media coverage, as did his earlier successful defense of Merrill Lynch. He led the criminal defense of the regional branch of the Republican Party. He is the legal representative of the Orange County Deputy Sheriff's Association, and the designated representative in matters involving use of deadly force by the Orange County Probation Department. A guest speaker of the Department of Justice, National Medical Examiners Association, Fidler Institute in Los Angeles, California Public Defenders and District Attorneys Associations, an Association of Business Trial Lawyers, he has also taught consistently throughout his career. Mr. Meyer has lectured internationally on subjects of ethics and professionalism for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Mr. Meyer served as Adjunct Professor of Law for Western State University College of Law and for the Police Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.). His teaching includes C.E.B. programs for the State Bar, and the College of Trial Advocacy for Orange County. His work on The Uses of Experts in Criminal Trials has been published in the ABA Litigation Manual. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Meyer served as Regent for Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii from 2008 to 2012. Mr. Meyer is also a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and also a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has been recognized for his leadership roles in many other organizations including service as a Director at Large for the Orange County Bar Association, Director of the Community Services Program, and on the Board of the Center for Lawyers and Trial Advocacy of Chapman University School of Law. He graduated from the U.C.L.A. School of Law where he served as Chief Articles Editor of the U.C.L.A. Law Review. He received the Order of the Coif. Mr. Meyer's work has been cited hundreds of times by the New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, and many national magazines. He has appeared as a guest commentator for CNN and was selected by CNN to provide exclusive commentary of the opening statements in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.