In the past 45 years, I have been fighting for clients in Santa Ana and throughout Orange County, and I have earned an excellent reputation with the judges and prosecutors in the local courts. My office has always been located here, and I have successfully handled more than 5,000 felony and misdemeanor cases in Santa Ana and surrounding areas.

Marilyn Thomassen is a practicing lawyer in the state of California. Ms. Thomassen received her J.D. from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1984.

Michael Goode is a practicing lawyer in the state of California. Mr. Goode received his J.D. from the Pepperdine University School of Law.

Tom Cifarelli is a seasoned attorney handling plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation nationwide. He has been selected as one of the top 500 plaintiff lawyers in America and the top 50 Attorneys in Orange County by Super Lawyers. He has won and collected over $100 million for his clients in the last five years alone. Throughout his entire career, he has made law in important areas, including privacy rights and school district liability for children sexually abused by teachers. He has extensive experience handling child sexual abuse litigation, privacy rights, pharmacy mistakes, and high-profile personal injury cases throughout California.

Jeffrey Spencer founded the Spencer Law Firm in 2000 with the goal of helping individuals who need legal representation in complex litigation against large corporations and insurance companies. Since that time the Spencer Law Firm has recovered over $120 Million for clients and class members in cases ranging from employment and consumer class action litigation to individual personal injury cases. Mr. Spencer is an experienced litigator and has tried several cases to verdict. He argues frequently before the Court of Appeals and has published opinions from the California State Court of Appeal and the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Spencer has had great success litigating difficult high damages cases against some of the largest corporations and law firms in the country. At the same time he has maintained a small firm environment where clients always have an open channel of communication with the attorney directly responsible for their case. As a testament to the firm’s success, over 90% of the Spencer Law Firm’s cases come from client referrals. Mr. Spencer also receives frequent referrals of class action and civil litigation cases from other attorneys and is regularly consulted by other law firms regarding class action, personal injury, employment, consumer and business matters. Mr. Spencer is a member of the California State Bar and handles cases throughout the State of California and is admitted to the United States District Court for the State of California, Northern, Central , Southern and Eastern Districts and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Spencer is currently handling numerous class actions and individual actions throughout the State of California in State and Federal Court. Education:

Philip C. Cifarelli handles a variety of matters including a number of medical malpractice and medical mistake cases and elder abuse matters. Mr. Cifarelli has been with the firm for nearly twenty years and has established himself as a tough, innovative and skillful negotiator and accomplished trial attorney, having tried numerous cases to verdict including serving as lead and co-counsel on several seven figure trials. Some of his cases have been covered by several newspapers. He has received several six and seven figure settlements and verdicts in a variety of major personal injury, consumer fraud, medical malpractice and elder abuse matters. Mr. Cifarelli is a graduate of the Arizona State University and Western State University School of Law and is an active member of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, He is a supporter and contributor to consumer rights and fund-raising efforts. Mr. Cifarelli has been named to Who’s Who in America for 2001.

Benjamin T. Ikuta is a trial attorney who has been licensed in California since 2008. For his entire career, Ben has focused on cases of wrongdoing against healthcare providers. Ben is a preeminent attorney in prosecuting medical malpractice actions who has tried multiple cases to verdict. He has presented and been published many times on medical malpractice issues.

Nicholas J. Leonard is a seasoned trial attorney who now manages Ikuta Hemesath’s Northern California office. Nick has practiced exclusively in medical malpractice after graduating from law school in 2008. Specifically, for the first 14 years of his career, Nick practiced as a defense attorney at Low McKinley & Salenko, a prestigious medical malpractice defense firm located in Sacramento. While there, Nick quickly rose through the ranks and became a partner in 2014. Hired by insurance companies, Nick successfully defended countless doctors, nurses, and hospitals in civil actions and board proceedings. Nick even presented to medical malpractice insurance companies, large hospitals, and medical groups on how to limit exposure in medical malpractice lawsuits. Nick was named a Rising Star, awarded to the top 2.5% attorneys under the age of 40, by Super Lawyers Magazine in the field of medical malpractice defense in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Nick’s transition from the defense has been seamless. His defense experience is the foundation and motivation for Nick, who uses the skills and knowledge learned during those years to achieve maximum compensation for injured victims of malpractice from those same insurance companies and large hospitals. To that end, Nick often speaks to other plaintiff lawyers about litigation strategies focused on leveraging internal pressure points insurance and large companies have to compensate injured persons for their losses. Nick graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 2008, where he was a member of the Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal and clerked at the California Attorney General’s Office. Before law school, Nick received an athletic scholarship from Seattle University to play on their basketball team and was honored as a member of the league’s academic all-conference first-team three times. He received a B.S. in Computer Science with a Business Specialization from Seattle University. After graduating but prior to law school, Nick worked as a Business Systems Analyst at Microsoft.

Alexandra Laine is an associate of the Cifarelli Law Firm. Alexandra was born and raised in Chicago and moved to California after graduating high school to accomplish one of her many lifelong dreams. Ms. Laine received her associate degree from Orange Coast College and her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Long Beach, where she graduated from both Summa Cum Laude. She then went on to receive her law degree from Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law. Ms. Laine has an unsurpassed zeal to represent the voice of victims as a trial attorney. She is a tenacious, passionate, effective attorney who is seasoned in devising strategies for the most complex and challenging areas of litigation. She is a natural empathetic advocate who can navigate and honor the most delicate spaces of one’s life. While holding the truth that all human beings, regardless of race, socioeconomic, political, religious, or sexual orientation, deserve justice. Working with victims has continued to fuel her drive to be a relentless advocate for those affected by abuse and injustice. Ms.Laine is a voice of empowerment for those who have not had their voices heard.

At The Rankin Law Firm we are passionate about providing aggressive, effective, and ethical representation for our clients and have been doing so for more than a decade. Our experienced attorneys and staff are here to help you navigate the complex legal system and provide you with the best possible outcome. We are dedicated to ensuring that your rights are fully protected and that you are treated fairly throughout the entire legal process. We are dedicated to ensuring that your rights are fully protected and that you are treated fairly throughout the entire legal process. We have an in-depth knowledge of the law, both state and federal, and a proven track record of resolving disputes through arbitration, mediation and litigation for clients in Orange County and throughout California.