Health Care

Debra Crawford Annis is a certified family law specialist (certified by the Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California). Debra is also a family law mediator. Debra’s practice consists primarily of family law matters. She also practices in the areas of estate planning and probate. Debra has been practicing law for over 26 years. Debra attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles where she graduated cum laude. Debra’s family law experience has been enriched by her service to the Women's Legal Clinic where she served as a volunteer attorney and as the President of the Board of Directors. Debra received an Outstanding Achievement Award from Mayor Bradley for her valuable service to the community with the Women's Legal Clinic. Debra has lectured on the subject of 'move away' custody cases and independent adoptions. Debra is also a family law mediator. She has been on the mediator panel of the innovative Mosten Mediation Centers. Debra enjoys mediation and helping families structure their new lives apart instead of tearing each other apart in litigation and protracted court battles. Debra is also a tough and seasoned litigator if that is the avenue you choose. Debra has also handled appellate cases. Debra has been a colunmist in the Carmel Valley Newletter and is the author of the newly revised Cal Divorce 123, Your Guide to California Divorce. Cal Divorce 123 is a guide for people who want to understand the California divorce process and actively participate in their cases -- whether as their own legal representative or an active partner with their attorney. The Guide is now available in separate modules or as a complete kit. Debra is devoted to the concept that people can help themselves and make informed decisions in their legal matters. She strives to provide education to people so that they can achieve this objective. She also helps you decide the tone of your case.

The attorneys of Maynard Law Associates, PLLC are skilled at walking our clients through each step of the complicated legal process. If you are confronted with criminal charges, or even being investigated, the time to have an attorney is NOW. We have 14 years experience handling criminal matters, from misdemeanors to federal felony charges, and everything inbetween. When you are faced with criminal charges, you need agressive representation to protect your rights. We will fight for you to protect your rights and your record. Call us today! If you are contemplating divorce proceedings, already facing a divorce action, fighting for custody or battling child and/or spousal support issues, you need a skilled legal team to fight for you and advise you. Our team has the right experience and we stand ready to help you and your family. Call us today!

Nikki B. Allen brings a wealth of experience to her legal practice. She is licensed in both California and Colorado and has practiced law for over twenty years. Ms. Allen began her career in 2000 as an attorney in Denver, Colorado with Kutak Rock, LLP, a national law firm with more than 450 attorneys in 16 offices. She specialized in finance law, where she represented numerous municipal clients and real estate developers. She was involved in the closing of numerous multi-million dollar transactions. When Ms. Allen moved to Palm Desert, California in 2005, she broadened her practice to include all types of business law, including the purchases and sales of real estate and businesses, entity formation and contract drafting. Specifically, she focuses on estate planning, which include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advanced health care directives and special needs trusts. Ms. Allen also represents clients in probate and trust litigation, as well as the administration of trusts and probate of estates. She handles all real estate issues and civil litigation, including homeowner association disputes, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, and construction disputes. Ms. Allen loves helping her clients resolve their legal issues. She also strives to help her clients avoid costly litigation. Ms. Allen attended the University of Massachusetts where she played Division I soccer with a fabulous team, including US Women’s National Team Player Brianna Scurry. She had the neat opportunity of playing in the Final Four against Mia Hamm. Ms. Allen graduated cum laude from the University of Denver College of Law in 2000 and is a member of the California and Colorado Bar Associations. She was on the University of Denver Law Review and had an article published while still in law school. Palm Springs Life Magazine named her as a “Top Lawyer” for the past ten years in a row, consecutively. In addition to practicing law, she enjoys living in Palm Desert with her husband, her eleven year old son, Jack, and coaching his soccer team.

Philip Bourdette is a Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff attorney working in Visalia, California. Philip Bourdette works as an attorney at Bourdette & Partners. As one of a small number of attorneys selected to Super Lawyers, Philip Bourdette gained this recognition through professional achievement, peer recognition, and other distinguishing criteria. He graduated from University of California Davis School of Law in 1971. He was subsequently admitted to legal practice in 1971 after passing the bar exam.

With more than 20 years of legal experience, Attorney Robert A. Carichoff is known as an accomplished personal injury attorney in Sacramento. He is passionate about obtaining justice on behalf of those who have been victimized by another’s negligence or recklessness. As a result of his extensive knowledge and legal experience, he has obtained millions of dollars for his clients. Mr. Carichoff takes pride in being able to positively impact the lives of his clients. In every case, he works diligently to ensure his clients have access to the medical resources they need to make the most complete recovery possible, even in cases where clients do not have health insurance. When he handles a case, Mr. Carichoff takes his time to understand the nature of the accident as well as the client’s entire story. Because juries do not always make decisions based on facts, Attorney Carichoff utilizes the facts in combination with the client’s story in order to prove how that client’s accident and injury have affected their day-to-day lives. Attorney Carichoff attends numerous lectures and conferences every year in which he learns from and collaborates with the absolute best injury attorneys in California and across the entire country. He does this as part of his commitment to stay at the cutting edge of trial strategy and practice so that the triumphs in your case are as great as they possibly can be. Attorney Carichoff has served as an attorney fee arbitrator for both the State Bar of California and the Sacramento Bar Association. He also worked as a settlement conference attorney for the Sacramento County Superior Court, helping lawyers and their clients settle fee disputes. The State Bar Certified Lawyer Referral Service has recognized Attorney Carichoff as a “Top-Rated” Lawyer.

Brett C. Drouet, Esq., is a sixth generation Southern Californian, who has served Southern, Central and Northern California clients for over two decades as a member of the California State Bar. Mr. Drouet is recognized as a litigator’s litigator, who is uniquely experienced in catastrophic personal injury and death actions for trauma victims in auto accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, bicycle accidents, worksite accidents, DUI victim/plaintiff, construction defect, product liability and medical malpractice. Having represented Fortune 500 companies and major insurance companies’ insureds in thousands of catastrophic personal injury and death actions for over a decade, Mr. Drouet is a seasoned litigation veteran representing trauma victims, who have suffered life-changing injuries for over a decade. Traumatic, catastrophic personal injuries require an attorney with extensive, broad-based knowledge of evidence based medicine, treatment, and medical causation to best serve trauma victims, which is why Mr. Drouet is called upon to co-counsel and consult with other attorneys and law firms representing California trauma victims. Mr. Drouet has significant experience and expertise in product liability in catastrophic personal injury and death actions involving consumer products, chemical products, toxic substances, industrial products, industrial machinery, construction equipment, vehicles, tires, wheels, housing components, construction materials, and finished products. Mr. Drouet has substantial experience and practice in brain injury, loss of brain function, burn injury and Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome injuries.

My name is Lawrence M. Knapp, and at my law office we help obtain justice for accident victims and their families. Personal injury law is all we do! We fight, and fight hard, to get you the results you deserve. Contact the Law Offices of Lawrence M. Knapp now so we can evaluate your unique accident claim. We give honest, personal, friendly advice.

Matt Mahoney graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2001 with a Degree in Applied Mathematics in Engineering, and he graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 2007. Before becoming an attorney he worked a wide variety of jobs including, among others: Class A CDL Truck Driver; High School Mathematics Teacher; Limestone Cutter; Carpenter/Laborer; Oil and Gas Research Technician; House Painter; and Legal Process Server. His work experience is integral to his practice of law in that it provides him with a perspective from which he can better relate to the problems faced by his clients. It is thus his mission to provide each client with the best, most personalized, representation possible. In his spare time, Mr. Mahoney enjoys mountain biking, golf, skiing, exercising, working on cars, the great outdoors, and spending time with his family.

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.

Octavio “Tav” Gomez is a managing partner at The Consumer Lawyers. Previously he served as the Head of the Consumer Protection Department of Morgan & Morgan. He has represented Thousands of across the Nation. Mr. Gomez has earned a reputation for aggressive and dedicated representation in complex civil litigation. As an attorney, he is constantly striving to become a more educated and informed legal professional, and readily attends legal seminars and conferences to ensure his continuing legal education. Tav Gomez and his consumer team at Morgan and Morgan were recognized as “The Consumer Protection Group of the year” by Law360. Originally from Colombia, South America, Mr. Gomez moved to the United States as a child. He was raised in in Fort Lauderdale, FL and attended Florida State University for his undergraduate studies. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, he went on to earn his Juris Doctorate at the Florida State University College of Law. While attending law school, Mr. Gomez served as an intern with the Agency for Health Care Administration. After graduating law school, Mr. Gomez began working as a state prosecutor at the State Attorney’s office in Tampa, Florida. As a prosecuting attorney, he handled a multitude of felony cases, including habitual felony offender, 10-20-Life cases, grand theft, and trafficking cases. Mr. Gomez moved on from the State Attorney’s office in 2003 to become a named partner with Taracks, Gomez & Rickman, practicing primarily in the area of criminal defense and personal injury. During his tenure at the firm, he handled high profile cases including 1st-degree murder, vehicular homicide, complex mortgage fraud, extradition and tax fraud. Mr. Gomez has also handled civil and administrative cases involving the Federal Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Gomez’s became the National Head of the Consumer Protection at Morgan & Morgan and focuses primarily on Federal Litigation, on the FCRA, FDCPA, TCPA, and other consumer issues. He uses this extensive knowledge and experience in the courtroom, all to the benefit of his clients. Mr. Gomez has developed an invaluable understanding of the discovery phase and trial preparation. He has represented high profile cases in both Federal and State Court. Mr. Gomez has been involved in some of the largest individual settlement agreements in FCRA and TCPA cases around the nation. He has a deep understanding of the policies and procedures employed by most banks and debt collectors and has mastered credit reporting as instituted by Congress in relation to the FCRA. Mr. Gomez is a member of the Florida Bar, the Georgia Bar, The Pennsylvania Bar and numerous Federal Courts throughout the Country. He is fluent in Spanish and has served as lead attorney in more than 60 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials, in both Federal and State Courts. With over 20 years of legal experience, he handles cases with strategic aggressiveness to maximize case results.