Calabasas, CA

Gerald L. Marcus

Gerald L. Marcus has been practicing law since 1987; however, he worked in the personal injury field of law since 1980 as a private investigator for one of the largest personal injury firms in the San Fernando Valley. Mr. Marcus was the firm’s primary negligence investigator and worked directly under the firm’s senior partners developing and preparing cases for settlement and trial. The experiences that Mr. Marcus gained as a full-time negligence investigator inspired his passion for fighting for the rights of innocent injured victims against the insurance industry. Mr. Marcus attended California State University Northridge and later attended law school at the Southern California Institute of Law at the Ventura College of Law campus. Mr. Marcus was able to complete the 4-year law school curriculum a full six months early, all while working as a full-time negligence investigator. Since 1987, Mr. Marcus has represented over 18,000 clients. He has managed to obtain more than $450 MILLION in settlements, arbitration awards, and jury verdicts for his clients. He is an active member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and in the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and Beverly Hills Bar Association. In every year from 2014 to 2025, he was included on the California Super Lawyers list. No more than 5 percent of attorneys in each state are named to this list every year. He has also been selected for inclusion in “The Nation’s Top One Percent” by The National Association of Distinguished Counsel multiple years. Mr. Marcus is dedicated to the principals, and the philosophy, that every innocent injured victim is entitled to the best possible representation, regardless of their personal financial status, and of the size or complexity of their case. His philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: Every innocent injured victim is entitled to have their interests protected, and their case prosecuted aggressively and zealously, within the boundaries of the law, so that their ultimate recovery is maximized. Mr. Marcus prides himself on being a tough, creative, and fair legal representative and negotiator. Mr. Marcus was also recently selected to the 2021-2025 list of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel’s “Nation’s Top Attorneys”. This organization invites no more than 1% of all practicing attorneys within the country to be part of its list. Additionally, Mr. Marcus has surrounded himself with his hand-picked staff of well-trained individuals, who all share his basic common principals and philosophies. He is also actively involved in the local community, providing support to a number of charitable organizations as an Honorary Board of Governors member with Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities. Mr. Marcus was honored to have been selected as the 2018 LATLC President-elect. Mr. Marcus has been married for more than 38 years, has two daughters, three dogs, and is an L.A. Clippers Fan.

Deborah Chang

Deborah Chang is a trial lawyer, and is also a partner and founder of Athea Trial Lawyers LLP. She focuses her practice representing plaintiffs in complex catastrophic injury/wrongful death cases and has achieved some of the highest verdicts and settlements in the country. She is the 2022 President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and the 2021 President of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Deborah has been an integral part of the teams in significant and important trials, including the Michael Jackson wrongful death case, the first ASR model hip implant trial tried in the country, and a $160,500,000 verdict that led to significant changes in industries using security guards. Many of her cases of first impression led to significant changes in industry standards and practices that improved safety for the public.

Gary K. Walch

Gary K. Walch is the founder and senior attorney of the Law Offices of Gary K. Walch, A Law Corporation. Licensed in California since 1975, he has over 45 years of experience in personal injury and wrongful death cases, recovering over $100 million for clients. He is a UCLA School of Law graduate and has received multiple 'Personal Injury Attorney of the Year' awards.

Martin I. Aarons

Martin I. Aarons has been an employment law trial attorney for more than 18 years. He specializes in discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, retaliation, and whistleblower cases. He was elected to the Executive Committee of CAALA and will be its President in 2025. He has received numerous awards including Super Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers Southern California and CAALA's Trial Lawyer of the Year Nominee.

Candice Klein

Candice Klein is a founding partner of Chang | Klein LLP. She has over 20 years of experience fighting and championing causes for plaintiffs, specializing in wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse cases. She has recovered millions of dollars in jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of her clients. Candice was a trial attorney with Panish Shea & Boyle LLP for seven years, and prior to that, she was a partner at Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley LLP, where she exclusively represented injured people. She has tried more than 30 jury trials to verdict and has a proven track record of winning difficult cases.

Shannon H.P. Ward

Shannon H.P. Ward is a Trial Lawyer at Aarons Ward specializing in sexual harassment and assault cases, wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation. She is a member of the Board of Governors for CAALA and was voted CAALA’s 2022 Rising Star. She has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2017 and a Top Women Attorneys Rising Star by Los Angeles Magazine.

Robert S. Walch

Robert S. Walch is a partner and COO at Law Offices of Gary K. Walch, A Law Corporation. Admitted to the California State Bar in 2006, he handles an extensive caseload in serious injury and wrongful death accidents across California. He is a graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law and has been recognized as 'Personal Injury Attorney of the Year' for 2014.