El Centro, CA

John Gomez

John Gomez is the firm’s founder and lead trial attorney. John grew up in San Diego and attended Grossmont College and San Diego State before graduating from the University of San Diego. At USD, he played football and was recognized as an Academic All American. John worked as a social worker in Southeast San Diego and then attended Yale Law School, the nation’s top-ranked law school. After graduating, he first clerked for a federal judge and then worked in downtown Los Angeles at Latham and Watkins, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious law firms. There, he worked on billion dollar matters for some of the largest companies in the world. John, however, knew he wanted to try cases and serve his community. For that reason, he returned to San Diego to work as a federal prosecutor. As a member of the United States Attorney’s Southern District Office, he served his country by trying border, narcotics and corruption cases. After trying and winning twenty jury trials in a row, he decided he wanted to work for San Diegans and their families. And so he next began working as a trial lawyer for people. In his first civil jury trial he obtained a $1.6 million verdict in a zero offer case. He then opened Gomez Trial Attorneys. In his first trial with his new firm, he obtained a $106 million verdict in a second zero offer case. In the twenty years since, John has established himself as one of our nation’s leading trial lawyers. He has obtained jury verdicts in excess of one million dollars in more than 20 separate cases, and has been named San Diego’s Trial Lawyer of the Year two separate years. He also has earned 12 different Outstanding Trial Lawyer awards, more than any lawyer in San Diego history. John’s outstanding results have come in cases involving civil rights, sexual harassment and abuse, wrongful death, brain and other catastrophic injury and dangerous product cases. His peers have recognized his excellence, voting him the number one lawyer in San Diego among all fields twice and a top 10 lawyer overall every year for the past 12 years running. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and a former President of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. Personally, John is a family man. He is a devoted husband to Leah and the proud father of JD, Michael, Analise and Jolie. He is also a devout believer, who leads a prayer and bible group each Monday at work. Finally, John is extremely proud of his San Diego roots and Mexican American heritage. He speaks, reads and writes Spanish fluently and frequently appears on both English and Spanish news networks. John is a hands-on and present Firm leader. He believes strongly in leading from the front and leading by example. He believes that whatever gifts or blessings that God has provided him, he must share those gifts and blessings with those around him, including those in need. For that reason, John is deeply involved in a number of charitable and community organizations. John is also a member of the Rock church, an active jiu jitsu practitioner and competitor and a proud Latino.

Joshua Harris

Joshua Harris is a Partner and Director of Mass Tort Litigation at Gomez Trial Attorneys. After spending several years at one of the nation’s most prominent mass tort firms, Josh joined Gomez Trial Attorneys to expand the types of cases the firm handles thus expanding the number of injured people the firm can assist. Josh’s practice focuses on mass torts including defective products, pharmaceutical injuries, and environmental harms. Josh is a born-and-raised Florida native having attended the University of Florida and Stetson University College of Law. Throughout his collegiate career, Josh focused on honing his skills as a trial attorney. While attending Stetson Law, Josh was a member of the college’s #1 nationally ranked trial team and competed in numerous trial competitions throughout the country. After graduating, Josh worked for three years as a public defender and was lead counsel in over thirty trials, most of which were jury trials. Josh then became a civil plaintiff lawyer focusing on mass torts and drastically increasing the number of individuals he would be able to represent and assist through the hardest times of their lives. As a mass torts lawyer, Josh has participated in numerous litigations involving defective devices and harmful drugs. Having been fortunate enough to learn from some of the best lawyers in the country, he was quickly able to develop his skills to effectively represent clients and ensure they were fairly and adequately compensated for the injuries caused to them by large corporations. Josh was also a member of the national opiate litigation and assigned to work up a case against one of the major distributor defendants and participate in a bellwether trial. The work performed by the national team of trial lawyers resulted in a $21 billion national settlement against the Big 3 Distributors. Josh has experience representing both individuals as well as governmental entities such as cities, counties, and even several Attorneys General. Josh has been recognized by many organizations such as the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 and Super Lawyers as a Florida Rising Star. In addition, Josh is active in several organizations such as American Association of Justice, Florida Justice Association, and National Trial Lawyers. These organizations champion the rights of people and fight to ensure access to the courts for all. He has also been honored to speak at national mass tort conferences and has published several works covering his practice field. Ultimately, Josh believes in advocating for his clients both in and out of the courtroom.

Brian C. Ellis

Brian C. Ellis is a founding partner at Ellis Helm, APC. Mr. Ellis graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Economics and a minor in Spanish in 2003. He graduated with his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 2006. Mr. Ellis was admitted to the California Bar and began practice in February 2007. Prior to founding Ellis Helm, APC, Mr. Ellis worked for large insurance companies as a defense attorney. He spent many years on The Major Case Team for a national insurance company; working on personal injury and wrongful death cases viewed by the insurance company to be high value cases. During his time as a defense attorney, Mr. Ellis learned the strategies and goals of the insurance companies, and gathered invaluable insight into what it takes to maximize case value. After growing tired of the insurance industry run around, Mr. Ellis established Ellis Helm, APC, to focus solely on the rights of the injured. Mr. Ellis now uses his experience, insight and knowledge gathered from his years as an insurance defense attorney to maximize settlements for injury victims. Mr. Ellis handles a variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has secured millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients. He is a trial attorney and has tried several cases to verdict. In 2015 alone my firm secured a seven figure jury verdict and a six figure jury verdict in arguably one of the most conservative counties in California. Due to his accomplishments, Mr. Ellis is recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2016 and 2017 (an honor bestowed on no more than 2.5% of attorneys in California).

Brian Mason

Brian Mason grew up in a small town in Oregon where he spent most of his free time playing basketball and working summer jobs on farms and in a paper mill. Eventually Brian went on to play college basketball in Portland, Oregon. After his basketball career ended, Brian received a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Brian then attended law school at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California where he received the Witkin Award for receiving the top grade in Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Trial Practice, California Evidence, and Legal Writing. During Brian’s last year of law school in 2007, he received a Pro-Bono Honors Award for volunteering more than 300 hours of legal service to the San Diego County Public Defender’s Multiple Conflicts Office to help defend indigent criminal defendants in multiple first-degree homicide cases. Since law school, Brian has appeared in California State and Federal Courts thousands of times, including as the solo counsel on dozens of jury trials. Brian’s first trial was only 6 months out of law school and was a bench trial in Federal Bankruptcy Court where Brian successfully took on Wells Fargo Bank and was able to remove a $150,000 lien from his client’s home. After that, Brian was lead counsel in dozens of jury trials in criminal cases that included multiple life-in-prison felony cases, including the “Coronado Bridge Road Rage Case” trial in which ABC, NBC, and CBS all had cameras in the courtroom throughout the trial to witness Brian obtain an acquittal for his client in this high-profile case in which his client was arrested for attempted murder on the Coronado Bridge. In 2011, Brian worked as an expert legal correspondent on radio programs on KCBQ 1170 AM and KPRZ 1210 AM where he was interviewed about multiple high-profile cases at the time, including the Casey Anthony Murder Trial and the Wal-Mart Wage Discrimination Class Action lawsuit. In 2015, Brian accepted a position as in-house counsel with Mercury Insurance Company. In that position, Brian was the solo defense counsel on dozens of civil jury trials that resulted in defense verdicts for Brian’s clients. Before leaving to join Gomez Trial Attorneys, Brian was a lead attorney on the “trial team” at Mercury Insurance Company and would be called in at the time of trial to try cases of high value throughout the state of California on behalf of Mercury Insurance. As a result of his vast jury trial experience in civil personal injury cases on behalf of both Defendants and injured Plaintiffs, Brian was voted in as a member of the distinguished American Board of Trial Advocates (“ABOTA”). Less than 1% of all lawyers in the United States are allowed membership by invitation and only after the lawyer has completed a certain number of civil jury trials. Brian was inducted into this prestigious group in 2020 after having been the lead and solo trial attorney successfully trying more than 30 civil and criminal trials by jury. In addition to being a member of ABOTA, Brian was voted as a Super Lawyer Rising Star in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He was also voted into the prestigious TOP 100 Personal Injury Lawyers in America Club and the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers. In 2017, Brian also accepted a part-time position as an adjunct professor of law teaching Legal Writing II at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Brian lives in the Serra Mesa neighborhood of San Diego with his wife and three children. He spends his free time having fun with his wife and kids, camping, watching his kids play sports, and playing pick-up basketball with his friends.

Chandler Roth

Chandler Roth is a trial attorney with Gomez Trial Attorneys. Chandler focuses her practice on employment litigation and bringing lawsuits to help employees who have been wronged by their employers and suffered emotional or financial losses as a result of the same. Chandler is a first-generation attorney who takes pride in working hard and fighting for her clients. Chandler has been recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers and as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. A dedicated advocate, Chandler has been commended for her polished and poised oral argument skills by prominent judges of the San Diego Superior Court. Chandler graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado Boulder where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in business innovation. Eager for legal experience, she worked as a law clerk in a small criminal defense practice between classes. After graduation, Chandler packed her car and moved to San Diego where she immediately began law school at the University of San Diego School of Law. While attending the University of San Diego School of Law, Chandler was a competing member of the National Mock Trial team and an Associate Writer and Editor of the San Diego Law Review. Chandler served on the executive board of the University of San Diego Business Law Society and maintained active roles in the Women’s Law Caucus and Middle Eastern Law Students Association. Chandler simultaneously worked as a law clerk at a local trial firm where she participated in a bench trial while certified under the State Bar of California’s Practical Training of Law Students program. Chandler was awarded the David S. Casey Trial Advocacy Scholarship for her achievements on the Mock Trial team and distinction in trial advocacy coursework. Prior to joining Gomez Trial Attorneys, Chandler worked at a prominent civil defense firm handling complex litigation arising from commercial motor vehicle accidents and premises liability. Chandler learned first-hand how to negotiate with large corporations and insurance companies. This experience provided Chandler with a unique competitive edge in dealing with defense counsel and insurance adjusters as a plaintiff’s attorney. In her role at Gomez Trial Attorneys, Chandler is honored to serve as a voice for her clients.

John W Greer

John Greer is a trial attorney with Gomez Trial Attorneys and concentrates his practice on catastrophic personal injury litigation. John has an intimate knowledge of the insurance and healthcare industries, which has helped him recover millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients. While in law school, John was a member of the Dean’s Honor’s list for four consecutive semesters. He received the American Jurisprudence Award for Environmental Law (U.S.) and was the Vice-President of the Environmental Law Society. John was also the Director of the Community Outreach Committee, which is the homeless outreach arm of the Student Bar Association on campus. John earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and worked as an editor for a small publishing house before going to law school. Outside of his law practice, John is an avid cyclist and swimmer.

Chris Movafagh

Chris Movafagh, also known as Chris Mova, is the founder and lead attorney of Mova Law Group. He is dedicated to representing individuals injured due to negligence, with extensive experience in car accidents, motorcycle crashes, slip and falls, dog bites, and wrongful death cases. Chris is known for his aggressive courtroom presence, compassionate client approach, and commitment to achieving significant settlements and trial verdicts. He coaches personal injury lawyers nationwide on case setup, negotiation, and litigation, particularly for spinal and brain injuries.