San Marcos, CA

Josh D. Gruenberg

In 2023, Attorney Josh Gruenberg was voted “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by his peers. He prepares every case for the courtroom, investing extensive time and resources on depositions, investigations and evidence gathering. He handles employment law matters such as sexual harassment, retaliation and discrimination cases, as well as serious personal injury cases. Throughout the years, Josh has earned numerous local and national distinctions and awards for his work vigorously representing individual plaintiffs. In 2014 and 2019, Josh was named one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” (Civil Plaintiff area) by National Trial Lawyers Association. He is also San Diego Daily Transcript 2015 Top Attorney (Employment and Labor Litigation), and has earned that distinction in six of the last seven years. From 2008 through 2025, Josh has been selected as a Super Lawyer, an achievement bestowed upon only 5% of attorneys in California. He was named a San Diego Magazine Top Lawyer in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019 - 2024. Josh has also recently been selected as one of the “Best Attorneys in America” in the area of Personal Injury Litigation, by U.S. News and World Report. He has twice been awarded the Consumer Attorneys of California’s President’s Award, and twice received the Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. Josh was also awarded “Best of the Bar” by the San Diego Business Journal. Josh has served on the boards of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego and Consumer Attorneys of California. He is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the AAJ, and NELA. He is also an instructor in the San Diego Inn of Court. Josh has been designated by Forbes.com Accolades as one of America’s Best In State Lawyers for 2025. Josh has been recognized as an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell®. The AV Peer Review Ratings, which identifies lawyers with the highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards, is a reflection of his expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence. In 2019 and 2020, Josh received recognition by Best Lawyers in Southern California in the area of Personal Injury Litigation. This designation is based entirely on peer review. Best Lawyers methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Josh is part of a select group of San Diego lawyers recognized for their legal abilities and professional ethical standards.

Randall R. Walton

Randall R. Walton is a Southern California native who practices personal injury and wrongful death law across Southern California counties, with his main office in San Diego County. He has recovered millions for clients in motor vehicle accidents, work injuries, property injuries, and brain injuries. He also specializes in prosecuting nursing facilities for elder abuse and neglect. Mr. Walton is a certified mediator and actively involved in his community, serving on the San Marcos City Council and San Marcos Unified School District Governing Board, and founding Project Next. He is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers for 11 consecutive years (2014-2024) and Best Lawyers in America (2025).

Zev Rubinstein

San Diego personal injury attorney Zev Rubinstein founded The Rubinstein Law Group in 1988. Since then he has run the firm with a personal dedication to fighting for the rights of those injured by the negligence of others. For more than 30 years of practicing law, Zev Rubinstein has strived to deliver the utmost level of individualized and thorough service, achieving fair compensation and justice for his clients with compassion. Within his practice, he has used his legal position for his goal of advocacy. He has remained committed to helping ordinary people level the playing field against insurance companies and corporations that sacrifice people for profits. This has been achieved by providing clients with a comprehensive understanding of the legal process pertaining to their case. With this knowledge, clients are able to feel confident in the support they receive from the Rubinstein Law group. Our San Diego personal injury attorney at the Rubinstein Law Group handles cases related to car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents, wrongful death, brain injury, spinal cord injury, premises liability, food poisoning, and product liability. Zev Rubinstein has worked in the field for close to 40 years, lending his practice to alliances within the legal community and developing a network of the top lawyers in the nation and collective resources to bring you the best possible result to your case.

Max A. Gruenberg

Max A. Gruenberg is a trial attorney at Gruenberg Law and a proud San Diego native. Before joining the firm, Max gained valuable experience at four of the premier plaintiff-side law firms in San Diego. He brings a comprehensive, strategic approach to litigation, drawing on an extensive network of fellow attorneys, private investigators, expert witnesses, and litigation vendors to provide multifaceted representation for his clients. Max earned his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he also served as a teaching assistant in Contracts. He completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA, majoring in Psychology and Spanish, and later advanced his language skills during an immersive program in Madrid, becoming a proficient Spanish speaker. From a young age, Max was inspired by his father, decorated trial attorney Josh Gruenberg, and grew up watching him try many cases before juries. That early exposure fueled his lifelong passion for courtroom advocacy. Max is committed to traveling throughout California-and beyond-to try cases on behalf of individuals harmed by corporations and institutions. True to that commitment, Max prioritized trial experience early in his career. He has served as trial counsel in a range of venues-from a federal birth injury trial before Judge Dana Sabraw, to lead counsel on a seven-week construction defect jury trial before Judge Kevin A. Enright. His passion lies in oral advocacy and the pursuit of justice in the courtroom. Max also maintains a strong dedication to pro bono work. He believes deeply in helping people who might otherwise be overlooked by the legal system, understanding that even a small case can have life-changing impact for someone with nowhere else to turn.

Pamela Vallero

Pamela Vallero, the 2024 Consumer Attorneys of San Diego Trial Lawyer of the Year, has dedicated her career to advocating for the rights of underrepresented individuals who form the backbone of the workforce. Since the beginning of her legal career, she has obtained top verdicts for her clients. Below are some of her top verdicts: 2019 - Disability Discrimination - $1,107,855 (Top 40 Civil Rights Verdict in California; Top 50 Labor & Employment Verdicts in California; Top 100 Labor & Employment Verdicts in the United States) 2022 - Whistleblower Retaliation - $3,893,490 (Top 50 Labor & Employment Verdicts in California; Top 100 Verdicts in California 2022 - Disability Discrimination - $1,850,000 (Top 50 Labor & Employment Verdicts in California) 2023 - Gender Discrimination - $1,375,000 (No. 1 Verdict for Gender Discrimination in San Diego County; Top 50 Labor & Employment Verdicts in California; Top 100 Labor & Employment Verdicts in the United States) 2023 - Medical Battery, Lack of Informed Consent - $800,000 (No. 1 Verdict for Lack of Informed Consent and Medical Battery in San Diego County) 2024 - Solicitation of Employee by Misrepresentation, Labor Trafficking $20,938,666,67. In 2022, Pam was recognized as the sole recipient of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego’s Rising Star Award and one of the recipients of the Outstanding Trial Lawyer in 2023, Pam has dedicated her career to fighting for the underdog. Since 2022, Pam has consistently been selected as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star,” which is given to the top 2.5 percent of lawyers in the industry under the age of 40. In 2023, Pam was also recognized as one of San Diego’s Women of Influence in the Law. Pam loves to be in the courtroom. However, she continues to work tirelessly outside the courtroom securing seven-and-six-figure settlements for her clients. Prior to becoming an attorney, Pam grew up in Medellin, Colombia. She arrived in the United States in her teens where she lived with her parents and two sisters. She faced first-hand the many socio-economic discrepancies, social injustice, and discrimination that people of color often experience. As a result, Pam vowed to fight against such inequalities. Pam is a firm believer that every victim has a story that deserves to be told and heard. Pam believes that through her work as an advocate for workers, she is able to continue combating the inequalities faced by her community.

Randall R. Walton

For more than 20 years, Randy Walton has represented individuals and families throughout the State of California who have been victimize by abuse or neglect in the nursing home and assisted living setting. Mr. Walton believes strongly that seniors and dependent adults harmed by the negligence or reckless of others deserve justice for their injuries. As a result, he has collected millions of dollars for elder abuse victims and wrongful death heirs. Mr. Walton is an AV Preeminent® rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, a distinction signifying the highest level of professional excellence and ethical standards. For his work in personal injury, he has been named to the Super Lawyers list for 12 consecutive years (2014-2025) and was recently selected for the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. In law school, Mr. Walton was a member of the national trial team and earned multiple honors, including the Westbrook Award for scholarship and oral advocacy as well as academic awards for legal writing.

Steven A. Elia established Elia Law Firm in 2001. Since then, he has focused on plaintiff’s personal injury, civil litigation and business transactional matters. Mr. Elia has handled over 1,000 personal injury cases, obtaining excellent results. He has extensive litigation experience having appeared at more than 1,000 civil hearings including jury and bench trials, over 500 depositions, and hundreds of mediations. Some of his cases have made national and local headlines. He has prosecuted and defended many substantial civil matters in both state and federal courts. In some instances, his cases have included litigating various complex cases in simultaneous state and federal proceedings.