DAN LAWTON
Mr. Lawton received his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 and
went on to attend Georgetown University Law Center, earning his J.D. degree in 1986
and serving as an editor of the American Criminal Law Review. After graduating from
Georgetown, Mr. Lawton served for one year as a law clerk to Judge Thomas Tang of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Phoenix, Arizona. Thereafter, Mr. Lawton
practiced law with the San Diego office of Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP for
eight years before launching his own law firm, Lawton Law Firm, in downtown San
Diego in 1995.
Throughout his career in private practice, Mr. Lawton has specialized in civil trial work,
civil appeals (he is certified as a legal specialist in Appellate Law by the State Bar’s
California Board of Legal Specialization), and complex litigation on behalf of both
plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Lawton is principally a trial and appellate lawyer; trials
and appeals occupy about 90% of his practice. Mr. Lawton is also a counselor. He
regularly counsels both corporate and individual clients in a variety of settings, often in
negotiations and sometimes in transactions. His corporate clients have included
manufacturers and distributors of various products, landowners and property developers,
large corporations, a local major league baseball franchise, life sciences companies,
automobile dealerships, and “mom-and-pop” businesses. His individual clients have
included officers, directors, and shareholders (both majority and minority) of
corporations, bankers, elected officials, politicians, professional athletes and coaches,
attorneys, accountants, land owners, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and other individuals.
Mr. Lawton and his colleagues and staff have devoted their practice to clients that
demand the highest level of skill, expertise, and use of technical practice tools which
enable them to take on large firms and complex litigation while at the same time
providing personalized and responsive service.
EXPERIENCE
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Mr. Lawton has tried multiple jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations, and litigated many
cases to disposition short of trial (by way of motions to dismiss and for summary
judgment). Mr. Lawton has obtained settlements and judgments in his clients’ favor
totaling millions of dollars, and recently obtained what is believed to be the third-largest
jury verdict in the legal history of Imperial County (for $14,286,461, after a nine-week
jury trial). Over the nearly twenty years he has practiced, his caseload has included cases
involving unfair competition, defamation, business torts (such as trade libel and
intentional interference with contractual relations), below-cost pricing, wage-and-hour
laws, federal and state antifraud laws, shareholder derivative actions, real estate-related
litigation, the California Subdivision Map Act, savings and loan-related litigation,
insurance bad faith, officer and director liability, RICO, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer
Act, anti-SLAPP litigation, patent infringement, theft of trade secrets, partnership
dissolutions, surety and antideficiency law, UCC, product liability, breach of contract,
negligence, First Amendment, governmental liability under the federal Administrative
Procedure Act and federal and California Tort Claims Acts and 42 U.S.C. section 1983,
race and sex discrimination, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, immigration issues, the U.C.
fertility clinic scandal, wrongful termination, stock option disputes, professional fee
disputes, professional sports-related matters, the Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act, civil
contempt, legal and accounting malpractice, and other topics. Mr. Lawton has handled
civil appeals and writs in both the California and federal courts. Mr. Lawton has
successfully litigated cases against some of the largest law firms and government
agencies in the State of California.
RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
Dan Lawton was honored in June 2009 as a “SuperLawyer,” an honor based on 12 criteria of anonymous peer recognition and professional achievement. These criteria include verdicts, settlements, representative clients, experience, honors and awards, special licenses and certifications, pro bono and community service, scholarly lectures and writings, education and employment background, and other outstanding achievements.
The State Bar of California’s Board of Legal Specialization has certified Mr. Lawton as a
legal specialist in Appellate Law, a distinction held by only 25 lawyers in San Diego
County.
In 1997, two years after opening his own practice, Mr. Lawton earned an “A/V” rating
from Martindale-Hubbell. In 1992, 1995, and 2001, Mr. Lawton earned the San Diego
Volunteer Lawyer Program’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions
of legal services to pro bono client Kevin Artt, an Irish refugee resisting extradition and
deportation. Mr. Lawton also has earned multiple Wiley W. Manuel awards for
community service from the State Bar of California for pro bono work on behalf of
indigent refugees (including Mr. Artt) fleeing persecution and seeking asylum in the
United States.
TEACHING LAW
Mr. Lawton teaches advanced appellate advocacy at Thomas Jefferson School of Law,
where he has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law since 2001. In September 2006, he
presented plaintiff’s winning closing argument in “Masters of the Art: Building to the
Close,” a daylong mock trial presentation presented jointly by the Association of Business
Trial Lawyers of San Diego and the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California. In
October 2007, he moderated a panel presentation to the membership of the Thomas More
Society entitled “The Attorney Civility Crisis and What Can Be Done About It.”
From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Lawton served as Chairman of the San Diego Education
Committee of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California. In that capacity, he
lectured on post-trial motions practice. In addition, Mr. Lawton organized multiple
continuing legal education presentations for and involving both bench and bar in southern
California on behalf of the Section.
ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES
Member, Wallace Inn of Court, 2009-Present; Chairman, San Diego Education Committee, Litigation Section, State Bar of California,
1995-1997; President, Thomas More Society, 2007-2008; Member, San Diego County
Bar Assn. Committee on Civility, Professionalism and Integrity (2007-2008); Louis M.
Welsh American Inn of Court, 2001-; American Bar Assn.; Assn. of Business Trial
Lawyers; Appellate Courts Committee, San Diego County Bar Assn; State Bar
Conference of Delegates, 1996; Editorial Board, ABTL News, 1994-1997.
Mr. Lawton is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and
Central Districts of California, and the California courts.
Mr. Lawton served as a Probation Monitor for the State Bar from 1993 to 1995, in which
capacity he monitored and counseled attorneys on State Bar probation.
Mr. Lawton recently served for several years as a volunteer in the Family Literacy
Program at St. Vincent De Paul Village in San Diego and at Mama’s Kitchen (a nonprofit
agency which delivers meals to men, women and children affected by AIDS and
other critical illnesses). He is a mentor at Nativity Prep Academy (a tuition-free, innercity
Catholic middle school for at-risk children in Logan Heights).
REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS
AntiCancer, Inc.; Padres, L.P. (San Diego Padres Baseball Club); Irving Development;
Cubic Corporation; RFG Oil, Inc..; AMN Healthcare, Inc.; GMS Janitorial Services,
Inc.; ACCO Engineered Systems; ImageWare Systems, Inc.; Notification Technologies,
Inc.; Bsquare Corp.; Newport National Corporation; Pacific West Realty Group;
Vivendi Universal Net USA Group, Inc.; MP3.com, Inc.; Fiserv, Inc.; Focus Golf
Systems, Inc.; Pacific Lands, L.P.; John Boggs & Associates, Inc.; Coffee Ambassador,
Inc.; Collectible Concepts Corp.; Prime Steaks, Inc.; Calexico Hospital Management
Group, LLC; Legend Tours, Inc.; E-Realty, Inc.; Olympic Auto Sales; Speak, Inc.
PUBLICATIONS
“Justice: Lost in the Shuffle” (Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 15, 2009);
“Beyond Civility Codes” (Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 14, 2007); “Living in an
Age of Phony Apologies” (Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 24, 2004); “Fair Shake?
Arbitration Industry Has No Incentive to Reform a System That Serves It Well” (Los
Angeles Daily Journal, July 24, 2002); “Torts Need No Reform; Laws Already Protect
Real Victims” (Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 4, 2001).
