Jon Gertler Named Finalist for Trial Lawyer of the Year Award 2008
Founding partner Jon Gertler was named a Finalist in the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association’s annual competition for the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for his victory in Madrid v. Frank C. Alegre Trucking Inc., et al.  It is the second time Jon has been a finalist in the last three years; in 2006 he won the award for his outstanding verdict in Pietrowski v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The trial lawyer’s organization is one of the oldest in the country, and has about 850 trial lawyers as active members.  Jon will be the President of the group in 2011.

Mark Chavez speaks at Stanford University Law School’s Distinguished Practitioner Speaker Series                                                                      Stanford University Law School’s Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law selected founding partner Mark A. Chavez to participate in its Distinguished Practitioner Speaker Series on October 23, 2007. Mark has been recognized as a visionary in his field and will spoke at the law school on his work as a nationally prominent attorney representing plaintiffs in consumer, employment, and civil rights class actions.

DC Office Opening                                                                                               In January of 2007, the firm opened an office in Washington, D.C. The office will be headed by Steven Berk, who has nearly two decades of litigation experience in the Washington, D.C. legal community. Steve has served in federal government in both the general counsel's office of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. He also has been a partner in the law firms of Jenner & Block and Cuneo Waldman & Gilbert.

The firm's DC Office will focus on consumer protection litigation with the expectation of expanding upon the firm's existing reputation for exemplary client service, integrity, a passion for public service and a record of success in obtaining meaningful and substantial relief for its clients.

Jon Gertler Named San Francisco's Trial Lawyer of the Year for 2006
Chavez & Gertler founding partner Jonathan E. Gertler was named Trial Lawyer of the Year for 2006 by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. The prestigious organization is comprised of more than 750 consumer and employment lawyers who represent individuals or groups of individuals in civil cases.

Jon was honored for his victory in Pietrowski v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, in which Chavez & Gertler won a multi-million dollar jury verdict, including $2 million in punitive damages. At the end of the nine week trial, the railroad agreed to re-examine the safety conditions at its 10,000 private crossings in order to avoid an even larger punitive verdict. Associates Ariana Mohit and Joe Igelmund assisted in the trial.

Jon Gertler Named Finalist For California Consumer Attorney of the Year
Jon Gertler, a founding partner of Chavez & Gertler, was named a finalist in the 2006 competition for the Consumer Attorney of the Year award following a trial victory in the case of Pietrowski v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The coveted award is annually given by the statewide trial lawyer organization, Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Associate Joe Igelmund was also nominated for his contribution to the victory before and during the trial.

CAOC is comprised of about 3,000 California lawyers who represent consumers, workers, and victims of civil wrongs of all kinds. Its Consumer Attorney of the Year award honors lawyers who have achieved litigation victories that significantly assist consumers, enhance public safety, display skill and determination and advance the cause of civil justice. In the second phase of the Pietrowski trial, the railroad told the jury that as a result of the litigation it intended to re-examine the safety of its 10,000 private railroad crossings.

Jon Gertler has been a jury trial lawyer in California since 1984, when he tried and won his first case, obtaining a jury verdict in excess of $1 million on behalf of an injured construction worker. He is a past President of Marin Trial Lawyers Association, an officer and future President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, and serves on the Boards of Legal Aid of Marin and Bay Area Legal Aid