People.

Brian Beltran

Shareholder

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: BBeltran@AdelsonMcLean.com

Brian Beltran attended Long Beach State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice, with an emphasis in law enforcement. He then attended Loyola Law School, graduating with the degree of Juris Doctor. While at Loyola Law School, Brian was initially a staff writer, and then selected Technical Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal, now known at the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review.

He also worked for the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, providing legal services, under the supervision of an attorney, to low income individuals. After law school, Brian worked briefly for a medical malpractice defense firm, and then for a well-known personal injury firm. Subsequently, he began working for a national workers’ compensation defense firm, being named a partner in that firm in 2009. In 2013, he was elevated to the level of co-managing partner for that same firm.

His practice includes all aspects of claims within workers’ compensation, including the defense of serious and willful claims, and claims brought pursuant to Labor Code 132a. Additionally, Brian has particular expertise in the handling of claims brought by former professional athletes, having extensive experience defending the interests of professional sports teams and their insurance carriers against claims brought by former professional athletes.

In the course of his practice, he has taken numerous cases to trial, with excellent results for his clients. In addition to cases at the trial level, Brian has also taken cases up on appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and also the California Court of Appeals.

Brian takes pride in providing his clients with a zealous and cost-efficient defense of claims, all with the goal of expeditious closure of claims.

Christine D. Luong-Pham

Senior Counsel

P: (949) 656-4601
E: cluongPham@AdelsonMcLean.com

Christine Luong-Pham has experience in civil litigation, including catastrophic personal injury defense, product liability, toxic tort, and civil qui tam. She has extensive experience handling all aspects of litigation claims, from initial case evaluation, discovery, law and motion, settlement negotiations, and trial preparation.

Ms. Luong-Pham has achieved numerous outstanding results for clients, including dismissal of a civil rights matter.  She also filed a motion for summary judgment that ultimately led to the dismissal of her client, as well as a motion for summary adjudication resulting in plaintiff agreeing to dismiss a negligent entrustment cause of action.  She has also successfully settled numerous cases.

Ms. Luong-Pham obtained her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.  She obtained her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

In her free time, Ms. Luong-Pham enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and traveling.

Michael J. Fabrega

Shareholder

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: MFabrega@AdelsonMcLean.com

Michael Fabrega’s practice is predicated upon efficiency, precision, and attention to detail. His principles are longstanding and have yielded ascertainable success.

Before passing the California State Bar, he graduated from Whittier Law School as Class Salutatorian (Class Rank: 2 of 170). While in law school, he earned nine (9) CALI Awards, a distinguished award given to the top student in a class.

Michael was also a published member of the Whittier Law Review, preparing an article critiquing California’s “duty” rules in the context of sports-based negligence. His passion for legal writing allowed him to act as lead editor for his last firm’s civil law and motion practice.

Some of Michael’s accomplishments include obtaining summary judgment in an eight-figure products liability action, complete dismissal of a federal wrongful death action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), and multiple dismissals of seven-figure punitive damages claims asserted pursuant to Civil Code section 3294. His emphasis is on formulating a concise and well-articulated action plan at the inception of a lawsuit, resulting in practical litigation that preserve’s a client’s bottom-line. He is qualified to handle all aspects of tort-based litigation, including claims predicates upon vehicular negligence, products liability, and premises liability. He also enjoys working with his clients to resolve their wage and hour, discrimination, sexual harassment, and Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA) claims.

His practice encompasses all phases of litigation, from commencement through jury verdict. He has been admitted to the California State Bar and the United States District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of California.

Mary-Cay Gallagher

Senior Counsel

P: (949) 656-4601
E: MGallagher@AdelsonMcLean.com

Mary-Cay Gallagher grew up in Ohio, obtained a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from Norte Dame College for Women. Moved to California where she obtained a California teaching credential and graduated from Western State College of Law.

After passing the Bar Mary-Cay did plaintiff work for about 5 years then took jobs doing civil defense work for 5 years before beginning an almost 40 year career in workers compensation defense.

Taylor McCray Hunter

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: THunter@AdelsonMcLean.com

Taylor Hunter is an advocate representing individuals and businesses in personal injury and wrongful death claims throughout California and Texas.  Taylor's practice focuses on litigation and trial work with an emphasis on catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and work-related incidents involving the construction, offshore oil and gas, and logistics industries.

He is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and prior to moving to Newport Beach he worked for a prestigious maritime law firm in Houston, Texas.  His experience handling and responding to contemporaneous maritime and land-based investigations in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond allow him to instantaneously identify and gather material evidence to use from intake to trial. 

Through his experience as local correspondent for the largest Protection and Indemnity Maritime Clubs in the world, Taylor recognizes what matters most when disputes and catastrophic incidents arise.  By way of example—he has experience handling personal injury and wrongful death claims from date of incident through trial for claims involving crew members, Jones Act seaman, and stevedores.  He also has experience prosecuting and defending construction claims, premises liability claims, trucking, and motor vehicle incidents.

Taylor prides himself on his work and appreciates the around the clock nature of the marine, construction, oil and gas, and transportation industries.  He has conducted numerous emergency responses and incident investigations at all hours of the day and night.  He has facilitated the response with federal and local agency investigations in numerous casualty events, including:

• United States Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board casualty investigation related to a collision involving a chemical tanker and shrimp boat near Galveston, Texas
• OSHA investigation related to a stevedore injury involving the manifold during cargo operations
• Multinational investigation into crew member incident while the vessel was located within international waters
• Surge incident resulting in mooring line stevedore injury
• Stevedore injury arising from gangway accident

Currently, Taylor handles a variety of matters involving personal injury and business disputes.  He is licensed in all California and Texas state courts and admitted to practice before the United States Central District of California and Southern District of Texas.  He is a dual Louisiana State University alumnus, having earned a bachelor’s in finance before earning his law degree from the Paul M. Hebert School of Law. 

An avid skier, sports fan and outdoors-man Mr. Hunter applies his competitive nature to the advocacy of his clients focusing on their needs throughout representation.

Maryam Jalali

Senior Counsel

P: (949) 656-4601
E: Mjalali@AdelsonMcLean.com

Maryam Jalali has over 15 years of workers’ compensation defense experience.  Prior to joining Adelson McLean, she was a partner at a prominent workers’ compensation firm.    

Maryam earned her Political Science Degree from California State University, Fullerton and her Juris Doctorate from Western State University, College of Law.  While in school, Maryam interned at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office.  She began her legal career in the areas of Estate Planning and Taxation.  In the year 2005, she began her workers’ compensation career as an applicant attorney.   

Maryam has represented the interests of insurance companies, third party administrators, employers and self-insured entities in state workers’ compensation cases.

She served as a member of the Newsletter Committee and has also provided training for clients on issues of early case resolution, case law updates and SB863.   

Hala Mousa

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: hmousa@AdelsonMcLean.com

Hala Mousa graduated from the Western State College of Law and has been admitted to the California State Bar. She has also been admitted to practice at the Federal level. Her main practice includes both prosecution and defense of personal injury cases involving auto, trucking, medical malpractice, products liability and premises liability. She also represents clients in subrogation matters.

She is licensed to practice law in the State of California and admitted to practice law in United States District Court for the Central and Northern Districts of California. She is a member of the State Bar of California, Orange County Bar Association, Orange County Trial Attorneys Association, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Michael J. Pang

Shareholder

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: MPang@AdelsonMcLean.com

Born and raised in Orange County, California, Michael Pang attended the University of California at Berkeley, earning a Bachelor of the Arts in History. Upon graduating from Cal, Michael attended the King Hall School of Law at the University of California at Davis, graduating with a Juris Doctorate and also completing the Public Service Law Program.

While in law school, Michael first clerked for the Santa Clara District’s Attorney’s office before joining Adelson, Testan, Brundo, Novell & Jimenez, beginning a 15 year career which started as a law clerk, before returning to Orange County as an associate attorney, then as the youngest partner of the firm, and finally, as the managing partner of the nationwide Sports Law Practice Group.

He was certified in 2013 by the California State Bar Association as a legal specialist in the field of workers’ compensation and defends all aspects of workers’ compensation, with experience in assisting a wide variety of employers, from small mom and pop stores to large international corporations.

In addition to the claims filed by former athletes, Michael also defends death claims, high value catastrophic claims, Labor Code Section 132(a) discrimination claims, and Serious & Willful actions, and has filed multiple appeals with the WCAB and the California Appellate Courts. He has volunteered as a pro tem judge for the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Michael is one of the six founding partners of Adelson McLean.

PUBLICATIONS

• Sports Business Journal, May 27-June 2, 2013 Issue, Page 15
  “Judicial, Legislative Actions Could Alter Impact of Workers’ Comp”
• Law in Sport, August 5, 2013 Online article
  “Professional Sports Challenge to California’s Liberal Workers’ Compensation System Nearing Resolution”

MEMBERSHIPS

• Sports and Entertainment Management Alliance (SERMA)

Nathaniel Patterson

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: npatterson@adelsonmclean.com

Nathaniel Patterson graduated from the Western State College of Law and has been admitted to the California State Bar. He has experience handling all aspects of civil litigation matters for individuals, as wells as corporations, from inception all the way through trial, including catastrophic injuries and wrongful death matters. Nate’s experience also includes corporate collection matters, business litigation, and corporate formation for small businesses.

Nathaniel dedicates himself to seeking the best course of action to achieve his client’s needs in a cost effective manner. His concern for his client’s needs provides him the passion to seek the best results for each of his clients.

His competitive spirit stems from his years of playing collegiate football, and he utilizes this competitiveness to obtain best results on behalf of his clients. His organization, responsiveness, attention to detail help him create an individualized theme for each case.

Kevin Place

Shareholder

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: KPlace@AdelsonMcLean.com

Kevin Place is a Trial Attorney at Adelson McLean where he handles a complex defense practice. Kevin has in excess of 25 jury trials, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Throughout his career, Kevin has practiced exclusively as a defense attorney, specializing in wrongful death, vehicle accidents, construction accidents, premises liability, toxic torts, habitability claims, unfair business practices, and products liability. Kevin’s first six years of practice were spent as a trial attorney with Nationwide Insurance Company’s Trial Division. He was also a managing attorney for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company’s staff counsel.

Kevin’s singular focus during his law career has been to provide the best defense to the individual and business clients he represents.  In 2017, Kevin obtained a defense verdict on behalf of his client staffing agency in a toxic tort case.   Plaintiff sought $23 million in damages, claiming he was born with birth defects after mother was exposed to pesticides while pregnant.  The Daily Journal selected this case as a top ten defense verdict of the year.

Kevin’s jury trial experience also includes obtaining a defense verdict in a products liability case where plaintiff sought $36 million in damages for causing complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a defense verdict on behalf of an Orange County engineering firm in a wrongful termination case, a defense verdict on behalf of a stucco manufacturer in an asbestos exposure case, and defense verdicts on behalf of Denny’s and Smart & Final in premises liability cases.

Before practicing law, Kevin played one year of football at the U.S. Air Force Academy before returning to Southern California to work at the Orange County Probation Department and Disneyland. 

David Seal

Senior Counsel

P: (949) 656-4601
E: DSeal@AdelsonMcLean.com

David Seal is Senior Counsel at Adelson McLean, handling liability defense, workers compensation subrogation, and general litigation matters. David’s clients are individuals, small businesses, insurance carriers and corporations, who rely on him to protect their interests from pre-litigation investigations and consultation, all the way to verdict.

His litigation experience includes catastrophic personal injury claims and wrongful death cases; and business, real estate litigation, and copyright litigation. In fact, the first matter that David tried involved intellectual property in the form of copyrights, personal injury claims, and cross-complaints. David prevailed on all defenses and all cross-complaints in the case, and received a resounding verdict in favor of his client, a small business owner.

David is an enthusiastic, conscientious and hard-working member of the Adelson McLean team, who seeks to obtain the best possible results for the firm’s clients. He does this through focused analytic work, evaluation of all possible outcomes, and open communication with his clients to advise them of their best course of action.

David has been admitted to practice in all courts of the State of California for over 27 years, and is also admitted to practice in United States District Courts in the Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California.  David graduated from Western State University College of Law in 1994, and attended undergraduate at California State University, Long Beach, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

David enjoys mountain biking, motorcycling, and hiking in his spare time.

Federico A. Stea

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: FStea@AdelsonMcLean.com

Federico A. Stea is a versatile litigator, whose practice focuses on products liability, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and construction defect matters.  Federico has a stellar track record in prevailing on motions and resolving complex legal issues on behalf of his clients.

Born and raised in Milan, Federico earned his J.D. from Italy’s prestigious University of Pavia, graduating with honors.  During his studies in Italy, Federico specialized in international commercial law, and represented University of Pavia at the XXI Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, arguing before international arbitration panels in New York, Milan, and Vienna.

Federico continued his legal studies at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where he earned a Master of Laws (LL.M), with a specialization in civil litigation and trial advocacy. While at Loyola, Federico further developed his exceptional advocacy skills under the mentorship of Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Presiding Judge, Hon. Daniel J. Buckley.  Federico also worked as a research assistant to Professor Hiro Aragaki, focusing on federal and international arbitration law, and served as a board member for the Business Law Society and the Student Advisory Board.

Elizabeth Sutlian-Mardikian

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: esutlianmardikian@adelsonmclean.com

Elizabeth is an experienced attorney who has devoted her career exclusively to litigation. She has represented a broad spectrum clients, ranging from individuals, small business owners, large corporations, public entities, and non-profit organizations. Elizabeth has litigated cases in many areas of law, including personal injury, products liability, premises liability, contract disputes, employment law, professional negligence, and insurance arbitration. Over the course of her almost decade-long career, she has become a skilled writer, successfully bringing and defending dozens of motions. Elizabeth has also honed her skills as an advocate, with first chair trial and appellate experience.

Elizabeth’s clients appreciate her thorough analysis of all potential legal and factual issues at all stages of a case, helping them make the best decisions to bring about a favorable result as expediently as possible. Elizabeth also understands the importance of maintaining the delicate balance between an aggressive defense strategy and cost-effective litigation in representing her clients’ interests.

Davil R. Vasquez

Shareholder

Trial Attorney

P: (949) 656-4601
E: DVasquez@AdelsonMcLean.com

Davil Vasquez has over 25 years of litigation experience before both the State and Federal courts of California, before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and before the California Court of Appeal.

His practice focuses on representing employers, businesses and their insurers in a wide range of legal matters, including the defense of civil liability tort actions, employee discrimination (Labor Code 132a) and misconduct (Serious & Willful) claims, and business disputes.

Davil has successfully represented multi-million-dollar telecommunications, aircraft and trucking companies, and family-owned markets and motels.

He is certified to provide client training, and routinely provides educational seminars to insurance carriers, third-party claims administrators and employers regarding industrial subrogation, third-party credit and third-party settlement strategies for global resolution of industrial and civil third-party claims.

Davil Vasquez is licensed to practice law before all of California’s State Courts, and before the Northern, Southern, Central and Eastern Districts of the United States District (Federal) Courts for the State of California.

He is a member of the American Bar Association and the California Bar Association. Over the years Davil Vasquez has been a member of the California Trial Lawyers Association, Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, and the Robert A. Banyard Inns of Court.

Davil is one of the founding partners and a shareholder with Adelson McLean.

FEATURED IN AND ARTICLE PUBLICATIONS

• Business Insurance | September 2022 | Liability for COVID still playing out in courts