Attorney Profiles

 PETE E. ALMEIDA was admitted to the California bar in 1992. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984 from Chapman University and his Juris Doctorate degree from Pepperdine University in 1991.

        Mr. Almeida began his career specializing in premises liability, automobile accidents, insurance bad faith, attorney malpractice, property and third party subrogation. His reputation in the legal community led to his speaking extensively throughout Southern California about third party subrogation.

        In 1997, Mr. Almeida joined the firm of Tobin & Louie. Mr. Almeida was made a partner within six months and upon Mr. Tobin’s departure in 2000, the firm was renamed to Louie, Almeida & Stettler. In 2000, Mr. Almeida was named the managing partner. The firm grew from 10 attorneys in 2000 to 29 attorneys and 3 offices by 2004.

        Mr. Almeida’s focus throughout his career has been to separate cases into those that should be taken to trial and those that should be pushed to a successful, early resolution. He is comfortable with complex medical and legal issues having handled cases involving hematological, neurological (including massive brain trauma), orthopedic and psychiatric/psychological issues. As a result of Mr. Almeida’s expertise he has been able to confront opposing counsel with hard facts while refuting grossly inflated injury claims resulting in fair reasonable settlements or “take nothings” from the WCAB. Mr. Almeida has successfully settled workers’ compensation matters that included a resolution of the employees other civil claim resulting in untold savings to the employer.

JAMES C. GALLOWAY, JR. was admitted to the California Bar in 1970 and to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1964 from the University of Southern California and his Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern University in 1969. He has served as the Firm's Managing Partner, and currently is a member of the Executive Committee.

        Mr. Galloway maintains an extremely active litigation and trial calendar specializing in the defense of professional liability matters including dental, medical and real estate, multi-party construction defect matters, product liability, auto and governmental tort actions. His keen sense of the issues and incisive analysis has earned him the reputation as an aggressive no-nonsense litigator.

        Upon entering the legal profession, Mr. Galloway served with house counsel at Farmers Insurance Group before joining the Firm. Since 1980 he has volunteered as a Judge Pro Tem on the Los Angeles Municipal Court and is active as an Arbitrator for the Los Angeles Superior Court Arbitration Panel. Additionally, he is a member of the National Panel of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and a Diplomat of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Mr. Galloway has participated as a member in the Los Angeles County and American Bar Associations, the American Judicature Society and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel. He has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court since 1977.

        MARK A. WEINSTEIN received his Bachelor's degree (cum laude) at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1972 and his Juris Doctorate (cum laude) from Loyola Marymount University School of Law in 1975. After remaining on the Dean's List throughout law school and earning entry into the Saint Thomas Moore Law Society, he was admitted to the California Bar in 1975. A member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Mr. Weinstein serves as an Arbitrator for the Los Angeles County Superior Court in the field of personal injury.

        Mr. Weinstein came to the firm in 1986 from the Office of the California Attorney General. During nine years of practice he was promoted to the highest rank of Deputy Attorney General IV. Mr. Weinstein practiced in the Tort and Condemnation section, representing various state agencies such as the Department of Corrections, California Highway Patrol, Department of Mental Health, Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Department of Insurance. He had full responsibility for multi-party complex litigation including Newman v. Stringfellow, where over 5,000 plaintiffs sued the State and others for damages allegedly resulting from toxic materials deposited at the Stringfellow disposal site in Riverside County; and Sinaloa Homeowners Association v. State of California, an inverse condemnation action filed in Federal Court because of the Department of Water Resources decision to breach a privately owned dam causing property damage to 40 homeowners.

        His most recent high-profile civil rights trial, a federal police misconduct action, was successful on appeal--and that is no surprise. In Allen v. Singer, Mark defended before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals the CHP officer who pulled over Rodney King's white Hyundai on the night of his arrest. This case represented a successful conclusion to the civil rights challenges of King and his passengers.

        Over the years, Mr. Weinstein has established himself as a preeminent authority in public entity defense with an array of government tort cases, resulting in over 20 published appeals that have, in some circumstances, virtually redefined the scope of public entity liability.

        In addition to Allen v. Singer, et al., Mr. Weinstein has to his credit published opinions such as Clemente v. State of California; Chevlin v. Los Angeles Community College District; Kuykendall v. State; State of California v. Meyer; Truong v. James; Guess v. State of California; and Leader v. State, in which Mr. Weinstein persuaded the Court of Appeals to revise the law of collateral estoppel. Mark's meticulous handling of the Leader case at trial laid the groundwork for appeal, furnishing the appellate court with a sound legal and factual basis for changing the law.

        Mr. Weinstein’s trial and appellate work in another case, Hacker v. City of Glendale, was instrumental in focusing the development of the defense of primary assumption of the risk. Mr. Weinstein's ability to litigate complex and sensitive tort cases has also earned him a reputation in the areas of negligent security, foster care liability, harassment, discrimination, and other similar high-exposure cases. As one of the Firm's primary trial attorneys, his practice also includes medical malpractice defense, truck accidents, construction disputes, products liability, and intellectual property. Mr. Weinstein also heads the Firm's appellate practice group.

        Recently Mr. Weinstein served as co-instructor of several courses including C.E.B.'s "How to Handle a Government Tort Liability Claim," and a series of classes presented by Veatch Carlson on basic investigation and litigation techniques.

        MARK M. RUDY received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Santa Clara where he was a four-year member of the University Honors Program. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in May 1986. He served as Associate Articles Editor of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review in 1985 - 1986. He is a member of the American Bar Association; the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel; and the Southern California Association of Healthcare Risk Managers.

        He joined Veatch Carlson after admission to the Bar in December of 1986. Since that time, Mark has practiced primarily in the area of medical and dental malpractice defense. During his tenure with the firm, Mark has tenaciously litigated a multitude of complex matters in the medical malpractice arena.

        Mr. Rudy has tried cases to verdict involving claims of death, birth injury, and permanent neurological damage in matters alleging medical malpractice. Favorable trial results have been achieved for insureds of various insurance companies including Truck Insurance Exchange, Shand Morahan & Co., Caliber One Indemnity Co. and Southern California Physicians Insurance Exchange. Mr. Rudy has also handled cases involving allegations of sexual harassment/battery against healthcare providers. He has additional trial experience in the areas of premises liability and motor vehicle accidents. Mr. Rudy has presented lectures on the medical-legal aspects of nursing at several Los Angeles-area hospitals.

        BRUCE L. SCHECHTER has over 25 years of trial experience, and he’s a proud member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, has established himself as a trusted defense attorney. In litigation cases ranging from wrongful death to product liability and personal injury, Mr. Schechter has achieved a track record of success which makes him the lawyer of choice for clients requiring an aggressive defense to catastrophic injury claims.

        His success rate in effectively defending clients in jury trials, where damages sought exceed eight figure sums, has earned him the prestigious AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest that can be achieved. Mr. Schechter’s ability to consistently win defense verdicts has saved his clients over $1 billion in damage claims. This is why so many corporations, insurance carriers and business owners turn to this expert defense counselor when faced with high expense cases. His proven method of tenacious defense and detailed preparation gives him an advantage when protecting his client’s rights. In addition to the courtroom, Mr. Schechter also uses his specialized skills in the classroom. Since 2008, he has been helping to expand the horizons of countless young law students as and Adjunct Professor of Law at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California.

       Mr. Schechter graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Business Administration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the California Western School of Law. He has been a member of the State Bar of California since 1981 and a member of the State Bar of Utah for almost 25 years.

        BERNHARD E. BIHR is a 1969 graduate of California State, Los Angeles, and a 1973 graduate of Loyola Law School.  Since his admittance to the California Bar, Mr. Bihr has specialized in insurance defense law, focusing primarily in the areas of construction defect litigation, toxic torts, products liability, real estate errors and omissions and legal malpractice. Mr. Bihr has tried well over twenty Superior Court jury trials and has been a court appointed arbitrator having heard over 200 cases.

        He has served as the managing attorney for the Los Angeles staff counsel office of The Home Insurance Company. While in that capacity, Mr. Bihr was actively involved in law firm audits throughout the Western United States.

        Throughout his career, Mr. Bihr's focus in defense litigation has been the successful, early resolution of matters in an effort to achieve favorable results for his clients in the most expeditious and economic manner.

        CYRIL CZAJKOWSKYJ joined Veatch Carlson in 2001, bringing his extensive experience in all phases of civil litigation. He was a principal with Knapp, Peterson & Clark, for more than 16 years, specializing in insurance defense, products liability, professional malpractice, employment termination, business litigation, libel, insurance bad faith and civil rights litigation.

        Mr. Czajkowskyj's experience includes jury and bench trials and appellate litigation. Reported appellate opinions include Reid v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 557 [218 Cal.Rptr. 913], National Metal & Steel Corp. v. Colby Crane & Manufacturing Co. (1988) 200 Cal.App.3d 1111 [246 Cal.Rptr. 435], Robertson v. Chen (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 1290 [52 Cal.Rptr.2d 264], and Melikian v. Aquila, Ltd. (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 1364 [74 Cal.Rptr.2d 739].

        He joined the California State Bar in 1978. He is also admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Central and Northern Districts of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. After obtaining his B.A. from Northwestern University, he earned his M.A. degree from the University of Chicago, and his J.D. from the University of San Francisco.

        DAVID DEMSHKI obtained a bachelor ‘s degree with majors in political science and economics from Claremont Mckenna College (cum laude) in 1982. After a varied career in government that included positions as a Scholar at the Hoover Institute studying anti terrorism and several positions with the California State Senate and Assembly, where he was among other things the Senate’s Principal Consultant regarding Workers’ Compensation legislation, Mr. Demshki found himself graduating From Hastings College of the Law in 1994.

        Mr. Demshki has practiced Workers” Compensation law exclusively since 2002. He was an associate with the firm of Gray and Prouty until 2007. After a period as house counsel for Liberty Mutual, he came to Veatch Carlson in 2010. In his career he has developed a reputation for effective evaluation of medical issues and cross examination of physicians. He also has a high rate of success in appellate practice before both the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and the California Court of Appeal.

        ROBERT T. MACKEY graduated from the State University of New York in 1996 and thereafter completed his Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Quinnipiac, formerly the Bridgeport Connecticut School of Law, in 1999.

        While in Law School, he argued misdemeanor trials while interning with the Connecticut District Attorney’s office in New Haven. In addition, he captained his Mock Trial Team, which competed on a national level.

        He began his practice, litigating serious personal injury cases on behalf of plaintiffs and criminal cases on behalf of defendants, in both State and Federal Courts. He holds licenses in New York, Connecticut and California. He has worked as a trial attorney for the defense law firm of Early, Maslach & Rudnicki, where he tried over 20 jury trials, procuring 18 consecutive defense verdicts. In addition, he has successfully arbitrated and mediated hundreds of civil cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

        His current focus is jury trials and his cases have included automobile negligence, motorcycle and pedestrian negligence, slip and falls, premise liability, employment, products liability, assault and battery, malpractice, civil rights, fraud, libel/slander, property loss, landlord tenant, employment and wrongful death.

        SCOTT S. MIZEN graduated from the University of Illinois in 1987 and earned his Juris Doctorate Degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1990. Mr. Mizen is admitted to practice before all the California Courts and the United States District Court, Southern District of California. He is also a member of the Southern California Association of Defense Counsel and the Orange County Bar Association.

        Mr. Mizen has practiced general civil defense litigation, emphasizing construction defect and personal injury matters for more than a decade. His primary specialty at Veatch Carlson is personal injury and property damage defense. He is a seasoned litigator with numerous trials to his credit.

        WILLIAM J GLAZER received his B.A. in history and theater arts from U.C.L.A. In 1972. After graduating with honors from Loyola University School of Law in 1975, Mr. Glazer went to work as a Deputy Attorney General for four years handling all types of civil liability and condemnation matters for the State of California, its agencies and employees. He was a member of two Attorney General Task Forces regarding tort reform and governmental liability, both of which proposed and implemented legislation. He subsequently took a position with an insurance company as senior trial counsel where he handled all manner of large exposure cases. It was there that Mr. Glazer first became involved in the development of a program specifically aimed at the deterrence of fraudulent claims.

        Mr. Glazer joined a larger, well-known west side defense firm in 1982 and became a partner in 1985. He was one of the two senior partners in charge of the casualty coverage and litigation unit. He handled myriad insurance and defense matters, including first and third party coverage, auto and trucking cases, declaratory relief actions, suspect and fraudulent claims (property and casualty), multiparty, serious injury and high exposure cases, premises liability and products liability from inception through trial and appeal.

        Mr. Glazer subsequently opted to work in a smaller firm environment and specialized in product liability and toxic tort defense with two firms before reuniting with Mr. Weinstein, with whom he attended law school and served in the Attorney General’s Office, at Veatch Carlson.

        Mr. Glazer is a member of the California state and federal bars and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980. He currently serves as a Special Master for the Los Angeles County Superior Court, is a member of the Defense Research Institute (serving on the Product Liability Committee), the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and a former member of the American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section. He lives in Calabasas with his wife, Rea, and has two grown children.

        GREGG A. FOWLER graduated from the Colorado State University of Fort Collins in 1996, received multiple degrees and thereafter completed his Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Quinnipiac, in 1999.

        He began his practice litigating serious personal injury cases on behalf of plaintiffs and criminal cases on behalf of defendants, in both State and Federal Courts. He holds licenses in New York and California. He has worked as a litigation attorney for the defense law firm of Early, Maslach & Rudnicki, where he handled high exposure cases. In addition, he has successfully arbitrated and mediated hundreds of civil cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

        His current focus is litigation in the following areas: worker’s compensation, labor law and civil litigation. He has handled cases which have included, worker’s compensation, automobile negligence, motorcycle and pedestrian negligence, slip and falls, premise liability, employment, products liability, assault and battery, malpractice, civil rights, fraud, libel/slander, property loss, landlord tenant, employment and wrongful death.

        GINA GENATEMPO was admitted to the California bar in 2000. She received her Juris Doctorate degree cum laude in 2000 from Chapman University School of Law where she was honored as a member of the law review, and received multiple honors for top academic achievements in contracts, torts, criminal procedure, and bankruptcy. She has a 1989 B.A. in Journalism from Pepperdine University where she was a news editor for the award-winning school newspaper, and contributed to the university’s 50th Anniversary publication.

        Having worked with reputable plaintiffs’ litigation firms in other roles prior to law school, including for a former Orange County Superior Court judge, Ms. Genatempo applied her research and litigation skills to practicing law on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in all facets of civil litigation, including personal injury, business litigation, contractual disputes, and risk management. Her appellate work includes an appellate decision which precipitated a change to the procedure for statutory offers to compromise in Bias v. Wright (2002).

        In 2003, Ms. Genatempo focused on bad faith insurance defense when she joined the firm of Hollins Schechter and defended insurance carriers including Farmers Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange. Her successful law and motion work resulted in another appellate decision to defeat claims on multiple insurance policies, Davis v. Farmers Insurance Group (2005).

        Ms. Genatempo joined Veatch Carlson in 2009 as an associate specializing in law and motion. Her work continues to assist trial attorneys to strategically position complex cases for resolution and trial.

        PETER CROSSIN brings a unique and practical perspective to his practice of law with a considerable background in litigating civil matters on both sides of the Plaintiffs’ and Defense Bar. A New Jersey native, Peter earned his BA degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina and his JD from the Whittier College School of Law. Prior to entering law school Mr. Crossin worked several years trading municipal bonds on Wall Street at the brokerage firm Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.

        Mr. Crossin has held lead positions on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees for the California In Re Intraocular Lens and Latex Glove coordinated litigations and has represented defendants in the In Re Welding Rod coordinated litigation. Mr. Crossin has prosecuted and defended a myriad of cases involving toxic torts, catastrophic injury, warranty claims, product liability, premises liability (with a particular emphasis in premises security litigation), construction defect, and contract disputes. He has arbitrated and mediated hundreds of cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

        Mr. Crossin has extensive brief and law and motion writing and oral argument experience. He has had articles published in legal periodicals and seminar and convention syllabuses. Along with his trial court oral argument experience, he has argued cases successfully before the California Court of Appeal.

        KEITH WILEMAN has been AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell since 1998, and has a quarter of a century of litigation and trial experience. He has tried jury and bench trials to victory in both federal and California state trial courts, argued successfully in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the California Court of Appeal, and practiced in the California Supreme Court, losing only one appeal in his entire career. Keith has appeared in the Superior Court of the State of California in a dozen California counties, and each of the federal district courts in California. He has never lost a jury trial and has only lost one court trial, for a sum less than the plaintiff’s demand. He has been lead trial counsel in all but one of his trials, in which case he was co-lead counsel and gave the opening statement and examined key witnesses. He has tried short, one-week cases and longer cases lasting weeks and even months.

        The principal focus of Keith’s practice is business litigation and intellectual property, including extensive defense work in copyright, trademark and patent cases. His reported cases in copyright and trademark include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. v. Fireworks Entertainment Group, Inc., 137 F. Supp. 2d 1177 (C.D. Cal. 2001) and Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. v. Fireworks Entertainment Group, Inc., 156 F. Supp. 2d 1149 (C.D. Cal. 2001). His intellectual property clients have included studios, distributors, producers, writers, agents and photographers, as well as Internet companies and traditional broadcasters, and manufacturers accused of patent infringement. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in intellectual property matters.

        His general business litigation experience includes a wide variety of matters, including real estate, banking and mortgage issues, distribution issues, breaches of contract, insurance coverage and bad faith, and UCC Article 2 cases. His recent published decisions in business litigation include La Sound, et al. v. St. Paul Travelers Ins. Co., 156 Cal. App. 4th 1259 (Fourth Dist., Div. 3, 2007, rehearing denied, review denied), and Firestone v. Hoffman, 140 Cal. App. 4th 1408 (Second Dist. 2006).

        Keith’s most recent appellate victory was in a complex real estate investment scam in which he represents the plaintiff. Upon the trial court’s denial of a motion for trial setting preference without prejudice to later renewal, he filed a writ petition which was granted by way of an extraordinary Palma notice to the trial court, advising it that the appellate court intended to overturn the trial court’s decision unless the trial court entered a new and different order granting the motion, which the trial court of course did.

        Earlier in his career, Keith’s practice emphasized the defense of product liability actions and transportation-related personal injury and wrongful death litigation. When he first entered practice, Keith worked exclusively on aviation and aviation insurance coverage cases. He has defended airlines, manufacturers of fixed wing and helicopter air frames, manufacturers of reciprocating and turbine aviation power plants, fixed base operators, pilots and aviation insurers. In Belzer v. SIAI Marchetti, he successfully represented the defendant aircraft manufacturer against wrongful death claims. He has also had favorable experience with the General Aviation Revitalization Act, including the reported case of Lyon v. Agusta, 252 F. 2d 1078 (9th Cir. 2001).

        Outside the aviation context, Keith has represented manufacturers of automobiles, transmissions, wheels, tires, truck trailers, cranes and other aerial devices, construction equipment, scaffolds, prescription drugs and medical devices, chemicals, foods, food processing equipment, and a wide variety of consumer goods and cosmetics. One prescription drug/medical device trial victory was Lopez v. Voco, in which he represented defendants whose products allegedly failed to detect the presence of tuberculosis in an infant who developed meningitis and severe brain injuries.

        Much of his non-aviation product liability work has involved claims of injury or death resulting from exposure to various products alleged to be harmful or carcinogenic, such as organic solvents, petroleum distillates and their products of combustion, isocyanines, vinyl chloride compounds, adhesives and their components, volatile organic compounds in paints, and chemicals used in film development. He has also represented defendants in inhalation claims involving asbestos-containing products, metallic and non-metallic particulates, and smokes or vapors.

        He also represented railroads in cases ranging from derailment disaster litigation to Federal Employers Liability Act and cargo claims. While engaged in railroad practice, Keith was a longstanding member of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, the defense lawyer association for that industry, for whom he wrote and spoke on trial technique and alternative dispute resolution, as well as serving as a CLE program director for that organization.