JOHN WHELAN, ESQ.
SENIOR TRIAL ATTORNEY
John has been litigating personal injury, business, and other civil litigation cases in California state and federal courts for nearly three decades. He is driven by client-focused advocacy coupled with exceptional legal knowledge and skill. His clients trust him to listen to their needs and deliver competent and realistic advocacy.
John obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and his JD degree from the University of Southern California. He is a husband to Donna and a father to Caitlin, Elaine, Liam, and Jack.
Before commencing his legal career, John served as a CH-53D helicopter pilot in the United States Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Major before being honorably discharged.
When not at work, John enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and family, reading, cooking, and following Michigan Wolverines athletics.
HONORS & AWARDS
PROFESSIONAL
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California State Bar – Admitted
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Colorado State Bar – Admitted
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Michigan State Bar – Admitted
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U.S. Supreme Court – Admitted
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9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals – Admitted
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6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals – Admitted
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Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals – Admitted
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U.S. District Court, Central District of California – Admitted
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U.S. District Court, Southern District of California – Admitted
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U.S. District Court, Northern District of California – Admitted
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U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California – Admitted
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U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan – Admitted
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U.S. District Court, Federal Circuit – Admitted
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Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society – Member
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Super Lawyers – Member and Blue Ribbon Panelist
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Association of Business Trial Lawyers – Board of Directors
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Orange County Trial Lawyers Association – Board of Directors
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Robert A. Banyard Inn of Court – Member
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American Bar Association – Member
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Orange County Bar Association – Masters Division
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Los Angeles County Bar Association – Member
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Young Entrepreneur’s Organization – President, OC Chapter
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Young Entrepreneur’s Organization – Membership Chair, OC Chapter
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Young Entrepreneur’s Organization – Events Chair, OC Chapter
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Consumer Attorneys of California – Board of Directors
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Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles – Member
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American Association for Justice – Member
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America’s Top 100 – Member
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The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 – Member
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Attorney Information Exchange Group – Member
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Gerry Spence Method – Graduate
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Best Lawyers – Member
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Western Trial Lawyers Association – Member
ACADEMIC
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USC Marshall Partners – Chairman, OC Chapter
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USC Marshall Partners – Executive Committee
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USC Marshall Alumni Association – Member
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USC-Harvard Business Conference – Committee Chair
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Whittier Law School – Dean’s Council
AUTOMOTIVE
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National Association of Motor Vehicle Boards – Member
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Motor Press Guild – Member
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National Association of Dealer Counsel – Member
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California New Car Dealers Assn. – Member
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Orange County Automobile Dealers Assn. – Member
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Southland Motor Car Dealers Assn. – Member
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Specialty Equipment Manufacturer Assn. – Member
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Checkered Flag 200 – Member
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Historic Motor Sports Assn. – Member
PHILANTHROPIC
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Child Guidance Center – Board of Directors
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Orangewood Foundation – Humanitarian Award
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Segerstrom Center – Circle Council
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Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities – Honorary Member
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MLG Legal Empowerment Grant – Founder
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
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National Association of Dealer Counsel – Speaker
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California New Motor Vehicle Board – Speaker
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Motor Press Guild – Speaker
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Vistage – Speaker
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Young Entrepreneur’s Organization – Speaker
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Consumer Attorneys of California – Speaker
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Trial Lawyers University – Speaker
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USC Marshall School of Business – Guest lecturer
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Pepperdine School of Business – Guest lecturer
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Whittier Law School – Guest lecturer
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Chapman Law School – Guest lecturer
AUTOMOTIVE 101
SCHOLARLY WRITINGS
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9/18/18– LADJ Article, “Chapter 11, Here We Come”
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8/14/18– LADJ Article, “All Things 100”
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7/19/18– LADJ Article, “Investor’s Paradise”
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6/19/18– LADJ Article, “Driving to Recessionary Times”
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5/15/18– LADJ Article, “The Long And The Short Of It”
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4/24/18– LADJ Article, “A Development in Progress”
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3/13/18– LADJ Article, “A Bit More Than A Coin”
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2/13/18– LADJ Article, “The Future of Privacy”
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1/9/18– LADJ Article, “Electrifying!”
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12/6/17– LADJ Article, “Will They Make the Turn?”
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11/8/17– LADJ Article, “It’s Harder Than It Looks”
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10/10/17– LADJ Article, “When Will They Stop?”
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9/6/17– LADJ Article, “Autonomous Fear”
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8/1/17 – LADJ Article, “The Truth About Lithium”
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7/7/17 – LADJ Article, “Selling Cars in Tomorrowland”
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6/6/17 – LADJ Article, “Oh, Snap!”
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5/2/17 – LADJ Article, “Phantom Stock”
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4/4/17 – LADJ Article, “Generation Next”
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3/14/17 – LADJ Article, “Drive it Like You Stole It”
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2/8/17 – LADJ Article, “Mexican Standoff”
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1/4/17 – LADJ Article, “Automobile Weaponry”
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12/6/16 – LADJ Article, “Public Enemy No. 1: Texting and Driving”
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11/1/16 – LADJ Article, “The Next Four Years”
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10/5/16 – LADJ Article, “Formulas One’s $8 Billion Deal”
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9/8/16 – LADJ Article, “The Exporting Enigma”
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8/2/16 – LADJ Article, “The Brazilian Nightmare”
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7/12/16 – LADJ Article, “Britian’s Exit and the Auto Industry”
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6/14/16 – LADJ Article, “Airbag Recall Understood”
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5/3/16 – LADJ Article, “NY’s Response to Texting and Driving”
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4/5/16 – LADJ Article, “Autonomous Cars Have Finally Arrived”
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3/8/16 – LADJ Article, “EPA’s Slams the Door on High Performance”
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2/4/16 – LADJ Article, “Oil’s New Economy”
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1/6/16 – LADJ Article, “What Will Become of Us?”
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12/1/15 – LADJ Article, “The Harder They Fall”
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11/4/15 – LADJ Article, “Generation Forward”
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10/7/15 – LADJ Article, “When Will They Stop?”
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9/1/15 – LADJ Article, “Gold Rush”
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8/5/15 – LADJ Article, “Chrysler’s Redord-Breaking Fine Not Nearly Enough”
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7/8/15 – LADJ Article, “Uber’s Worst Nightmare”
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6/3/15 – LADJ Article, “War Crimes”
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5/5/15 – LADJ Article, “The Tragedy of Progress”
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4/8/15 – LADJ Article, “Paul Walker, Concluded”
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3/3/15 – LADJ Article, “Getting It Right”
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2/4/15 – LADJ Article, “Swimming in a Sea of Oil”
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1/6/15 – LADJ Article, “An Uber Mess”
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12/2/14 – LADJ Article, “Year of the Snake”
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11/11/14 – LADJ Article, “A Failed System”
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10/7/14 – LADJ Article, “Twenty Years Out”
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9/4/14 – LADJ Article, “The Shocking Truth”
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8/6/14 – LADJ Article, “There’s No Honor in the System”
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7/8/14 – LADJ Article, “The Company Without a Soul”
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6/3/14 – LADJ Article, “Moments of Atrocity”
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5/8/14 – LADJ Article, “Tesla’s Federal Showdown”
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4/1/14 – LADJ Article, “GM’s Day of Reckoning
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3/4/14 – LADJ Article, “What Evil That Men Do”
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2/4/14 – LADJ Article, “Rock Bottom”
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1/7/14 – LADJ Article, “Success Redefined”
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12/4/13 – LADJ Article, “Life Interrupted”
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11/5/13 – LADJ Article, “Dodging a Bullet”
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10/1/13 – LADJ Article, “Head Rush”
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9/4/13 – LADJ Article, “Pop the Champagne”
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8/6/13 – LADJ Article, “The Deadliest Weapon”
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7/2/13 – LADJ Article, “So You Think You’re Safe”
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6/4/13 – LADJ Article, “Eliminating All Doubt”
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5/7/13 – LADJ Article, “The Fallen Angel”
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4/2/13 – LADJ Article, “The Root of All Evil”
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3/6/13 – LADJ Article, “Chasing the Seven Percent”
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2/5/13 – LADJ Article, “The Electric Car Myth”
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1/8/13 – LADJ Article, “Chrysler Dealers Bring Suit Against U.S. for the Fifth Amendment”
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12/4/12 – LADJ Article, “Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave”
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11/2/12 – LADJ Article, “Obama and the Automotive Industry”
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10/3/12 – LADJ Article, “Could GM Be At It Again?”
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9/5/12 – LADJ Article, “Market Forces Challenge Electric Car Industry”
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8/7/12 – LADJ Article, “The Grand Ol’ Plan”
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7/3/12 – LADJ Article, “Theft, Hiding and Restitution.”
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6/6/12 – LADJ Article, “Chrysler Dealers Get Rejected Once Again”
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5/1/12 – LADJ Article, “An Industry Lost”
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4/3/12 – LADJ Article, “The Love of All Things Ferrari”
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3/6/12 – LADJ Article, “Fisker’s Power Outage”
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2/7/12 – LADJ Article, “Porche’s Billion Dollar Blunder”
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1/5/12 – LADJ Article, “Up in Smoke”
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12/6/11 – LADJ Article, “Spend it Like You Got It”
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11/1/11 – LADJ Article, “Basking in the Ferrari Sun”
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10/4/11 – LADJ Article, “The Pain is Far From Over”
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9/6/11 – LADJ Article, “Troubles with the New Fuel Regulations Sure to Come”
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8/8/11 – LADJ Article, “The $1 Million Question”
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7/5/11 – LADJ Article, “Will the Real Team Lotus Please Stand Up”
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6/7/11 – LADJ Article, “Winning at All Costs”
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5/3/11 – LADJ Article, “How Soon We Forget”
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4/4/11 – LADJ Article, “Will Oil Become Extinct?”
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3/7/11 – LADJ Article, “How Many More Have to Die”
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2/8/11 – LADJ Article, “Do it for the Kids”
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1/12/11 – LADJ Article, “Ethanol Still Ablaze”
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12/6/10 – LADJ Article, “The Dirty Little Secret”
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11/4/10 – LADJ Article, “The Killing Fields”
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10/8/10 – LADJ Article, “Ghost in the Machine”
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9/7/10 – LADJ Article, “Electric Shock”
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8/2/10 – LADJ Article, “Somebody Tell Them the Party’s Over”
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7/6/10 – LADJ Article, “Tesla Business Model: Brilliance or Impending Disaster?”
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5/13/10 – LADJ Article, “Auto Dealers Beware: Big Brother is Looming”
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2/10/10 – LADJ Article, “The Appropriateness of Toyota’s Gas Pedal Recall”
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1994 – Whittier Law Review, “The U.S. Constitution and the Texas Death Penalty”
Education
Economics, University of Michigan (B.A)
Management, Webster University (M.A)
University of Southern California Gould School of Law (J.D)
Certifications & Memberships
State Bar of California – Admitted
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – Admitted
United States District Court for the Central District of California – Admitted
United States District Court for the Southern District of California – Admitted
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California – Admitted
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles – Member
Orange County Trial Lawyers Association – Member
“Being ready is not what matters. What matters is winning when you get there.”
Victor H. Krulak, Lieutenant General, USMC
JONATHAN MICHAEL'S NOTABLE CASES
