Stutz Artiano Announces 30th Year Anniversary
Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz is pleased to announce its 30th year in business. The law firm, headquartered in Liberty Station since 2006, first opened in downtown San Diego on January 15, 1982. The firm has grown from a three-lawyer operation to forty-one lawyers, and has become one of San Diego’s largest “home grown” law firms. Stutz Artiano has expanded to represent clients throughout Southern California with additional offices in Orange County and the Inland Empire, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada.
The firm was founded to provide a wide range of legal services to private and public companies as well as public entities. Stutz Artiano has expanded on that successful foundation to offer full service lawyer teams advising in Litigation, Public Schools and Community College Education, Employment, General Counsel/Municipal Law, Public Entity, Land Use and Regulation, Construction and Bonding, as well as Campaign, Election, and Ethics. By 2001, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz was named in the national magazine, Corporate Board Member, as one of the top five law firms in San Diego. Lawyers in the firm have won numerous awards of distinction including “Dan Broderick Award,” “Super Lawyer,” “Most Influential Business Women,” “Best Young Lawyers,” and “Inland Empire Best Attorneys.” For link to full story see: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/stutz-artiano-shinoff-holtz-announces-30th-year-anniversary-1608955.htm
Stutz Artiano Supports Human Dignity Honorees
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Stutz Partner, Leslie Devaney, and Shelly Zimmerman, Assistant Chief of Police, San Diego Police Department, celebrate at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Dignity Award Breakfast held January 13 in San Diego. Partners Lesa Wilson and Prescilla Dugard also attended, as Stutz Artiano returned as a table sponsor for this year’s event, organized by the Jackie Robinson YMCA.
STUTZ ARTIANO ADDS NEW ASSOCIATES TO SAN DIEGO OFFICE
New Associates Alex Tramontano, Kathryn Boyd and William Shinoff have joined the San Diego law firm of Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz. All three are graduates of California Western School of Law, which, for three consecutive years, has had the highest pass rate in San Diego for those taking the California Bar Exam.
While attending law school, Mr. Tramontano received Public Service Honors in 2010 and 2011 and received an Academic Achievement Award in Medical Malpractice Litigation. Most recently, Mr. Tramontano served as a Certified Legal Intern with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. He will focus his practice on litigation, insurance and public entity law.
Ms. Boyd graduated from California Western School of Law, earning a concentration in Labor and Employment Law with honors. While in law school, she received an Academic Achievement Award in
Legal Drafting and was actively involved in the Labor and Employment Law Society, for which she served as Public Relations Officer. Ms. Boyd’s practice will focus on employment, education and public entity law.
Mr. Shinoff graduated cum laude from California Western and served as an associate editor for California Western Law Review. He received an Academic Achievement Award in Evidence and was a member of the California Western Jewish Student Union from 2009 through 2011. Mr. Shinoff will focus on employment, education and public entity law.
Partner Daniel Shinoff Presents “Litigation in Schools Involving Athletics”
Partner Daniel Shinoff presented “Litigation in Schools Involving Athletics” at the California Council of School Attorneys Workshop, held at the San Diego Marriott on December 1. The program was held in
conjunction with the County Counsel Association and met State Bar of California requirements for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) for attendees.
Derek Paradis Nominated Outstanding Young Attorney
Stutz Associate, Derek Paradis, joins the nominees for Best Young Attorneys 2011 San Diego Daily Transcript. Finalists will be announced December 13, culminating this peer review process that 
identifies young attorneys in San Diego County that are hard working, detail-oriented, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and committed to further the interest of justice in society. Derek Paradis joined Stutz Artiano in 2010 and focuses his practice on civil litigation matters involving education, employment, hospitality and general business law
Stutz Artiano Sponsor at CSBA Annual Conference
Stutz Artiano returns as an exhibiting sponsor at the California School Boards Association (CSBA) Annual Education Conference and Trade Show to be held at the San Diego Convention Center December 1 through 3. This premiere training event features presentations and workshops for school superintendants, board members and support professionals. Stop by booth 433 to meet Stutz Artiano’s attorneys. For more on Stutz activities at the conference, email srandall@stutzartiano.com
Attorneys Pate and Cameron Successfully Defend Fire Safety Project at San Diego Miramar College
After an 9-day trial, William C. Pate and Christina M. Cameron successfully defended the San Diego Community College District against claims of breach of contract and breach of warranty – failure to disclose hidden conditions by contractor Atlas-Allied, Inc. related to a public project to install an underground fire suppression system on the Miramar College campus needed to improve the college’s fire safety. The contractor claimed that it encountered differing site conditions which caused it extras and delay damages of nearly double the original contract amount using the Measured Mile and Eichleay methods of calculation.   The judge issued a statement of decision that the contractor failed to satisfy the elements of Breach of Contract or Breach of Warranty and that the District was entitled to judgment in its favor.
Solar Project Delivered for City of Murrieta
The City of Murietta recently approved a green energy project for the construction of carports with solar photovoltaic panels at the Murrieta Police Department. Stutz partner Bill Pate, associate Jacob Gould, and partner Leslie Devaney, City Attorney for City of Murrieta, provided legal counsel on solar financing, delivery options, and negotiated a solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which will save $500,000 over the city’s 20-year contract period. The PPA was awarded to Commercial Solar Power. The city currently offers a rebate for residential solar installations and has ranked No. 9 in California among those cities selected by homeowners choosing solar power.
Some of Stutz Artiano’s past solar projects include the San Diego Community College’s Solar Power Purchase Agreement, voted “Project of the Year” by the American Public Works Association.
For more information, contact Bill Pate or Leslie Devaney at wpate@stutzartiano.com or ldevaney@stutzartiano.com.
Stutz Artiano’s Appellate Team Prevails at 9th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of Poway Unified School District in a 3-0 unanimous decision filed on September 13th. The Court’s action reverses and vacates the lower court’s decision in the 2007 case brought by Brad Johnson, a district high school math teacher, against Poway Unified. The case was brought by the teacher who claimed his constitutional rights were violated when he was instructed by the District to remove large banners displaying “God” and “Creator” on the walls of his math class.
The Court entered summary judgment in favor of Poway Unified and its officials on all claims. Circuit Judge Tallman stated in the Court’s Opinion: “We consider whether a public school district infringes the First Amendment liberties of one of its teachers when it orders him not to use his public position as a pulpit from which to preach his own views on the role of God in our Nation’s history to the captive students in his mathematics classroom. The answer is clear: it does not.”
Stutz Artiano’s Partners Daniel R. Shinoff, Jack M. Sleeth, Jr.  and Paul V. Carelli IV represented Poway Unified. Jack M. Sleeth, Jr. presented oral arguments before the 9th Circuit on May 5, 2011. See Link for the Court’s full Opinion.
Stutz Trial Team Wins Defense Verdict in Rios vs. GUHSD
Stutz Artiano’s trial team won a defense verdict in a football injury case in which the demand was $30 million. Partners Daniel Shinoff and Gil Abed represented Grossmont Union High School District in the six-week trial. In October 2007, the Grossmont student sustained a neck injury during a junior varsity football game. With prompt action by his coaches, trainers, teachers and first responders, the student received the immediate care he required. The student’s parents later sued the District for negligence, including those who responded to administer emergency care to the student athlete.   Rios v. Grossmont Union High School District. Superior Court Case No: 37-2008-00093763-CU-PO-EC
