About Our Firm

Attorneys at Jackson & Associates represent an academically and socially diverse pool of talent. A number of our attorneys have advanced degrees in areas other than the law and/or have taught at law schools or at universities in California. More generally, our team of professionals is entirely minority or female; and various members of our staff speak foreign languages, including Spanish.

Due to the exceptional experience of our attorneys, Jackson & Associates can take cases from their inception through mediation, trial and appeal, if needed. Samuel G. Jackson, Jr. has tried well over 100 cases, and one of our associates was a senior research attorney at California's Second District, Court of Appeal for a number of years. This leaves us poised to entertain almost any legal challenge in an effective and efficient manner.

We have been particularly effective in narrowing lawsuits and in reducing attendant damages through motions for summary adjudication. We also actively pursue mediation or arbitration whenever possible. In addition, Samuel G. Jackson, Jr., is currently on the Special Employment Panel of the American Arbitration Association.

Experienced Tort Claims Attorneys

Jackson & Associates has had substantial experience in defending Fortune 500 corporations including Rockwell, Chrysler, Borden, Monsanto, Shell Oil, Quaker Oats, Hershey, and the insureds of virtually all major insurance carriers (e.g., Travelers, Aetna, State Farm, Kemper, and ITT Hartford) against toxic tort and personal injury claims. In this regard, we have defended matters involving severe personal injuries or death. Although most of these matters were resolved by settlement or arbitration, several cases have gone to trial.

In one such trial, involving a workplace fire and explosion that resulted in injuries including post traumatic stress disorder, Jackson & Associates defended the manufacturer of a power tool that was alleged to have started the fire. After a two-month trial, the jury returned a finding of no liability on the part of our client. In another matter, Jackson & Associates defended a major automobile manufacturer on a defective seat belt claim. In that case, the plaintiff claimed damages for severe bodily injuries, including a closed head trauma and neuropsychological damage. After a several week trial, the jury returned a defense verdict.

Besides corporate clients, Jackson & Associates also has defended the Air Quality Management District in personal injury and wrongful death cases. One such matter recently went to trial on a claim of serious back injuries. After a two-week trial, the jury awarded plaintiff only $25,000, despite his counsel's final argument requesting in excess of $300,000. In a third case, Jackson & Associates defended a major aerospace contractor in a personal injury matter where the plaintiff sustained severe back injuries that required ongoing medical treatment. In this case, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, but the award was only approximately half of the pre-trial demand.

Jackson & Associates has also successfully settled toxic tort cases for clients including Borden and Montsanto. One such case involved a wrongful death claim that the decedent had been exposed to a cocktail of chemical substance which occasioned a relatively rare form of cancer and lead to his death. Another case involved dozens of plaintiff's who alleged their exposure to various film lab substances occasioned respiratory dermatological and other serious ailments Each of these cases was settled on our clients behalf for a modest sum.

Accomplished Environmental Litigation Lawyers

Real Estate Transactions/Soil and Ground Water Contamination/Asbestos Contamination.

Jackson & Associates has considerable experience handling matters involving contamination of real property - both soil and groundwater contamination. We have handled numerous cases involving contamination due to underground storage tanks for gasoline and diesel, storage tanks for aviation fuel, bulk storage facilities, and subsurface contamination of other origins. Our experience includes all aspects of litigation of these types of matters. We have worked with a variety of environmental consultants through all phases of their assessment and remediation activities. Additionally, we have used expert appraisers to determine losses in value and business profits that are caused by the contamination. A list of the various consultants that we have used can be provided upon your request.

In addition, the firm has successfully litigated the following matters; Sporn v. Chevron (dismissed on Motion for Summary Judgment); Comstock v. Chevron Land & Development (settled in trial); Thompson v. Chevron, Smull v. Chevron, Killingsworth, et al. v. Chevron (all resolved in mediation). These cases deal with varying statutory allegations under RCRA and CERCLA as well as under California statutes such as the Hazardous Substance Account Act, the Hazardous Waste Management Act, the Aboveground Storage of Petroleum Act and the Porter-Cologne Act.

When possible, Jackson & Associates tries to resolve environmental matters through alternative dispute resolution. Illustratively, we have successfully used privately retained mediators to resolve environmental claims in which we represented a major oil company. Also, we have successfully applied to the California Underground Storage Tank Fund to recover costs of remediation to help resolve a lawsuit.

Knowledgeable Eminent Domain Litigation Attorneys

Jackson & Associates has provided legal representation and related services to the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles ("Agency") since 1993. Our most significant accomplishments have resulted in saving the Agency a total of $3,850,000 in potential liability. For example in Kramer v. The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, Case No. BC 075718 (an inverse condemnation & consolidated direct condemnation matter), we successfully defended against a claim of precondemnation damages in a legal issues trial in which the owners sought $4 million. After failing to obtain any recovery from the legal issues trial, the owners sought $2.5 million in the valuation phase of the litigation. We settled the valuation litigation on the eve of trial for half the demand and within the Agency's budget.

Similarly, in The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles v. Worldwide Enterprises, Inc., Case No. BC 147261, we successfully defended against a claim for $2 million in a valuation jury trial in which the subject property consisted of a severely damaged 102 unit apartment building owned by a notorious slum lord. We won a jury verdict for $850,000 that resulted in a right of recoupment for the Agency from the owner.

Jackson & Associates also oversaw some two dozen cases involving condemnation of properties related to the completion of the Staples Center Sports Arena in the Central Business District of the City of Los Angeles. In this connection, Jackson & Associates created and maintained a case management system for all the attorneys assigned to the LA Sports Arena Litigation Team and prepared a set of uniform initial pleadings for use by members of the team.

Currently, Jackson & Associates is working with the Agency, the Environmental Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles and other City Agencies to convert economically underutilized and contaminated properties into marketable parcels under the Brownfields program. Jackson & Associates is also working with private land owners to access Super Fund monies for the clean up of gas station sites in various parts of Los Angeles County. Private and public development of these contaminated areas will help revitalize the commercial infrastructure of a number of local communities. In this regard, Jackson & Associates is assisting the City in property acquisition and relocation of persons and businesses affected by condemnation proceedings. Our firm is fully familiar with diverse appraisal techniques and the valuing of goodwill and fixtures and equipment, as well as of land. We are also experienced in the application of land use regulations and with real property issues in both state and federal court.

Skilled Employment Law Attorneys

Over the past several years, Jackson & Associates has focused on employment law matters in both state and federal courts. We have defended Safeway, Chevron, University of Southern California, Prudential Insurance, The Hartford Insurance Co., Aetna Insurance, Travelers Insurance, Clorox, Kodak, General Electric, Paccar Industries, State Farm Insurance, AT&T and Walt Disney Pictures and Television, as well as others, in a broad range of cases involving wrongful termination or workplace discrimination and workplace violence.

Especially in the face of corporate restructuring and reductions in force, allegations of discrimination and harassment are not uncommon. Thus, in just the past few years, we have handled charges of race, gender, nationality, age, pregnancy and disability discrimination/harassment and attendant allegations of infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and retention, and defamation.

We have been particularly effective in narrowing these lawsuits and in reducing the available damages by way of motions for summary judgment, or, alternatively, for summary adjudication. We also engage in mediation or arbitration whenever possible. As a panelist for the Special Employment Panel of the American Arbitration Association, Samuel G. Jackson, Jr., has arbitrated and mediated cases involving such entities as hospitals, mortgage companies, security organizations, a national chain of discount stores, an internet cable TV company, a national seller of automotive parts and an internationally renowned hotel chain.

Other of our activities involve giving seminars to lawyers and the business community on the subject of workplace harassment and discrimination. Thus, over the past several years, we have conducted seminars for the Real Estate Section of the State Bar of California, UCLA Extension and the California Minority Counsel Program. All of these programs were approved for Continuing Legal Education credit.

In addition to harassment and discrimination claims, we also have done work representing employers like Hartford, Aetna and Prudential Insurance Companies on contract claims, in wage and hour disputes, and in obtaining corporate temporary restraining orders and long term injunctions protecting their employees from violent co-employees or third parties. We have also represented a regional bank before the Unemployment Appeals Board. Additionally, we have done consulting work on responses to charges made before the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.