John Gomez - Trial Attorney

John Gomez is a nationally recognized trial attorney.  A magna cum laude graduate of the  University of San Diego, where he  also garnered Academic All-American Honors as a member of the Toreros football team, John went on to graduate from Yale Law School in 1993.

Upon graduation from Yale, Gomez spent a year honing his legal skills as a law clerk to a federal judge, and the next three in Los Angeles as an attorney at Latham & Watkins, one of the nation's largest and most prestigious law firms. There, he represented Fortune 500 and other institutional clients in a broad range of complex litigation matters.

In 1997, John accepted a position as a federal prosecutor. An exceptionally effective and award-winning trial lawyer, he tried and won twenty straight felony jury trials, including several lengthy, complex and high-profile criminal prosecutions.

When Gomez returned to private practice in 2000, he brought the same passion for the rule of law and justice to his work in representing "ordinary people." He has taken on some of the most powerful companies in the world and has stood toe to toe with their talented and well-financed lawyers. Since 2000, he has obtained over $150 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients, with 22 awards exceeding $1 million.  Perhaps most notably he has obtained three jury verdicts in excess of one million dollars each in which the defendants had offered nothing whatsoever to settle prior to trial.

 In recognition of his ability to deliver "extraordinary results" time and time again, fellow attorneys have recognized John as among the very best in his profession. Martindale-Hubbell has awarded him an "AV" rating, the highest-peer review rating possible. In every year since 2005, the San Diego Daily Transcript selected John one of San Diego's top Attorneys. In 2005, John received an "Outstanding Trial Lawyer" award from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego for the landmark $1.6 million jury verdict he obtained for his clients in Hirsch v. Brown.  That verdict, against a crematorium for the mishandling of human remains, is the largest in history for a case of that type.  In March 2006, John obtained a $106 million wrongful death verdict against the County of San Diego and Kristin Rossum in a case arising out of the notorious "American Beauty" murder.  That verdict is the largest wrongful death verdict ever returned in California and the $100 million punitive damage component is the largest punitive damage verdict ever assessed against an individual defendant in the history of American jurisprudence. Because of that case and others, he was named San Diego's 2006 Trial Lawyer of the Year – the highest award a San Diego trial attorney can receive. He is a 2007 through 2009 "Super Lawyer" in the field of personal injury and has been listed in the "Best Lawyers in America", in the personal injury field since 2008.  He was also named the 2007 "Attorney of the Year" by La Raza Lawyers of San Diego.


Very active in the legal community, John serves as a member of the executive committee of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, on the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Bar Association, and as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of “La Cuna”, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding permanent and loving homes for Latino foster children.

John speaks, reads, and writes Spanish fluently, and in his free time, enjoys spending time with his wife Lisa, son "JD", twins Michael and Analise, and dog Emma.  He holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do Korean karate and has completed numerous marathons and half-marathons.