Gerald S. Ohn is an attorney with significant experience prosecuting and defending a wide range of litigation, including class actions, on behalf of individuals, businesses, corporations, and governmental entities in state and federal courts.
Mr. Ohn is a trial lawyer who has successfully conducted jury trials against major law firms. Mr. Ohn has also made winning oral arguments in appellate court. Accordingly, Mr. Ohn is well versed in all phases of litigation from inception through verdict and appeal.
AWARDS/DISTINCTIONS
For 3 years in a row from 2012 to 2014, Gerald S. Ohn was selected as a Rising Star by the Southern California Super Lawyers magazine. This distinction is given to only a very small percentage of California's attorneys each year. Attorneys are only considered for selection if they have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement across numerous indicators. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
In 2012, Mr. Ohn was included in the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's Directory of Asian Pacific American Partners and Senior Attorneys in Major US Law Firms (the "NAPABA Partners Directory"). The NAPABA Partners Directory is the most comprehensive resource of its kind for some of the best lawyers practicing in the best law firms in the country.
In 2012, Gerald S. Ohn was admitted to The Order of Distinguished Attorneys for the Beverly Hills Bar Association in recognition of Mr. Ohn's outstanding dedication to the legal profession.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
Prior to establishing the Law Offices of Gerald S. Ohn, Mr. Ohn was a Principal at a prominent law firm in the San Francisco area.
Mr. Ohn is a former Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice in Los Angeles.
Mr. Ohn was a Litigation Associate at international law firms in Los Angeles.
Mr. Ohn was a clerk for the Alliance for Children’s Rights in Los Angeles.
Before law school, Mr. Ohn worked as a paralegal at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC in Seoul, South Korea.
PUBLISHED DECISIONS
Harrington-Wisely v. State , 156 Cal. App. 4th 1488 (2007) (oral argument only).
Baird v. Alameida , 407 F. Supp. 2d 1134 (C.D. Cal. 2005).
PUBLICATIONS
Results from Mr. Ohn's trials and settlements were featured in the Verdicts & Settlements section of the Daily Journal on August 24, 2007, June 22, 2012, March 14, 2014 and December 12, 2014; and in Trials Digest on June 5, 2006, June 11, 2007 and June 25, 2012.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Civil Rights
Class Actions & Mass Torts
Antitrust & Unfair Practices
Consumer Protection
Business Litigation
Personal Injury
Employment Law
Anti-SLAPP Litigation
Real Estate Litigation
Trials
Appeals
EDUCATION
University of Michigan Law School, Juris Doctor
Mr. Ohn was an editor on the Michigan Journal of Race & Law; a guardian ad litem with the Child Advocacy Law Clinic; and a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association.
Brown University, Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies
Mr. Ohn was a member of the Korean Students Association and the Korean Cultural Association. Mr. Ohn was a student representative for the Korean American Association of Rhode Island.
Semester Abroad, Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea
BAR ADMISSIONS
California
Central District of California, United States District Court
Northern District of California, United States District Court
Eastern District of California, United States District Court
Southern District of California, United States District Court
Ninth Circuit, United States Court of Appeal
United States Supreme Court
RECENT CASES AND MATTERS
Gerald S. Ohn and his co-counsel were appointed as Class Counsel in a consumer class action on behalf of over 80,000 consumers across the United States of America and obtained final approval of a national class settlement with a total economic value of over $2 Million and injunctive relief. In this regard, the California Superior Court Judge presiding over this complex class action litigation noted that Mr. Ohn displayed a high level of skill in presenting complicated and difficult legal issues and that his efforts in this action and the results obtained provided great value in the public interest.
When a union member's medical records were mailed, during a union election campaign, to thousands of his coworkers by a union employee in violation of his civil rights, including under the Americans With Disabilities Act, he turned to Mr. Ohn to seek justice on his behalf. Utilizing cutting edge, aggressive and efficient litigation strategies for the union member plaintiff, Mr. Ohn defeated the union employee defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion after obtaining leave of Court to take her deposition, obtain documents and subpoena third party records; exhausted the union member's administrative remedies on his claims against the defendant union entities; and ultimately obtained a tremendous settlement at a very early stage of litigation for the union member plaintiff that included a substantial monetary recovery and injunctive relief. Trials Digest called this a "notable" settlement and featured it on the cover of the June 25, 2012 issue.
When a wheelchair bound individual applied in person to rent an apartment in Los Angeles, the apartment manager repeatedly informed him that he did not meet the financial requirements to be able to rent an apartment there. Then, after the disabled individual would submit documentation indicating that he met the qualifications reflected in the rental application and the apartment’s written policies, the apartment manager would change the qualifications or add new requirements in a blatant effort to prevent the handicapped individual from renting an apartment. The disabled plaintiff came to Mr. Ohn to fight for his rights. Mr. Ohn filed a housing discrimination lawsuit for violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the Disabled Persons Act. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Ohn obtained a strong settlement on behalf of the handicapped plaintiff that included a monetary recovery and an agreement that the property owner and apartment management company defendants would change their policies and procedures and provide training to their employees regarding applicable housing discrimination and disability rights laws.
A California based company and its officers were sued by a former business partner and officer seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensatory damages for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and violation of California's Unfair Competition law. With the trial in this California civil action scheduled to begin in less than two months, the company and its officer retained Mr. Ohn as trial counsel. Using aggressive and effective motion and deposition practice, Mr. Ohn obtained a highly favorable settlement for its clients of essentially one thousand dollars on the eve of trial.
When a California corporation and its Chief Executive Officer were sued by a much larger competitor under, among other things, California's unfair competition laws seeking monetary compensation, injunctive relief and punitive damages, they turned to Mr. Ohn. After taking just one deposition and utilizing aggressive and effective motion practice in this California civil action, the Law Offices of Gerald S. Ohn successfully obtained complete summary judgment in favor of its clients.
