J. Peter Shearer

In 2014, I retained Pete Shearer of Pierce & Shearer to assist me with the pursuit of multiple copyright infringement claims. Pete came well recommended to me by a trusted attorney friend of mine from a different area of law in the SF area. In the first matter, I'd tried to handle the situation mysel...f, and opposing counsel basically told me to go fly a kite, doubting both my awareness of my rights and my veracity to seek relief. Opposing counsel's haughty advice to "get myself an attorney" turned into an equitable result for me as soon as Pete got involved. He brought in co-counsel with specialty in intellectual property matters, combining their vast collective knowledge with negotiation skills that effectively parried every eye-roll-inducing excuse and defense the other side dished out. Their effective articulation of the merits of my case and application of just the right amount of pressure helped to expedite the settlement process, saving time and money. Pete and co-counsel's focus on my best interests did not end when a settlement was reached. Pete carefully considered the implications of not only the contractual provisions of the settlement agreement itself, but also intangible elements such as securing a correction photo attribution displayed in a prominent location. My interactions with his office staff were also consistently positive, with professional and prompt attention to my needs. It's been said that attorneys are the only winners in copyright cases. This was definitely not the case for me. In addition to equitable relief, Pete helped me stand up for my rights and establish an industry reputation for enforcing the value and exclusivity of my work. I highly recommend him.

I have worked with multiple lawyers from both top firms as well as small firms, and working with Peter was by far the best experience I have had with a lawyer. Contrary to the other reviews, I found his fees to be very reasonable for the service he provides. When I worked with Peter, he was actually ...very mindful of expenses and quite proactive about saving me dollars whenever possible. What I like about Peter is that he is the type of lawyer that won't let up, which i found extremely reassuring. I have worked with a couple of other more passive lawyers in the past that costed me an arm and a leg and I wasn't very satisfied with them. He is very diplomatic but at the same time very tenacious. During my case, he made sure I never shortchanged myself or put myself at a disadvantage. I think one of Peter's best qualities is that he is genuinely concerned for his clients, which is a rare thing in my expereince.