SAN FRANCISCO, January 12, 2012 – Farella Braun + Martel LLP has elevated two attorneys to partner: Racheal Turner and Erica Villanueva.

 
“We are thrilled to welcome Racheal and Erica to our partnership.  These outstanding lawyers have already made significant contributions to the firm and our clients,” said managing partner Steve Lowenthal.  “They embody Farella’s blend of exceptional lawyering, creativity and dedication to client service.  We expect them to be an integral part of the firm’s future.”

 
Turner maintains a diverse complex business litigation practice focusing on breach of contract, business tort and intellectual property disputes.  She represents individual and entity plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts, as well as in alternative dispute resolution proceedings.  In addition to her substantial experience litigating business disputes, Turner’s litigation experience includes trying a state criminal case to a successful jury verdict and a federal bankruptcy bench trial.  Her appellate experience includes obtaining a decision reducing a damages award in a tort case by $13 million and pro bono representation of a California death row inmate in federal habeas corpus proceedings.  Turner served as a law clerk for the Honorable John Antoon II of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and for Chief Justice Alexander O. Bryner of the Alaska Supreme Court.  She earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (2002), where she was solicitations editor and symposium editor of the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of San Francisco (1998).

Villanueva represents policyholders seeking coverage under a variety of insurance policies, including general liability, directors' and officers' liability, professional liability, employers' liability, property, and business interruption policies.  She has substantial litigation experience, including a bench trial of a breach of contract action in which she obtained a complete defense judgment on behalf of her client.  She has successfully argued motions in federal and state courts, and has resolved numerous insurance claims through alternative dispute resolution proceedings.  She also has significant appellate experience, including a case in which the California Court of Appeal ruled that an insurer had breached its duty to defend and indemnify her client.  Villanueva earned her J.D. from Yale Law School (2004), and her B.A., with high distinction, from the University of California, Berkeley (2000). 

 
Farella Braun + Martel represents clients throughout the United States and abroad in sophisticated business transactions and high-stakes commercial, civil and criminal litigation. Founded in 1962, the firm is headquartered in San Francisco and maintains an office in the Napa Valley focused on the wine industry. Farella Braun + Martel lawyers are known for their imaginative legal solutions, dynamism and intellectual creativity. With an unwavering service ethic and interdisciplinary team approach, the firm is committed to advancing clients' objectives in the most effective, coordinated and efficient manner. Farella Braun + Martel is a green business. www.fbm.com 

Contacts:

Cheryl Loof                                                         

Farella Braun + Martel LLP                                      

415.954.4433                                                      

[email protected]

  

Melinda Hepp / Traci Stuart   

Blattel Communications   

415.397.4811  

[email protected] / [email protected]             

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