WOLFE & WYMAN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Adjunct Professor at Chapman Law
- ASSOCIATE - Irvine
April is an adjunct professor at Chapman Law, where she teaches a civil procedure practicum. She has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer Rising Star for 2020-2022.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- ASSOCIATE - Irvine
Job Titles:
- Partner
- PARTNER - Walnut Creek, Sacramento
Job Titles:
- Associate
- ASSOCIATE - Los Angeles
Job Titles:
- Partner
- PARTNER - Irvine, Fort Lauderdale
Job Titles:
- Associate
- ASSOCIATE - Las Vegas
Job Titles:
- Partner
- PARTNER - Los Angeles
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Las Vegas
Job Titles:
- Partner
- PARTNER - Irvine, Las Vegas, Los Angeles
Jarad D. Beckman has been with Wolfe & Wyman since 2010. As part of the Labor and Employment group, he represents employers as litigation counsel in matters ranging from class action lawsuits, to sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage and hour claims. Jarad has extensive experience litigating in state and federal courts, as well as successfully mediating employment claims to reduce client uncertainty and liability.
As part of the General Liability group, Jarad represents a wide range of clients through their insurer relationships, including construction contractors, commercial and residential premises owners and commercial trucking groups. As part of his practice, Jarad works to assess liability and damages in formulation of both traditional and novel approaches to matter resolution. Jarad also has extensive experience in litigating mortgage banking claims, including real property title disputes and loan purchasing and assignment claims. Jarad also defends clients in a variety of professional liability matters.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- PARTNER - Irvine, Los Angeles
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Walnut Creek
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Sacramento
Job Titles:
- Executive Staff
- EXECUTIVE STAFF - Irvine
Kathy Whalen joined the Law Firm in 2008, bringing with her 20 years of law firm management experience including 13 years as a chief financial officer.
Kathy is responsible for the administration of the law firm, including finance, accounting, human resources, benefit administration, facilities management, information technology and operations. She earned her CPA in 1981. She is a member of the AICPA, the Association of Legal Administrators and the firm's Management Committee.
When not at work, Kathy enjoys traveling, hiking, walking, tennis and all water sports.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Sacramento
Matthew Bures is a graduate of Cornell University School of Law who simultaneously earned an MBA at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. He also holds degrees in Biology and Psychology from the University of California at Irvine.
Matt concentrates his work on the Firm's Business Litigation matters, in particular Environmental Litigation for insurance carriers, and publicly and privately held entities. In addition to environmental matters, Matt has represented a broad range of clients on a diverse array of matters. Matt has had extensive litigation experience, with particular emphasis upon trial advocacy. His reported cases include Jarrow Formulas, Inc. v. Nutrition Now, Inc., 304 F.3d 829 (9th Cir. 2002), Castaic Lake Water Agency v. Whittaker Corporation, 272 F.Supp.2d 1053 (C.D. Cal. 2003), and California Department of Toxic Substances Control v. Interstate Non-Ferrous Corporation, et al., 99 F.Supp.2d 1123 (E.D. Cal. 2000).
Matt has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer multiple times by Law & Politics and Los Angeles Magazine. Matt has been an officer, presenter, and moderator for the Environmental Bar Section of the Orange County Bar Association. He volunteers for the UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge, and previously sat on the Board of Directors of KHEIR, the Korean Health Information & Research Center.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Firm
- PARTNER - Irvine
Michael is member of the firm's Trial Team and practices in the area of general liability defense, with an emphasis on serious bodily injury claims. He also handles construction disputes and mechanic's lien litigation, including bond claims on behalf of sureties. Prior practice experience includes commercial and real estate litigation.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- ASSOCIATE - Irvine
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Fort Lauderdale
Job Titles:
- Associate
- ASSOCIATE - Irvine
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Las Vegas
Job Titles:
- Partner
- PARTNER - Irvine, Las Vegas
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- of COUNSEL - Irvine
- Professional Activities
was the General Counsel of Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IMH) from 1998 to 2019. In 2010, he was nominated for the General Counsel Award by the Orange County Business Journal and in 2012 he was honored as one of California's Top 20 General Counsels by the Daily Journal. Ron has been a recognized speaker on many occasions for organizations such as the American Conference Institute, the California Mortgage Bankers Association, the Orange County Bar Association, the National Mortgage Servicing Conference, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Orange County Real Estate Council, and at the Asset Backed Securitization West Conference. Ron now advises clients on a variety on legal matters across the spectrum of business, including acting as outside General Counsel on a permanent or interim basis.
Hobbies and Interests:
Job Titles:
- Associate
- ASSOCIATE - Irvine
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Adjunct Professor at California State University
- PARTNER - Irvine
Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Wolfe & Wyman LLP will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others, may not receive a response, and do not create a lawyer-client relationship with Wolfe & Wyman LLP. If you are not already a client of Wolfe & Wyman LLP, please do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our lawyers do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly permitted to do so.
Practice Areas
Co-founder of Wolfe & Wyman LLP, Sam's practice focuses on litigation and dispute resolution, with a particular expertise in insurance, construction and real estate matters. He has tried and arbitrated numerous high-profile cases to verdict before juries, judges and private arbitrators. The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process is of particular interest to Sam. In addition to mediating hundreds of claims as a litigant, he has earned a post-graduate certificate in mediation from Pepperdine University School of Law, the top post-graduate ADR program in the nation and has served as a mediator on over 50 matters on behalf of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Sam has served as adjunct professor at California State University, Long Beach in their expert witness certification program and has been a frequent lecturer to clients and industry groups, including Lorman Education Services, NBI, AAMGA, and the Association of Construction Defect Claims Managers. He is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance ("CLM"), the Professional Liability Underwriting Society ("PLUS"), the American Bar Association (Litigation and Construction Sections), the Orange County and Los Angeles County Bar Associations (Litigation Section), the Southern California Association of Defense Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Co - Founder
- Partner
- PARTNER - Irvine
Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Wolfe & Wyman LLP will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others, may not receive a response, and do not create a lawyer-client relationship with Wolfe & Wyman LLP. If you are not already a client of Wolfe & Wyman LLP, please do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our lawyers do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly permitted to do so.
Practice Areas
Stuart B. Wolfe is the co-founder of Wolfe & Wyman LLP and chair of the firm's financial services group. Stuart's practice involves representing primarily mortgage lenders, auto lenders, loan servicers, banks, title insurance companies, escrow companies and other financial institutes. His practice includes lender liability defense, secondary market disputes (including loan repurchase and indemnity disputes), loan fraud recovery and loss mitigation, class action defense, unfair business practice claims, title insurance defense and lien validity and priority challenges. The cases Stuart handles range from single borrower and plaintiff disputes to large high profile class actions.
Stuart Wolfe is the 2016 Chair-Elect of the Banking and Lending Section of Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) and previously served as Chair of the OCBA's Financial Practices Section. Stuart has long been active in the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) and the California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA) and many of their respective committees, relating to legal issues, loan fraud, loan servicing, and ethics. Stuart has also participated in California Land Title Association (CLTA), the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, and formerly sat on the board of directors of Diversified Title Ins. Co. In 2005, Stuart was appointed to CLTA's E-Recording Task Force to assist the California Attorney General's office promulgate rules relative to the Electronic Recording Delivery Act. Stuart also previously served as the chair of the Association of Real Estate Attorneys (AREA).
Stuart is a frequent lecturer to bar and industry trade associations, as well as individual financial institutions and other companies, including the MBA, CMBA, OCBA, American Conference Institute, and the American Bar Association.
In addition to his law practice, Stuart also serves as a private mediator and expert witness with respect to business, real estate and finance disputes. "Southern California Super Lawyers" magazine named Stuart one of only thirty-six "Banking and Financial Super Lawyers" in 2005 (February 2005 publ.) and one of forty "Banking Super Lawyers" in 2006 (February 2006 publ.)
Hobbies and Interests
Stuart is actively involved in community service. He is the chair of "Interest Free Loans of Orange County," a non-profit division of the Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County to provide interest free micro-loans to students, women-in-crises, new entrepreneurs, and others without traditional access to capital.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR COUNSEL - Sacramento