MOKRI VANIS & JONES - Key Persons
Brandon is an Associate Attorney at Mokri Vanis & Jones LLP. After earning his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Business Law from California State University, Northridge, Brandon attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. Brandon joined MVJ in 2017, aggressively defending insurance carriers and their insureds in construction defect, personal injury, real property, catastrophic injury, and insurance fraud cases. Brandon then went on and prosecuted elder abuse cases at one of the top trial firms in the state of California before returning back to MVJ towards the end of 2021. Brandon is passionate about his work and desires to provide the best representation possible to successfully obtain the most desirable result for his clients. Outside of being an attorney, Brandon is devoted to his physical fitness and enjoys cooking and riding motocross, which he has been involved in throughout his life.
Craig S. Jones has over 27 years experience defending businesses, public entities and individuals from claims for catastrophic bodily injury, construction defects, property loss, product liability and real estate disputes. He has successfully litigated hundreds of complex and high exposure lawsuits through mediation, arbitration and trial.
Job Titles:
- Attorney in Our Newport Beach
Danielle Noble is an attorney in our Newport Beach office, practicing in the areas of workers' compensation defense, civil litigation, Special Lien Proceeding Consolidation litigation before the Special Adjudication Unit of the Department of Workers' Compensation, and insurance defense. Danielle has been practicing in workers' compensation and civil litigation since 2012. As counsel for numerous insurance carriers and employers, Danielle has educated on various changes in law and the changing legal landscape for employers in California, including assisting with employer handbooks, required documents for employees, training materials and injury reporting protocol. Danielle's experience in litigation has included representing employers and insurance carriers before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board as well as representing corporations and insurance carriers in civil litigation. Danielle has taken over 500 depositions on employment and workers' compensation related matters, and has effectively cross-examined numerous experts and physicians through litigation. Danielle has also handled multiple workers' compensation and civil matters through trial.
Prior to the practice of law, Danielle worked for a large restaurant chain, and traveled across the country as a corporate trainer. While in this role, she focused on employer best practices and risk management. During law school, she was a Certified Law Clerk for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, death penalty division, and was a law clerk for Universal Studios. Danielle also participated in Moot Court competitions, and was awarded CALI Excellence Awards in Appellate Advocacy and Death Penalty. She was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2012, and the Central District Court in 2018.
Education
University of LaVerne, College of Law, J.D.
University of Southern California, B.F.A.
Job Titles:
- Associate in the Los Angeles
Dianna Manukyan is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Mokri Vanis & Jones LLP. She handles complex civil and business litigation matters throughout California. Her practice primarily focuses on disputes involving construction defects, personal injuries, product liability, commercial litigation and premises liability.
Ms. Manukyan has represented property owners and business owners from claims involving personal injuries, premises liability, product liability, and related legal actions. She has extensive experience settling disputes and has obtained numerous favorable settlements for her clients. Ms. Manukyan has successfully filed and won numerous dispositive motions including demurrers and motions for summary judgment in favor of her clients.
Ms. Manukyan graduated from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2016. She obtained a B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Los Angeles graduating magna cum lade in 2012. Ms. Manukyan enjoys painting, traveling and gardening in her free time.
Education
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law CA 2016 (J.D.)
University of California, Los Angeles, CA 2012 (Psychology)
Job Titles:
- Attorney in Our Newport Beach
Eric J. Danowitz is an attorney in our Newport Beach office who practices in the areas of insurance special investigation litigation, healthcare litigation, worker's compensation defense, Special Lien Proceedings before the Special Adjudication Unit of the Department of Workers Compensation and civil qui tam litigation. Eric has been practicing in these fields since 2008, and has been counsel on several of the largest and most complex qui tam litigations in the State of California. Mr. Danowitz also advises on numerous insurance matters related to special investigations and litigation, including ERISA matters. Currently Mr. Danowitz is the lead/liaison counsel for all insurance carriers, third-party administrators, and self-insured employers in almost all of the currently pending Special Lien Proceedings through Labor Code Section 139.21, as well as the various consolidations related to Lien Claimants challenging the automatic stay provision of Labor Code Section 4615. Over the years Eric has regularly lectured at the Anti-Fraud Alliance Conference, the Southern California Fraud Insurance Association Conference, and the International Association of Special Investigation Units Conference on issues related to healthcare fraud, special investigations, pharmaceutical fraud, and discovery tactics and deposition strategy in complex healthcare litigation.
Gayle M. Kono is Special Counsel at Mokri Vanis & Jones, LLP in the Sacramento office. Her practice focuses on general liability litigation.
Before joining Mokri Vanis & Jones, Gayle defended clients as staff counsel for a large insurance carrier for many years. Early in her career, she represented plaintiffs in personal injury and employment law matters. She has extensive litigation and jury trial experience.
Gayle is a native Sacramentan, graduating from C.K. McClatchy Senior High School. She attended UC Berkeley, where she graduated with high honors and earned a B.A. in English. She graduated from University of San Francisco School of Law.
Education
University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D., 1993
University of California at Berkeley, B.A., 1989
Glenn Mau focuses his practice on real estate development and construction. He regularly represents developers, builders, landowners, contractors, subcontractors, surety companies, and homeowners associations throughout California in various matters. Glenn has experience assisting with the purchase and sale of land for residential and commercial development, preparation of CC&Rs, creation of common interest development subdivisions, disclosures, easements, maintenance agreements, title issues, other critical transactional documents, lien and stop notice issues, and landslide/earth movement cases.
Jason is an Associate Attorney at Mokri Vanis & Jones, LLP. His practice areas include construction defect, personal injury, and insurance coverage. Jason has been with Mokri, Vanis & Jones since 2017, initially as a law clerk and thereafter as Attorney in 2019.
Kelly Champ is an Associate at Mokri Vanis & Jones' Newport Office, and his practice focuses on commercial disputes, employment defense in both single-plaintiff and class action and PAGA matters, business divorce, representing directors and officers in breach of fiduciary duty actions, and on business transactional matters. Kelly has also litigated and advised on difficult procedural and substantive issues, including Anti-SLAPP, bankruptcy, trademark, antitrust, securities class actions, and partnership and corporate dissolutions involving asset valuations for projected future earnings.
Kelly also represents employers ranging from top-ranked accounting firms to small and midsized companies for both wage and hour class actions and PAGA actions. Kelly also represents employers on all forms of single-plaintiff causes of action, including discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, among others, both in California courts and in administrative agencies. Kelly further advises companies operating in California on proper practices to avoid employment-related liability.
Kelly has experience representing clients at all phases of the litigation process, from pre-litigation counseling through filing and defending against appeals. He has extensive experience drafting initial complaints and answers through the final litigation stages, including motions for summary judgment, and has successfully won at trial. Kelly has also worked on numerous appellate briefs, including opening, respondent, and reply briefs before the appellate state courts.
Education
University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D., 2016, Best Oral Argument (Section I)
University of California Berkeley, B.A. Philosophy, 2013
Lauren is an Associate Attorney at Mokri Vanis and Jones' Newport Beach Office. She graduated from Southwestern School of Law in 2023, earning an emphasis in Technology Law and Entrepreneurship, where her passion for the intersection of law and innovation flourished. Her practice focuses on construction defect, general liability, and business litigation.
Job Titles:
- Associate Attorney at Mokri Vanis
Leena Moten is an Associate Attorney at Mokri Vanis & Jones' Newport Office. Leena's practice focuses on all aspects of civil litigation, with particular focus on construction defect, wrongful death, products liability, premises liability, automobile and trucking, habitability, and general liability matters. Leena takes pride in protecting her clients' interests while providing thorough and zealous legal representation.
Leena is an experienced trial attorney. As a Deputy Public Defender in the County of San Diego for more than 16 years, Leena represented a diverse group of clients who could not afford legal services in both serious misdemeanor and felony matters. She was involved in all aspects of litigation - from the review and request of discovery, negotiations, investigations, expert retention, motions and hearings to jury and bench trials.
Education
Lewis and Clark Law School, Law School Legal Clinic, Juris Doctor, 2005
Portland State University, Bachelor of Science, 1999
Matthew J. Eschenburg is a partner with Mokri Vanis & Jones and is based in Newport Beach, California. His practice areas include all aspects of civil litigation, with particular focus on complex litigation matters, as well as general liability, premises liability, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, construction site accidents and product liability cases involving product manufacturers, suppliers and sellers. Matthew also manages and litigates all aspects of multi-party complex construction defect litigation on behalf of principals, investors, national home builders and single family home developers, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, suppliers and sellers. He also represents both large and small scale business owners in overall business related and contract disputes, and provides counsel to business owners, employers, property owners and homeowners associations to address ADA, wage-and-hour violations, and general employment matters such as wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination retaliation, real estate/eminent domain and habitability claims. In addition, Matthew also handles litigation involving automotive and trucking/tractor-trailer claims.
Prior to Mokri Vanis & Jones, Matthew was a partner in both small scale and national law firms based in California, defending matters of complex personal injury, construction defect, general civil litigation, along with labor and employment related claims. While in College, Matthew clerked for the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office in Phoenix, Arizona.
Education
Western State University College of Law, J.D., 1997
Stephen Fredkin has over 45 years of civil trial experience. During that time he has tried over 150 cases to verdict which include wills/trust contests, medical malpractice, elder abuse, business litigation, premises liability, claims involving fraud, and general negligence. In addition, he has litigated several major tractor/trailer cases which involved wrongful death and other serious bodily injuries. Mr. Fredkin is comfortable litigating a wide range of civil cases.
Prior to moving to Southern California in 2009, Mr. Fredkin worked for several law firms and his own law firm in Monterey County since 1974.
Mr. Fredkin graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 1969 with a degree in history and from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1973.
Other than practicing law, and family, Mr. Fredkin still enjoys hitting a tennis ball.
Education
University of California, Berkeley 1969
Santa Clara University School of Law, 1973
Todd Jones handles complex civil and business litigation matters throughout California and Nevada. His practice primarily focuses on disputes involving construction defects, personal injuries, product liability, commercial litigation, premises liability and toxic torts, including pesticide exposures.
Todd has been a licensed California General Contractor (CSLB license # 754481) since 1998, and applies his hands-on construction experience to represent his clients in litigation, transactional and preventive matters. For the last eighteen years, Todd has provided invaluable counsel to property owners, developers, general contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, and in some cases their insurers, throughout California and Nevada. He is outside General Counsel for construction industry giant HD Supply, Inc., in California and Nevada. Todd's clients also include real estate developers and home builders, as well as large-scale subcontractors and construction product manufacturers. From custom, speculation and tract housing to commercial and industrial projects, Todd uses his construction knowledge to provide clients with a distinct advantage in litigation and transactions.
Todd also has extensive experience in representing and defending pesticide companies in a wide variety of matters including general liability and casualty, commercial trucking and auto liability and premises liability matters. He has developed a close working relationship with the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC), has practical working knowledge of the Structural Pest Control Act and acts as outside General Counsel for one of the largest pest control companies in California.
In litigation matters, Todd frequently defends property owners and business owners from claims involving personal injuries, premises liability, product liability, and related legal actions. By fostering open communication with clients and aggressively pursuing the early exchange of information at the onset of cases, Todd frequently succeeds in resolving disputes quickly and efficiently, and in some instances before formal litigation is necessary. In cases were litigation is the only reasonable option, Todd is an aggressive and effective litigation tactician with deep trial experience.
Todd is also a Court-appointed arbitrator and mediator for the Sacramento County Superior Court and is a member of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, where he formerly served on the Board of Directors, and chaired the Construction Law Committee.
Education
University of the Pacific
McGeorge School of Law, J.D., 1998
San Diego State University, B.A., cum laude, B.S., 1994