BROWN & CHARBONNEAU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Advocacy
- Civil Trial Specialist
Brown & Charbonneau, LLP Founding Partner Gregory G. Brown is a Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Advocacy (a distinction earned by approximately 150 lawyers in California). A highly awarded and sought-after trial lawyer for more than 30 years, Brown is a member of The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® each year since 2009. Nationally, Brown has been named to Best Lawyers' annual list of the "Best Lawyers in America," and locally, he's been named a Top Attorney in Orange County by Orange County Metro. He has earned an AV-Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell, and an Avvo rating of "Superb 10/10". Brown was named "Attorney of the Year" and was featured as one of the "Leaders in Law" by Forbes Magazine. He has been named to the prestigious Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers since 1997. To view additional awards, click here.
Recently, the Los Angeles Daily Journal featured Brown and his firm's niche practice related to family and business break ups - see "Parsing Partnerships". Other cases and trial successes have been featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, L.A. Times, Orange County Register, San Diego Union-Tribune and Forbes magazine.
Brown's trial and litigation experience includes contract actions, fraud cases, trade secret litigation, trust litigation, commercial contract disputes, intellectual property disputes, unfair competition, false advertising, shareholder derivative actions, corporate litigation, complex dissolution actions, real estate & construction, personal injury and professional liability suits.
One of Brown's largest trials involved a trust and community property dispute over the ownership of a well-known food & beverage manufacturer valued at over $175,000,000. Other successful results include a $9,250,000 settlement in a real estate dispute and a $2,950,000 verdict for his client in a business fraud case against a publicly traded company and two of its directors. Brown's successful defense of a Fortune 500 company in a $30,000,000 fraud and breach of contract jury trial was featured in Verdict magazine.
Mr. Brown speaks regularly on legal issues and has served as an instructor and judge for the Orange County Bar Association College of Trial Advocacy. He has written dozens of articles and serves as a Mediator and Arbitrator. To read his articles, click here.
Mark Makoto Higuchi is an experienced litigator and partner at Brown & Charbonneau, LLP. Higuchi focuses his successful practice on complex business litigation, business and commercial transactional work, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, and represents victims of catastrophic injury and other personal injury matters.
A member of the California State Bar since 2006, Mr. Higuchi has represented a broad range of clients through all stages of civil litigation, from initial case assessment and preliminary demands, through the appellate process. He is known for his creative strategies, meticulous attention to detail, and tenacious advocacy.
Recent successes include a $4,800,000 settlement, wherein Mr. Higuchi served as co-counsel alongside Gregory G. Brown. The settlement followed a multi-million-dollar trial win on behalf of plaintiffs South Orange County Water Authority (SOCWA) and its affiliates. The settlement also provided for the payment by defendant of $2,700,000 in attorneys' fees and a permanent injunction prohibiting the wrongful conduct in the future. Mr. Higuchi was also successful as co-counsel in securing a $2,930,000 Jury Verdict in a breach of contract case.
Michele M. Charbonneau is a highly experienced, award-winning family law attorney and family law mediator with nearly 30 years of experience in successfully resolving even the most complex family law cases. She is as highly regarded for her compassion and understanding, as she is admired for her tenacity in helping divorcing couples to focus on common ground, in order to secure fair and responsible outcomes.
Charbonneau has tried and settled numerous notable family law cases throughout her career, some of which have resulted in published law-making cases. She is also the co-founder of Orange County Dispute Resolutions Services, LLC.
Charbonneau focuses her career exclusively on family law including divorce, mediation, child custody and custody investigations, child support, spousal support, custody and support modifications, breach of fiduciary duty, domestic violence and property characterization transmutations. A former adjunct Professor of Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy at Western State University, Charbonneau is known for getting fast results, and is a Top-Rated Lawyer™ in Family Law, by Martindale-Hubbell.